Vol. IV No. 12 Additional Coronavirus coverage, PAGE 3
Illinois bars, restaurants ordered closed Pritzker takes unprecedented step after coronavirus outbreak By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker took an unprecedented step on March 15 to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic by ordering bars and restaurants in the state closed to the public starting on Tuesday, March 17, which is both St. Patrick’s Day and Illinois’ Primary Election Day. Establishments will remain open to drivethrough and delivery service, but in-store dining will be closed through March 30. Restaurants and bars were ordered to close by the end of their business day Monday. Schools will continue to provide meals to children, although classes in both public and private K-12 schools have been cancelled during that same period. “I know how difficult this will be on small businesses around the state,” Pritzker said during his daily news briefing Sunday in Chicago. “This is another hard step. But we must do everything that we can to safeguard the health and safety of the citizens of the See CLOSINGS on page 6
MARCH 18, 2020
theVillageFreePress.org
Isiah Scott mourned a year after his death. page 8
A line of people wraps around the Costco in North Riverside last week, where shoppers stocked up on products like toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water in preparation for staying home more during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. ALEX ROGALS/STAFF
Coronavirus rocks Proviso Township Schools, restaurants, bars closed; church canceled; shelves empty
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
On Thursday, March 12, a small crowd of roughly two dozen people stood outside of Family Dollar, 1019 Madison St. in Maywood, to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of 19-year-old Isiah Scott. The people — some relatives of Scott, others friends, still others members of the Maywood church he attended — hugged and shook hands. Christopher Betts, a minister at the church, invited everyone
out to morning Bible study. In just a few days, however, gatherings like this one would be a thing of a past not totally and radically shaped by the coronavirus. By Saturday, Betts and the church leadership had to decide whether or not to even have Sunday service (they eventually opted to hold services, but with precautions). Some churches, like Rock of Ages Baptist Church, the megachurch down the street from Family Dollar, canceled Sunday services; opting, instead, to livestream
worship. The Chicago Catholic Archdiocese canceled mass. Other churches in Proviso Township took similar precautions. Before the weekend was over, government authorities and public health experts would caution against the mere act of embracing others, given the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19. The virus, which was traced to Wuhan, China in December, leads to respiratory infection and is 10 times more lethal than the flu, according to health experts. See CORONAVIRUS on page 2
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