Double Classroom Tables

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Lunch time at Brewer High School Wednesday morning was quiet.

Half of the tables in the circular dining room are empty, and only one or two students sit on the table for eight people. This was the first time a high school student was able to take off his mask that day and hang out with friends at lunch. However, as some people took advantage of relatively normal minutes, others stared at the sandwiches while eating, put on masks and quickly left the dining area.

Although still the most social part of a student's day, school lunches during the pandemic will be unfamiliar to anyone who has attended high school before COVID-19.

Sophomore Brady Saunders said: “All my friends are in the first category, so I don’t think so much about them.” On Tuesday, Brady Saunders Classes alternate on Thursday and Wednesday. "The biggest difference is that the class is small and you can't see as many people as before."

At this time, the high school is already

For months: mandatory masks, social distance between corridors and classes, close interaction and fewer classes, sparse seating at lunch, and standards that do not allow spectators to enter at sports events have become the standard.

But after writing several months of articles on how COVID-19 has changed education, I have not experienced a day of learning in my first-hand experience of the pandemic.

That's why I walked into Brewer High School with a backpack and a mask on Wednesday morning and became a high school student. I followed Sanders’ morning schedule and attended his first two classes and lunch time. After a day in high school, I realized that because teachers and students have adapted to this new way of learning, there is basically no change in school learning.

From top left (clockwise): The mask reminder sign hangs on the entrance door of Brewer High School; Brewer High School second-year student Cooper Masterson (Cooper Masterson) sat on Wednesday at Brewer High School's Andrew Macsey On a computer in a multimedia class by Andrew Maxsimic. As sophomore Brady Saunders prepares to attend classes at Brewer High School on Wednesday, science teacher Arthur Libby (left) cleans up between classes table. Science teacher Arthur Libby teaches his AP biology class at Brewer High School on Wednesday. Image credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik | BDN

But when I was in high school, the best part was meeting with friends every day, sitting in the classroom next to them, spending a while secretly communicating gossip in the hallway, and eating lunch together. I remember there is hardly any interaction now. High school is mainly about courses.

On the day of high school, I took a test, built a DNA model in AP Biology, and learned Adobe Animate in a multimedia class. But I did not talk to anyone in class, nor did I see any students talking to each other.

Part of the reason why high schools are almost non-social is that there are far fewer students interacting with them. Brewer High School

: The first one goes to school on Monday and Thursday, the second one goes to school on Tuesday and Friday. Each group also participates in person every Wednesday. Some students choose to study completely remotely and take the same classes at home as students attend school. There are about 7 students in my two classes in person, and one or two are in the online class.

The restrictions of the pandemic actually limit communication among students. They will not chat, collaborate or even pass notes in class because they are at least 3 feet away from each other, and they are usually farther apart.

In my two classes, students mostly interact with the teacher when they have questions. Otherwise, the room is so quiet that I can't hear the pen on the AP creature scratching the paper, while the keyboard in the multimedia class is beating.

Between each class, the students cling to one side of the corridor and walk a few feet away from each other to reach the next class. There is no lingering in the hallway, hanging out in the lockers or having a drink by the water dispenser.

From top left (clockwise): Computer technology teacher Andrew Maxsimic helped Stone Therrien with a multimedia project in Wednesday's class. Students at Brewer High School got off the bus on Wednesday morning. BDN reporter Eesha Pendharkar attended a multimedia course at Brewer High School on Wednesday, where she spent a day experiencing the children's high school conditions during the pandemic. In order to maintain a distance from society and allow masks to be removed while eating, only two students can share a table during lunch. Image credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik | BDN

Orange tape separates the corridors of Brewer High School to guide the flow of people, and the student movement is similar to a car driving on both sides of the double yellow line, instead of the large number of high school students chatting and mingling I remember.

But it is these same restrictions that lead to

The spread of this virus in schools is much less than in other places. Students follow all the guidelines set by the school without reminding them to wear masks properly or maintain social distancing.

In fact, all of my teenage classmates are better than me in wearing masks for several hours. After about three hours, I had to go to the bathroom to take off the mask for a few seconds.

Unlike many of the country’s largest school districts, most Maine students have been able to return to school for at least a week since September.

In the past two months, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state, schools

Because the same measures have been taken that have nothing to do with the social part of the high school diploma.

The academic aspect of the school has largely remained unchanged, Sanders said, and it is still worth attending school in person.

From left: Jahfari Maddo (center) engaged in AP Biology research at Brewer High School on Wednesday; BDN reporter Eesha Pendharkar attended AP Biology at Brewer High School on Wednesday, where she spent a day experiencing children's high school during the pandemic a feeling of. Computer technology teacher Andrew Maxsimic (left) spoke with sophomore Brady Saunders at the start of the multimedia class on Wednesday. Image credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik | BDN

Throughout my day, the teacher divides his attention between the remote students and the students in the classroom, usually the remote students watch the same screen as the students present. During the class, the teacher disinfected the table and wiped the chair. When face-to-face students work on homework, they talk to remote students to make sure they are caught up.

"Usually I can have 20 children in this room, and the teaching content is the same as what I am teaching now. It is strange to have a small class." Then it is strange to teach the same thing for two consecutive days. "

From lunch to class, from photo day to award ceremony, administrators and teachers have to rethink almost all aspects of high school. Principal Brent Slowikowski said that this new learning method has some advantages. He said that because the class size is small, teachers can provide personalized attention to students, and a smaller class size also means fewer behavior problems.

He said: "I don't want to do all of this forever." "But there are some advantages."

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Staff Attorney and Director of Labor Policy

Some of the largest teacher unions in Illinois have

School districts continue or return to distance learning-this demand pulls many public school teachers in two directions, putting them at a disadvantage.

The Chicago Teachers’ Union has been encouraging its members

Oppose the plan of Chicago Public Schools to reopen teaching buildings and promote the local resolution "Vow to stay remote."

This decision may result in disciplinary action for those who refuse to report to the school. It may even cost them their jobs.

There are four things to know about the science and law of unions that push teachers to refuse to work.

According to Illinois labor law, faculty and staff in public schools

Currently a collective bargaining agreement has been reached. Strikes under contract are considered illegal strikes.

Illinois law regulates the relationship between labor unions and educational employers

The term "strike". Although the refusal to report to work may not be called a formal "strike," it certainly looks like a "strike", especially when carefully planned by the teachers' union.

This is a gray area and may need to be resolved by the Illinois Education Labor Relations Commission.

But by then, the action may have taken place, which makes it too late for the teacher to change his mind. This should allow teachers to stop before deciding not to go to school.

If the Illinois Education Labor Relations Commission determines that a union and its members have engaged in an illegal strike, the Illinois labor law will not provide any protection for teachers who participate in the event.

This means that teachers can be disciplined in accordance with the school district’s policies, such as the provision of wages for non-working employees. For example, if teachers in Chicago Public Schools continue to stay at home instead of reporting to their own buildings when needed, they will be subject to progressive disciplinary policies in the area.

Tribute to Janice Jackson, CEO of CPS.

The Illinois State Government Union has

In the past, if unfair labor practices occurred (such as being forced to work under unsafe conditions), they would strike.

Although it may be correct under federal law, state law governs teachers’ unions. and also

A provision in the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act that allows teachers’ unions to strike

According to the contract.

In recent months, the Labor Council has

CTU asked to stop the Chicago school that opened in January. This is not a good sign for other unions considering going out or refusing to work.

In addition, the union has little scientific or health data to support job rejection.

"The new information tells us that opening a school will not significantly increase the spread of [COVID-19] in the community, but it is important for schools to closely follow the guidance of public health officials,"

Dr. Lee Beers, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For example, a

A review of evidence from 191 countries/regions found that “there is no consistent association between the reopening status of schools and the COVID-19 infection rate.”

There is also evidence from Chicago itself,

Since going to school in person last fall, the institution has provided education to approximately 20,000 students.

All in all, neither law nor science can justify the crackdown on COVID-19 security issues.

Many teachers are in a difficult situation: Ignore the union, face to face

Lead by a union, or defy the school district and face possible disciplinary action by the school district.

But teachers in Illinois do have another option.

Teachers can choose to withdraw from the union membership so they can return to school and avoid being punished by the union. They can then join another professional support organization, such as

, The scope of liability insurance and work protection it provides is only a small part of the cost of union membership.

Teachers who opt-out can still get all the benefits provided by the employer in the collective bargaining agreement, such as wages and raises, health insurance, pensions, vacations and holidays, overtime, seniority and leave, including sick leave.

For more information about opt-out, please visit one of the following websites:

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Schools in the pandemic: report cards

When a small area of ​​Texas requires all students to attend classes in person, academic performance will improve. But the same is true for coronavirus infections.

Lubbock, Texas—Madison Hermosillo was alone in his second-year class at Roosevelt High School in his room. He was confused and quickly fell behind.

Her school is a face-to-face school located between cotton fields and oil derricks on the outskirts of Lubbock, Texas. However, the coronavirus cases were rampant, and her mother decided to stay at home.

Lubbock

county

Dallas

Texas

Houston

New York Times

students

Latino percentage,

White percentage

Black percentage

Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander

In person only

Madison, now 16, is busy making remote distributions in geometry, chemistry and world geography. Soon, she failed in all courses except physical education.

She said, "My mother will tell me to do it, and then I will go to the room and watch TikTok on my phone."

She is not the only one. By the end of the first marking period in September, 77% of remote high school students in the area had failed at least once. In contrast, those who choose to participate in person are mostly passers.

Similarly, about 30% of the youngest students, especially those in the first and second grades, did not meet the grade expectations for reading assessment at the beginning of the school year, which is about twice as high as in previous years, the principal of elementary school Delynn Wheeler said.

For local officials, this is evidence that distance education caused students to withdraw last spring.

Those who were still remote at the beginning of the fall semester struggled to catch up.

Therefore, the school district took drastic action: it ended the option of distance learning and required all its 1,010 students (from kindergarten to 12th grade) to return to the classroom.

"This works for us in our elementary school district," said principal Dallas Grimes. "It won't work anywhere."

The Roosevelt Independent School District is similar to many other areas in Texas: small and rural areas, with a large population of Hispanic students, many of whom live in poverty. As in other regions, the region is still working hard to provide remote guidance, despite creating mobile hotspots for students who do not have the Internet, and often checking in with students who are behind.

The results of personal guidance have been mixed. Dozens of teachers, staff and students have been infected, and many more have to be isolated at home due to exposure. The absence disrupted everything from classroom teaching to building maintenance.

But teachers and administrators say that the best thing for students is to go to school.

"When those kids walked through that door, that was fine," said Theresa Hoffman, the assistant principal of the elementary school in the area, recalling her mood as she watched the students go back. "There is no school that does this-I just can't imagine."

The entire Roosevelt Independent School District is located on one campus, along flat country roads. A large number of yellow buses arrive every morning, carrying most of the students, many of them wearing the maroon school colors of the Eagles.

Students are 57% of Latino, 37% of whites, black students are small, and other races are small. More than three-quarters of people are eligible for free or reduced price lunches.

Roosevelt was one of the first regions in Texas to terminate distance learning, and parents were notified on September 22. All students must return next Monday. (Most students in Texas go to school in person.)

Of the approximately 140 distance learning students, 15 students dropped out of school because their family members worried about the health risks of attending classes in person.

Grimes said that seven other people have left school in a conservative and often suspected area of ​​West Texas for the opposite reason: their parents objected to a state order requiring all persons 10 years of age or older. Of children wear masks.

Grimes said that the decision to bring everyone back to the classroom has improved performance so far. By the time of winter vacation, only 9% of high school students failed at least one class.

But as performance improves, this pandemic has also increased.

From the beginning of the school year to the beginning of January, many of the 170 teachers, administrators and other staff in the school district tested positive for the coronavirus (52) or had to be quarantined due to contact (27).

Absenteeism forces teachers to attend classes, lunch, and even take away rubbish. The supervisor, Mr. Grimes, must drive the bus when the regular driver’s test is positive, or have to be isolated due to exposure.

High school principal Tim Crane and his wife (special education teacher) tested positive in early November. He said: "We are still recovering from Covid." "My wife and I are doing our best , But we did it."

As more and more schools across the country open in the fall, evidence suggests that face-to-face learning does not necessarily lead to widespread transmission of the coronavirus in schools-despite the emergence of a new and potentially more infectious coronavirus, which triggered The worries about reopening. school.

In Roosevelt, there are no regular coronavirus tests, but the area has taken basic safety measures, including requiring a mask when eating, and taking action when eating and firing.

The greater risk is infection outside of school. In the fall, an outbreak in the surrounding communities of Lubbock County in Texas was promoted by returning college revellers and local residents tired of pandemic influenza prevention measures.

Grimes said there were no cases related to school connections. But contact tracking is not yet complete. Mr. Crane said that neither he nor his wife heard of the tracer in Lubbock County after they fell ill.

Moreover, the community is not immune to the cost of this pandemic: a bus driver who tested positive after the week’s Thanksgiving holiday died a few days later.

The cafeteria table that can accommodate twelve students is limited to three. Numbered lunch tables fill the school gym. Some students ate at the place marked with blue tape in the stands.

The school has no space to maintain a six-foot separation in the classroom. The desire for collaborative work or gossip brings students closer.

"Guys, you will have to sit down," English teacher Kylie Martinez told three students who stood together in her freshman English class one morning last fall.

Under the dim lights of her classroom on the second floor, students read quietly and answered questions on their laptops-last year, this was a large part of school life and a way for students to understand whether they must be isolated at home.

"There is a mother, I am worried," Ms. Martinez said. She has two young children attending elementary schools in the area. "I am worried that they will be sick and we will be isolated."

So far, it has not happened. However, the pandemic directly affects about one-third of students: since the second week of January, 53 have tested positive since the beginning of the school year, and another 282 had to be isolated for two weeks due to exposure.

“I took a large geometry class, half of which was quarantine,” said Madison Hermosillo, a sophomore struggling with distance learning, before the Thanksgiving break.

Madison has adapted to the new habit of going back to school, from wearing a mask to sitting in a designated lunch seat. A few weeks after returning to school, her grades began to improve.

By the beginning of January, she had passed all courses.

The Chicago Teachers’ League is preparing to continue their

, If Chicago public schools lock them out of their online teaching platform because they refuse to comply with the district’s reopening plan, be prepared to participate in demonstrations.

In this regard, CPS said yes

At least on Wednesday, for students who have returned but still intend to reach an agreement, the elementary school students will be brought back to school on Monday.

Also on Tuesday, Chicago

Produced by teachers who inadvertently signed with codes suitable for medical staff, it has caused confusion as educators face increasing anxiety in trying to ensure vaccinations.

At the same time, Illinois health officials announced on Tuesday

Since the start of the pandemic, the total number of known infections in Illinois has reached 1,108,430, and the statewide death toll has reached 18,883.

For a long time, Brian Harris, the principal of the 220 District of Barrington School District, reviewed the situation almost implicitly on Tuesday in the pre-pandemic era, when he announced that the snow was a stressful and important decision. .

Harris said: “When you do snow, not only do you cancel the school, but also cancel all activities, such as games and band concerts.” Nevertheless, more than a dozen controversial debates in the community about reopening the school took place on the front lines. Months later, Harris felt relieved and saved another fight this week.

Students eager to fall asleep and spending a day with friends on the nearby sled hill were greatly annoyed. School buildings in the area were closed on Tuesday, but Harris did not announce an official snow day.

Harris said: "After 10 months of COVID distance learning, we are fully prepared, and in today's inclement weather, everyone is ready to attend class or at home."

Since the epidemic last March, the epidemic has stolen countless precious school traditions, from high school rugby games and senior prom to chorus competitions and kindergarten graduation ceremonies.

It is assumed that these traditions will reappear after the pandemic is over.

However, as many suburban Chicago school districts have reopened for face-to-face teaching, they cleverly switched to distance learning on Tuesday, which raised the question: Does this mean the death of a traditional snowy day?

Lane Abrell, principal of Plainfield School District 202, said: "There is a feeling of nostalgia for the days when the students snowed, but with the COVID distance learning, the brilliance disappeared.

.

As Illinois ramps up its first week of COVID-19 immunization efforts to include elderly residents and "essential" workers, state officials were told Tuesday that vaccine shipments are expected to be welcomed.

Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abdayye said in a statement that the Biden administration said in a phone call with governors including Governor JB Pritzker that it will increase the number of services to all 50 states starting next week. Vaccine transportation.

She said the state expects to receive specific information on how many doses of vaccine it will receive in the coming days.

The Biden administration also told national leaders that it will purchase an additional 200 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines when delivered in the summer.

Biden later publicly announced an increase in vaccine shipments, and his government stated that, together with existing orders, it would be enough to manage two doses for 300 million people.

A study released by the University of Illinois on Tuesday found that the tax losses in Illinois due to the pandemic were much lower than the forecasts of the spring experts who first convened COVID-19 that year, but "huge uncertainty" continues.

According to a report from the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Studies, the pandemic hit state tax revenues severely after the widespread restrictions on family accommodation took effect last spring, but most of the early losses were made up in the following months. Affairs.

The study found that the first batch of federal coronavirus relief programs approved by Congress in the spring through stimulus checks on individuals and compensation checks for businesses to protect the program loans, injected billions of dollars into the Illinois economy, which is "increasing spending. catalyst".

Based on an analysis of state tax revenues as of November, the study found that people "started to adapt to their behavior" to accommodate behaviors allowed during the pandemic, and "as soon as retail locations and restaurants start to curb pickup services, sales start to rise."

"In April and May, expenditures in most categories dropped sharply, and then returned to levels before COVID-19. Expenditures have not fully recovered, but they are close to the levels when there was no COVID-19," the author wrote.

Despite optimistic conclusions, the authors of the study warned that “there are still many uncertainties” due to the possibility of a future coronavirus surge and the schedule of vaccine distribution.

The Chicago Teachers’ League is preparing for a second strike in less than two years, and if Chicago public schools shut them out to refuse to comply with the area’s reopening plan, prepare to join the picket.

In response, CPS stated that it will suspend face-to-face teaching for students who have returned at least on Wednesday, but still aims to reach an agreement to bring elementary students back to school on Monday.

The union wrote: "So here it comes." "Some recently changed short-term measures, *all* CTU members will start working remotely tomorrow... If CPS retaliates against members for exercising their right to a safe workplace, then *All* CTU members will stop working on Thursday and establish a cordon for their school."

When union leaders told members to stay focused, CPS officials issued a warning.

"Despite the actions taken by CTU, according to our prior notice, we hope that all kindergarten, kindergarten programs, and kindergarten through 8th grade faculty and staff will report in-person work at their school on January 27, unless they are granted remote work." , CPS email to all employees.

At the same time, the school district requires students who have returned to study in person to stay home on Wednesday, and CTU members are expected to do the same at that time.

The City of Chicago canceled vaccines appointed by an unspecified number of teachers who inadvertently used the code for health care workers to register. This caused confusion because of the growing tension between the union and the school district. Workers are increasingly worried about trying to ensure vaccination back to the classroom.

During the question-and-answer session on Tuesday, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady was asked about reports of cancellation of teacher vaccination. She replied that there was a problem with the city’s immunization point during the weekend, and that the immunization point is currently only available to non-hospital medical staff in stage 1a.

To register, employers in these medical institutions must register codes to provide to their employees. Arwady said that the use of a code for home health workers resulted in "tens of thousands" of people signing the agreement than expected. She pointed out that the unqualified people were real and stated on the form that they were not health care workers.

"First of all, I really want to say that we are happy that people want to be vaccinated, and I am happy that people are honest when filling out forms," ​​Arwady said. "I know everyone is very eager to get a vaccine, but the truth of the matter is that if we share code in a way beyond what it should be, then we won't be able to vaccinate those people."

The Biden administration is increasing its purchases of coronavirus vaccines to provide enough services to protect 300 million Americans by the end of the summer, because after complaining of shortages and unstable supplies, it has increased to states in the next three weeks. Delivery.

President Joe Biden announced a surge in shipments to states on Tuesday, and news that the federal government will purchase two other approved coronavirus vaccines, each with 100 million doses. The White House hopes that through existing purchases, it can provide states with enough two-dose programs to vaccinate 300 million people.

Biden said: "This vaccine is enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans before the end of summer and early fall." His call for increased supply is a "wartime effort."

The Biden administration is trying to improve vaccine production and the ability of states to inject them into weapons, buying products from pharmaceutical manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna. If federal scientists approve Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, more vaccines may be available, and emergency authorization is expected to be sought in the next few weeks.

Biden also announced that in the next few weeks, the state’s vaccine shipments will increase by about 16%. This is because people complain about the shortage, so that some vaccination sites across the United States have to cancel thousands of appointments for initial vaccinations. People.

The detailed data released on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday showed that the government plans to provide about 10.1 million doses of the first and second doses next week, up from the 8.6 million allocated this week. These numbers represent the doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. It is not clear how long the dose surge can last.

After temporarily closing his restaurant in Niles in November last year, Tom Konstantopoulos was flooded with calls from customers who wanted to know when his door could reopen.

"We have received thousands of calls; we may receive 100 calls every day," said Konstantopoulos, owner of Omega Restaurant.

On Monday, Konstantopoulos was finally able to tell customers what he couldn't say for nearly two months: Omega was open.

As the governor banned indoor dining, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and closed on November 29. The ban was lifted on January 23. Restaurants and bars in the suburbs of Chicago and Cook County allowed indoor dining for the first time since late October, but their capacity was limited to 25%.

Pillar Community Health will be vaccinated against COVID-19 at its health center in La Grange.

Pillar Chair Angela Curran said that the organization has completed the necessary registrations with the state and county health departments to become a vaccination site.

On Monday, the La Grange Village Committee unanimously approved Pillars to open a temporary vaccine clinic on the first floor of its Building 27 Calendar Calendar Ave.

"Your reputation will benefit you," village board member Beth Augustin told pillar officials at the board's Zoom meeting. Augustine called this non-profit organization "a fantastic organization." "We are grateful for everything you bring to the community."

Kuran said that the pillar will open up to four vaccine stations at a time, which means that staff will be able to vaccinate about 12 people per hour. Vaccinations can only be booked within four hours a day from Monday to Saturday. The time will depend on when staff and vaccine doses are available.

. -Kim Funak

According to Tuesday’s update, travelers coming to Chicago from any state other than Hawaii will continue to be restricted by the city’s travel order.

The list of states will remain unchanged this week, which means that 48 states as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico are subject to the following regulations: Travellers from these locations must undergo negative COVID-19 testing within 72 hours before arriving in Chicago or quarantining. 10 days. These states and territories constitute the "orange" level of the urban travel order, including all regions, with an average of more than 15 daily cases per 100,000 residents.

The lonely "yellow" country Hawaii is below this threshold, and there are no restrictions other than conventional social isolation measures.

Officials said the order was to educate residents, not strictly enforce it. Officials say that no matter where travelers are from orange or yellow states, no matter where they are from, they should follow the public health guidelines established since the pandemic. Although Chicago reopened its indoor restaurants this weekend in accordance with the state's COVID-19 mitigation plan, other restrictions were relaxed.

Illinois health officials announced on Tuesday that there have been 3,667 newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 87 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,108,430 and the statewide death toll to 18,883.

Officials also reported 69,285 new tests conducted in the past 24 hours. As of Monday, the state’s seven-day cases accounted for 4.6% of the total test.

City officials find Chicago bars and restaurants "highly compliant"

, But closed the West Side business because of a party that violated social evacuation restrictions.

A statement from the Chicago Department of Business Affairs stated that Drip G (5529 Chicago Avenue), licensed as an art museum, was ordered to suspend production and production after allowing 79 people to eat and drink indoors without eating. And consumer protection.

BACP said that the company does not have a license to retail food, liquor or public entertainment venues, and held an event with a surcharge and DJ, DJ "drinking (and) dancing on site is crowded."

According to current laws and regulations, as long as seated customers eat and drink and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between the tables, they can resume activities of 25% of their capacity (that is, 25 people).

BACP said this was the only violation of COVID-19 restrictions found in 69 investigations on Saturday and Sunday.

State public health officials announced on Tuesday that under Governor JB Pritzker's COVID-19 reopening plan, indoor dining is now allowed in four suburban counties.

After the region reached the national COVID-19 benchmark, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties all raised their restriction levels on Tuesday.

Food establishments are allowed to provide indoor services, and the turnover is limited to 25% of the room capacity or a total of 25 people (whichever is smaller). The state guidelines also require that the space between tables should be six feet, and all bar and restaurant customers should sit on the table-it is forbidden to sit, stand or order at the bar.

Loose restrictions also allow events, including weddings and funerals, to occur, limited to 25% of the number or the smaller of 25 people.

The president of the Elgin Teachers Association told the U-46 District Education Committee on Monday that teachers are still worried about returning to the classroom and want to release detailed information about COVID-19 safety measures to them.

Among the requirements of Barbara Bettis on behalf of the union included contract tracking data, the exact number of students enrolled in each school's mixed plan, and evidence that the classrooms were sufficiently clean.

Betis said: "There is currently no clear definition and communication about this, which intensifies distrust of the current security situation." "This also increases the pressure on teachers in the building, and teachers believe that the safety plan is incomplete."

She said that teachers are also worried that some families have not completed the self-certification process, during which they check their children for coronavirus symptoms before sending them to school.

The Wisconsin State Senate plans to vote on Tuesday to abolish Governor Tony Evers’s statewide mask mission, but it is unclear whether Congress will revoke the order as required.

Joint resolution

The Legislative Yuan has been approved by the Senate. This is the only item on the Senate’s agenda on Tuesday.

Congressional Republican leaders have not yet indicated whether the resolution to abolish the mask order will be voted on in the chamber. It must pass both the Senate and Congress to abolish Evers’ public health emergency and the mask mission scheduled for March 20 in connection with the order.

Since August, Wisconsin has been conducting mask inspections across the state. If the state's order is repealed, local orders in many densely populated areas of the state will remain in effect, including Milwaukee and Madison.

Tuesday's conference

Passed by the Senate backed by Evers. The General Assembly is expected to amend the bill and then send it back to the Senate.

The DuPage County Health Department announced that due to heavy snow, COVID-19 testing sites near its Wheaton County Farm and Manchester Highway will be closed on Tuesday. The department’s test site at the Odeum Expo Center is located at Villa Park N. Villa Ave. 1033 N and will be open from 10 am to 6 pm on Tuesday.

The Wheaton plant is scheduled to reopen at 7 am on Wednesday.

Although plans to reopen at New Trier High School were launched this week, officials said they expect the attendance of students who come to the scene to fall below the 50% threshold allowed by the new COVID-19 hybrid plan .

The start of New Trier’s 50% hybrid model (expected to start on Tuesday, the first day of the second semester) will allow students with surnames starting with AK to attend face-to-face classes every Tuesday and Wednesday, and those officials said the surname starts with LZ Of people will go to school in person this Thursday and Friday.

Among the many students, one of the many reasons why the attendance rate is lower than the 25% capacity limit of the monorail mode is that some students who signed the hybrid mode decided to take classes online without going through the formal process of declaring themselves as remote, New Trier spoke Said Nicky Dizon.

Di Zong said that the lower than expected attendance rate is also due to the self-isolation of some students after their winter vacation.

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Since 2000, can you name Bloomington-the month with the most snow on a regular basis? (1) February; (2) December; (3) January; (4) November.

Yes, it is February (1). According to the National Weather Service, the blizzards of February 1-2, 2007 and February 13-14, 2007 poured 13 inches in the Twin Cities, the largest snowfall since 2000. Since the start of record keeping, the largest snowfall in BN was also in February. From February 27 to 28, 1900, a blizzard left 21 inches, ranking first on the BN snow list of all time.

What do you remember from the 90s? 80's? Before the 70s? This collection focuses on local businesses and institutions that have closed their doors and stayed in our memory.

Grand Hotel is a landmark in the restaurant of Twin Cities.

Jefferson Cafeteria was located on the east side of Bloomington Courthouse Plaza from the late 1930s to 1969. 

The advertisement boasted "exquisite food-carefully cooked by seven experienced women who like to cook and prepare seasoning food." Special offers include butter chicken, deep sea bass, grilled chicken, lemon pudding and pumpkin pie. Between 4 and 33 cents.

The Jefferson cafeteria was closed by Donald Thompson, who took over these operations from John Grassfield in May 1968. Grassfield opened a cafeteria in 1933.

The College Hills shopping center was completed two months earlier than originally planned and opened on August 14, 1980. The shopping center has an area of ​​177,000 square feet and a public area of ​​75,000 square feet. The construction cost of this 45-acre site was $21 million. In the 1980s, the College Hills Mall and Eastland Mall provided Barisan Nasional shoppers with five major department stores and 117 smaller stores.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the entire shopping center closed its stores until it started selling in November 2003. Cullinan Properties Ltd. purchased the property, and Shoppes in College Hills today opened on August 17, 2005-almost 25 years after the original opening.

Double Nickel Drive-In is a "unique and exciting restaurant decorated in the 1950s" that opened in June 1988. Its name reflects its position on Business Loop 55.

The restaurant is located on Veterans Park Avenue and Morrissey Drive. It has two liftable windows and can accommodate 54 customers inside. It is built on the site of the original Streid restaurant and offers frozen eggs, ice cream, hamburgers, chicken, fish, etc.

Above: "3-year-old Ryan Chambers and 6-year-old Nicole Hilton didn’t know anything about the 50s, but the two dine in Double Nickel Drive-In in an all-50s style."

After adding food to the gas station’s gasoline, tires and overhead hamburger lineup, Gus Belt opened the first Steak'n Shake on Normal Avenue and Virginia Avenue (now home to Monical’s Pizza) .

This chain of restaurants was established in Twin Cities in 1934 and includes a sitting restaurant and a direct driveway.

Belt died in 1954, and his wife Edith ran the chain until 1969. Biglari Holdings Inc., the current owner of San Antonio, Texas, owns more than 500 Steak'n Shake restaurants in 27 states.

For a period of time, Bloomington was the North American headquarters of Eureka Co., which was later renamed Electrolux. From the 1940s to 2000, its vacuum cleaners and other products were produced in Bloomington-Normal.

Its history can be traced back to 1909, when Eureka Co. was established in Detroit. By 1927, the company sold a third of all vacuum cleaners in the United States

The company merged with Williams Oil-O-Matic, a Bloomington company that manufactured heating and cooling equipment in 1945, and became Eureka-WilliamsCorp.

In 1974, AB Electrolux acquired the company and then changed its name to EurekaCo. Over the years, the company has multiple offices in Bloomington, including E. Bell St. 1201, and its ultimate headquarters is at 807 N. Main. The name St. Eureka disappeared in 2004, when it was called Electrolux.

Sadly, after decades of becoming the main employer in the community, Electrolux completely eliminated Bloomington-Normal in 2011. Its final headquarters on Main Street was demolished this month.

In the summer of 1960, Normal became the location of the first Mr. Quick Drive-In. Drivein boasted a 15-cent "bigger, better, and tastier 100% pure government-inspected hamburger."

The last place of business of this restaurant chain in Bloomington has been closed and it went on sale in January 2001.

By the 20th century, Old Main had been the center of campus life. However, in 1946, out of concern for structural integrity, the dome and the entire third floor were demolished. Then a new roof was placed on the second floor. Although the state of the building has been reduced, the building continues to welcome students.

On July 17, 1958, the wreck was taken care of by the rest. Today, the old main monument can be found at the northern end of the ISU Quad with the bell of this beloved building. The Founders’ Day tradition requires members of the ISU community to venture out to the Quartet to participate in the award ceremony, in which the bell must be struck every year during the existence of the ISU.

The company moved there from another urban area in 1977. The hardware store closed in the summer of 1993, a victim of changes in the twin-city retail trend.

Gill Country Inn is located in 

Her husband Larry bought the restaurant from Larry's father Ron in March 1997. Ron has owned the restaurant for 13 years. There has been a restaurant in that place for 40 years. Gil's was originally opened in 1978 by Gil Morton.

Cotton's Village Inn is located at 401 North Street in downtown Bloomington.

The restaurant is owned by Melton and Millie McNabney under the names of Mr. Cotton and Mrs. Cotton, and has specialties such as ham bread, butter chicken pie, Swiss steak, date nut pudding And pecan pie. 

"Cotton's is a unique restaurant located in the basement of the northeast corner of Main and Monroe. You walk up the steps covering the outside (still there) to a small restaurant with whitewashed walls decorated with hand-painted ivy and Bavarian scenery.

The simple daily specials on the menu are squeezed onto a typed paper with humorous thoughts and proverbs on the edges. The owner, Cotton McNabney, may take you to a table in a semi-private closet (formerly coal bunker) under the sidewalk. Don't know when the door will open, but when Route 66 passes through the city, Cotton is there. Cotton closed around 1976. The reopening as Halfpenny's Village Inn did not last long. A unique place that attracts tourists. "

Pictured above is August 1962: Jack Stats, left, a native and art teacher in Bloomington, has been doing murals on the walls of Cotton's Village Inn since high school.

Once Sinorak ruled.

This is what they call smorgasbord (or unit price, unlimited cafeteria) on the southern edge of Bloomington. Pete Karonis owns it and named it after himself.

You may get roast beef, fried chicken, ham, pork chops, salad, steamed vegetables, chunks of watermelon, and a tablespoon of cottage cheese until your eyes are discolored. People are actually queuing to enter the parking lot just to go through these food lines and fill up with plates and bowls, in order to indulge, enjoy or enjoy this delicacy or pleasure. You can get what you want, and the price remains the same.

The picture shows the dining table. Diners serve themselves; lunch is from 11 am to 2:30 pm and the price is 95 cents, and dinner is from 5 to 9 pm and the price is 1.65 US dollars.

The FW Woolworth Company opened on March 1, 1918 in the Durley Building on the corner of Main and Jefferson Streets in downtown Bloomington. In 1939, a fire destroyed the Durley Building, causing damages estimated at $300,000.

In 1967, Woolworth left the city center for Eastland Mall, which occupies 30,000 square feet. The picture shows a "colonial" storefront in a shopping mall.

After serving as a tenant of Eastland Mall for 30 years, the Woolworth location in Bloomington was closed in 1997; after 118 years of operation, it is one of the brand’s remaining 400 five-corner stores nationwide.

In 1922, Edward C. Biasi opened a shop in the northeast corner of Court Square. For the next 62 years, Biasi's was a fixture on the first floor of the six-story Griesheim building, which Biasi said was "probably the best commercial location in Bloomington."

Although Edward C. Biasi died in June 1963 at the age of 71, the business still received attention as Biasi's drugstore company developed. In 1973, pharmacists John L. "Jack" Ingold (John L. "Jack" Ingold) and Steven Richter (Steven Richter) bought the drugstore, although Ingold has been here since 1958 Worked, where he will be the sole owner. 

The disaster occurred in late August 1984, when the Grisheim Building was lost in the most spectacular fire in the recent history of the Twin Cities.

The fire proved Ingold's total loss, although with the help of John McGinnis, he opened a temporary business location at 413 N. Main St, a primary color wheel store. To its credit, Ingold (died in 2012) has never accepted moving his store to the vast east side of the city.

In mid-October 1984, less than two months after the fire broke out, Biasi returned to the east side of the Court Square and now returns to the Unity Building, which is an equally impressive multi-storey professional building located at the southern end of the block. Incredibly, less than four years later, on July 3, 1988, a fire destroyed the Unity Building. The next day, Ingold was shocked and said: "Lightning did strike twice."

Biasi reopened on the south side of the Court Square that month, and in November 1990, moved the pharmacy into the newly constructed Snyder building, which replaced the Griesheim and Unity buildings and the sandwiched building between 200 buildings. Building. North Main Street. After three-quarters of a century in downtown Bloomington, Biasi closed permanently on January 18, 1997.

When the General Electric factory opened in 1955, it employed more than 1,000 workers. It was in the eastern part of rural Bloomington at the time as part of the post-World War II movement that moved factories away from the inner city core to a more prosperous suburban environment.

In response to the economic slowdown and the casualties caused by the transition, General Electric Department of Consumer and Industry officials announced in 2009 that they planned to close the Bloomington plant by the end of 2010. Although the closure of the factory in October 2010 may not shock companies associated with General Electric, the loss is still mourning.

This 56-year-old factory employs 1,600 people at a time, expanding Bloomington to the east. It was also one of the first high-paying local companies that hired white workers alongside their white counterparts.

In 2012, Destihl converted the old warehouse of General Electric into a brewery, thereby increasing the output of many beer varieties. year 2011

Livingston Department Store on the south side of the square can be said to be the premier shopping store in the city in the 1960s. Roland's women's store on the north side of the square followed closely, perhaps the first impression of women.

The company was founded in March 1866 by Sam and Aaron Livingston, and the original name was McLean County Dry Goods Store. It is located in the middle of the 100th block on West Washington Street (south side of Court Plaza) and has been in existence for 113 years.

Livingston has a built-up area of ​​42,350 square feet, making it one of the larger department stores in outlying areas of Illinois. Today, by comparison, some Wal-Mart super centers have an area of ​​223,000 square feet. In 1946, Livingston excavated a complete basement to house the household appliances department and fur storage, thereby adding another floor.

By the 1970s, downtown Bloomington had begun to decline. Sears and JC Penney's left the city in the 1960s for Eastland Mall, Montgomery Ward later moved to College Hills to shop around 1980 center. Roland moved to the brave veteran Broadway New World, but closed permanently in the late 1980s. Local department stores and clothing stores have found that it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to compete with the huge economies of scale between Sears and other retail giants.

Livingston has never been out of the city. Although about $100,000 was spent on refurbishment and increased promotions, sales were disappointing, and Livingston closed on January 31, 1979. The store held a mandatory "closed-out" sale in the last week, providing store fixtures, mannequins ("wholes and parts"), cash registers and hangers.

Pictured: The Phoenix Hall is located on the south side of McLean County Courthouse Square and can be seen in this 1860 print (the hall spans the seven uppermost windows on the left). In 1917, Livingston was razed to the ground, 5 of the 7 buildings of the Greek Revival era (including the two Phoenix Halls) were razed to the ground, making it a modern department store road. Today, Michael's Restaurant occupies the street level of the building.

Over the years, new restaurants have come here. The property is also home to Oriental Buffet & Grill, Prescott's and Wildcat Brewery Co.. 

In 2004, the buildings of 305 N. Veterans Parkway were razed to the ground. Today's location is three restaurants: Noodles & Co., Chipotle Mexican Grill and Meat Heads.

The picture shows Edward Kruse, manager of the Bombay Bicycle Club in August 1991.

The Red Lion Inn was the number one live music club in downtown Bloomington in the 1970s, when the brick venue on the corner of the market and Center Street was at the pinnacle of nightlife dominance.

Here, the "regular" list includes names like REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick and Head East (heard of them before in other parts of the country). Bloomington Base is the second of the three roaring lions in northern Illinois, the first in Champaign, and the last in DeKalb.

Red Lion Inn opened on February 4, 1971, when the still-rising REO Speedwagon made its debut. 

In order to obtain a liquor license for seven nights a week, the establishment must be a member club. The staff took out a card and a lifetime membership fee of $1. At one point, there were approximately 18,000 members.

In March 1980, all three Red Lion Inns closed. In October of that year, Bloomington's location became a new, short-lived club called Off Center. Today, the property is the location of the McLean County Human Services Center.

metropolis

 Two decades of operation ended in 1993.

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The police said: "The investigation showed that the shooting was an isolated incident." "Other information indicates that the shooting originated from a dispute between the victim and the arrested person before the incident."

The 24-year-old Sydney Mays (Sydney Mays Jr.) of Bloomington, 22 years old Nate Pena (Nate Pena) and Corey Jackson (Corey Jackson) and 33-year-old Juan Carlos Perez (Juan Carlos Perez) faced murder for murder. He also faces charges of attempted murder of Pena's 4-year-old son. The Riley Avenue apartment in Bloomington was paralyzed by an accident.

41-year-old Michael Bakana was accused of killing 22-year-old Mariah C. Petracca in Bloomington and seriously injured another who has not yet been released. Women.

The head of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce said on Monday that the state’s further relaxation of COVID restrictions is a victory for business owners, despite concerns about keeping the infection rate low.

School administrators in central Illinois are concerned about the impact of the increased graduation requirements in the recently passed Education Act on the ability of students and their areas to meet the requirements.

A soundbar, mixer, jewelry, designer clothing and other items were allegedly stolen at various times and subsequently appeared on Facebook Marketplace.

District officials announced on Monday that pupils at No. 5 Elementary School in McLean County would personally return to the school five days a week.

Saturday night from 6 pm to midnight will be the window with the most precipitation in the region.

An Indiana man was kept in McLean County Jail on charges of sexual assault.

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