Good morning, Chicago.
Yesterday Illinois health officials reported that there have been 26 outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools across the state. The clusters of cases — several of which are in schools in Chicago’s suburbs — come weeks after students returned to the classroom for in-person learning.
A report from the CDC also revealed that a central Illinois church camp and conference held in June led to 180 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including among 29 people who were fully vaccinated.
And in city news, Chicago officials announced updates to the travel advisory, which now includes all but one state. Here is the list.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
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Chicago’s travel advisory has expanded to the rest of the U.S. except for one state, and the city is now recommending more stringent quarantine and testing for unvaccinated people starting this week.
Previously, precautions for unvaccinated travelers coming to the city included either quarantining for 10 days or testing negative no more than 72 hours before arrival. But now, the city will recommend unvaccinated travelers get tested twice: three to five days before traveling, and three to five days after traveling.
Illinois House Democrats used their supermajority Tuesday to push through revised boundaries for the state’s 177 legislative districts aimed at ensuring their control of the General Assembly through the end of the decade.
The maps, redrawn following the release of hard census data earlier in August, continue to face lawsuits contesting their fairness in representing minority populations and communities with like interests.
For weeks, Army veteran Chris McClanathan has worked tirelessly to help his former interpreter escape Afghanistan before the U.S. officially withdrew and the Taliban took over.
But as the final military plane took off Tuesday, the interpreter — a gregarious 30-year-old man named Romal — remained in hiding in the Kabul area with his wife and mother. The United States, without question, had broken its promise to give Romal and his family safe passage in exchange for his decade-long service to the American cause. McClanathan intends to uphold the deal anyway.
Biden defends decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan: ‘I was not going to extend this forever war’
‘These people will arrive with trauma.’ How Chicago groups are helping to welcome Afghan refugees.
The Chicago Bears’ first 53-man roster is set. Here’s the position-by-position breakdown.
The Chicago Bears set their 53-man roster Tuesday as they prepare for the season opener Sept. 12 against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. They can adjust the roster in the coming days with waiver claims and free-agent signings and they also will sign players to a 16-man practice squad.
For now, here’s the Bears roster, a positional breakdown of how it formed Tuesday and analysis of the moves.
In a surprise move, Half Acre announced Monday it will reopen the taproom at its original Lincoln Avenue facility for 12 days in September before handing the keys to the location’s new owner.
Such a move had seemed unlikely for several reasons, including the space being shuttered since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Half Acre closing the adjoining shop last month. But Half Acre co-founder Gabriel Magliaro said he wanted to find a way to open the taproom for “one final embrace with the whole thing.”
