A new vaccine lottery in Illinois will offer a total of $10 million in total prize money to residents who get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday. NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern reports.
A new vaccine lottery in Illinois will offer a total of $10 million in total prize money to residents who get vaccinated against COVID-19.
And as federal health officials issue new warnings about the coronavirus delta variant, Gov. J.B. Pritzker revealed what concerns him most about the new strain.
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:
Illinois Offering $10M in Lottery for Residents Who Get COVID Vaccine
A new vaccine lottery in Illinois will offer a total of $10 million in total prize money to residents who get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday.
The "All In for the Win" lottery will give out the $10 million in the form of $7 million in cash prizes for adults and $3 million in scholarships for youth, all distributed through weekly drawings, Pritzker said.
The Illinois Lottery will draw names each week beginning July 8, Pritzker said. The cash prizes will range from $100,000 to $1 million, he said, while children can win a Bright Start college savings plan worth $150,000 apiece.
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Anyone who gets at least one vaccine dose in Illinois is eligible to win, Pritzker said, noting there are "no sign-up, no forms, no waiting in line" and that anyone who gets their first dose before July 1 will be eligible for the first drawing on July 8 and every drawing thereafter.
"You did your part already, and this is a way of saying thank you," Pritzker said. "It's also our way of saying to those who haven't yet been vaccinated: please join us. Vaccines are incredibly effective. And they keep you protected, but they also make your community safer."
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What Pritzker Says Concerns Him About the COVID Delta Variant
As federal health officials issue new warnings about the coronavirus delta variant, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker revealed what concerns him most about the new strain: that children under 12 cannot yet get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"What I'm concerned about is that we don't yet have a vaccine for kids under 12 years old, and the delta variant seems to have been predominant among people who are unvaccinated," Pritzker said when asked about the variant at an unrelated news conference.
"And so those kids are who I'm focused on," he continued, adding, "25% of the cases I've now read, of the new cases of COVID, are coming from that age group, under 12, and so we're keeping a close eye on it. But so far anyway, it appears that the available vaccines are resistant to the delta variant."
64 Cases of COVID-19 Delta Variant Reported in Illinois So Far, Health Officials Say
At least 64 cases of COVID-19 in Illinois have been identified as the delta variant, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, as officials issue new warnings about the rapidly spreading strain.
As of Thursday, those 64 cases of the delta variant in Illinois are out of a total of 9,437 COVID-19 cases in the state that have been identified as one of the six known variants. Of those, a total of 6,313 in Illinois have been the alpha variant, while another 2,436 were identified as the gamma variant.
‘New and Reimagined' Taste of Chicago To-Go Returns in July
From July 7 through July 11, Taste of Chicago To-Go returns with free food, music and dance events across the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced.
The week-long summer event will include nearly 40 participating eateries, cooking demonstrations, "Community Eats" meals serving local nonprofit organizations and pop-up music performances at participating eateries citywide, featuring artists from the Chicago Band Roster, the statement said.
COVID Vaccines Come to “L” Stops Across Chicago, City Says
COVID-19 vaccination sites are expected to start popping up on Chicago's public buses and "L" stops to make vaccines more equitable to all areas of the city, health officials announced Thursday.
From 3 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays, vaccines will be available at the following "L" stops:
- 95th/Dan Ryan station: Red Line
- Belmont station: Blue Line
- 35th/Archer station: Orange Line
- 63rd/Ashland station: Green Line
- Kedzie station: Pink Line
From 3 to 6:30 p.m. Fridays, vaccine will be available at the following "L" stops:
- 95th/Dan Ryan station: Red Line
- Belmont station: Blue Line
- 35th/Archer station: Orange Line
- 63rd/Ashland station: Green Line
- Kedzie station: Pink Line
Lightfoot, Chicago Health Officials Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s Chicago Department of Public Health on Thursday declared racism a public health crisis, citing the 9.2-year life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans that has increased in the past 10 years.
"At almost every single point in our city's history, racism has taken a devastating toll on the health and wellbeing of our residents of color—especially those who are Black," Lightfoot said in a statement.
Chicago Bears to Allow 100% Capacity for Fans at 2021 Home Games
Just days after the state of Illinois moved into the final phase of its coronavirus reopening plan, the Chicago Bears announced Wednesday that they will allow 100% capacity for home games at Soldier Field this fall.
The Bears confirmed the news in a letter to season ticket holders, saying that they appreciate the patience of fans over the last 15 months.
“We are thankful and humbled by the unwavering passion you have shared with us,” Team President Ted Phillips said. “Once again, it’s time to enjoy Bears football in-person!”
The Bears did not have fans in the stands for any of their games during the 2020 season.
No States on Chicago's Travel Order for Second Consecutive Update
For the second consecutive time since Chicago's emergency travel order took effect in July, there are no states on the list requiring a quarantine or negative test for people coming to the city who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
All U.S. states and territories remain in the "yellow" tier of the travel order as of Tuesday, with fewer than 15 new cases per 100,000 residents per day, the Chicago Department of Public Health said.
Any states above that case rate would fall into the "orange" tier which requires a 10-day quarantine or negative test no earlier than 72 hours before arrival in Chicago for those who are not fully vaccinated.
As of Tuesday, no states in the Midwest were above 4.8 cases per day per 100,000 residents, CDPH said, releasing the following data showing how each state's case rate has fallen in the past two weeks:
| State | Cases per 100,000 on 6/1/2021 | Cases per 100,000 on 6/15/2021 |
| Indiana | 7.9 | 4.8 |
| Michigan | 7.9 | 2.6 |
| Illinois | 7.3 | 2.7 |
| Wisconsin | 4.3 | 1.8 |
| Iowa | 3.7 | 2.5 |
Chicago officials also noted that the city's daily case rate dropped "considerably," from 14.9 to 2.8, between May 7 through Tuesday.
More Evidence Suggests COVID-19 Was in Illinois by Christmas 2019
A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year is the latest and largest study to suggest that the new coronavirus popped up in the U.S. in December 2019 — weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials.
The analysis is not definitive, and some experts remain skeptical, but federal health officials are increasingly accepting a timeline in which small numbers of COVID-19 infections may have occurred in the U.S. before the world ever became aware of a dangerous new virus erupting in China.
The study, published Tuesday online by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, is by a team including researchers at the National Institutes of Health. They analyzed blood samples from more than 24,000 people across the country, collected in the first three months of 2020 as part of a long-term study called “All Of Us” that seeks to track 1 million Americans over years to study health.
The researchers looked for antibodies in the blood that are taken as evidence of coronavirus infection, and can be detected as early as two weeks after a person is first infected.
The researchers say seven of the nine study participants — three from Illinois, and one each from Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — were infected earlier than any COVID-19 case was originally reported in those states.
One of the Illinois cases was infected as early as Christmas Eve, said Keri Althoff, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the study's lead author.
