The City of Chicago will not be issuing permits for block parties through the end of the month as the coronavirus pandemic continues, officials said Tuesday.
No permits will be issued through May 31 in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as local and state officials against any gatherings larger than 10 people, a Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman said in a statement.
"Plans for summer programming and events, including block parties, remain under discussion, and CDOT will continue to work closely with the Mayor's Office and Public Health officials both locally and at the State level to adopt protocols based on the recommendations and guidance provided to keep our residents safe," the statement continued.
Illinois remains under a stay-at-home order prohibiting all gatherings not deemed to be essential through the end of the month. Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled last week a five-phase, region-by-region reopening plan to allows parts of the state to gradually reopen some businesses with restrictions, as the areas meet certain metrics.
According to the guidelines set forth by Pritzker’s administration, the four regions of the state must have a positivity rate of lower than 20 percent for a period of 14 days, and must not rise more than 10 percent during that time.
Three of the four regions in Illinois are on track to move to the third phase on May 29. The Northeast region that contains Chicago is not, with a positivity rate over 22 percent.
But even in phase three, only gatherings of 10 people or fewer will be allowed. That limit increases to 50-person gatherings in phase four.
