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Daywatch: Indoor masking returns for Cook County, Cubs trade Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees and will Lollapalooza’s contract with Chicago be renewed?

chicago tribune staff, chicago tribune
·4 min read

Good morning, Chicago.

Today brings the second day of Lollapalooza and we’re not even half over yet. This has already been a Lollapalooza where the news of the fest itself has been bigger than the bands — in the days leading up to this weekend, rising COVID-19 cases have cast a shadow over Chicago like a storm front even as hundreds of thousands of concertgoers have converged on downtown.

Once inside the gates, though, it’s hard not to feel the sun come out, at least a little bit. Our team from different parts of the newsroom, lead by A+E, will be writing, tweeting and photographing from Lollapalooza in Grant Park through Sunday. Thursday was a smooth first day, at least in terms of getting crowds inside with their health screenings in order (though the festival reports some 600 concertgoers without a vaccine record or COVID-19-free test were turned away). Friday’s headliners will be Marshmello and Tyler, the Creator.

It’s true, most fans are without masks around the stages and the food tents in Chow Town (don’t miss the full report from Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger), and crowds seem to be happily packing together in ways that suggest socially distancing was all from another time. It feels like a massive music festival in Chicago.

— Doug George, A+E editor

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As Lollapalooza begins, Cook County added to indoor masking advisory for ‘substantial’ COVID-19 spread; Illinois mandates masks in all state buildings

Hours after Lollapalooza got underway Thursday, Cook County was added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of areas experiencing “substantial” COVID-19 transmission.

Citing that development, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker later Thursday announced a new mask requirement for everyone in state-run facilities, including those who are vaccinated, starting immediately.

Cook now joins DuPage, McHenry and Will counties in the Chicago area, and 80 others statewide, in meeting the threshold where masks are recommended for everyone indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

Chicago Cubs trade Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees for 2 prospects: ‘All good things come to an end,’ the first baseman says

Anthony Rizzo was in the Chicago Cubs parking lot Thursday afternoon when he found out he had been traded to the New York Yankees. After saying his goodbyes to teammates and friends in the clubhouse, he came out to the field with his family and dog Kevin for one last romp around Wrigley Field.

Rizzo told a small group of reporters afterward that he was fortunate to go to “the No. 1 sports franchise in the world” and wanted Cubs fans to know he “loved” them.

  • Chicago White Sox address two needs — and get set for the stretch run — by acquiring second baseman César Hernández and relief pitcher Ryan Tepera in separate trades

Chicago will get elected school board after Illinois governor signs long-sought measure over opposition from Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Chicago voters will elect their full school board beginning in 2026 under a measure Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Thursday, fulfilling a campaign pledge and delivering a political defeat to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

After supporting an elected school board during her 2019 mayoral campaign, Lightfoot, who currently appoints the board’s seven members, backtracked and pushed for a hybrid panel. But state lawmakers rebuked the mayor during their overtime session in June, approving a transition to a fully elected board over her objections.

No ransom paid, but hacker attack costs Illinois AG office more than $2.5 million, says Kwame Raoul

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said he has spent more than $2.5 million in crisis management after a massive ransomware hack crippled the agency in April and potentially exposed gigabytes of personal and confidential records on the dark web.

The taxpayer money is being used to rebuild computer systems, notify individuals their personal information may be at risk and get the office fully back online following the April 10 attack, carried out under a name linked to a notorious gang of cybercriminals based in Russia.

Lollapalooza’s contract with Chicago is set to expire. Will it be renewed?

When the Foo Fighters finish their set on the main stage at Lollapalooza on Sunday night in Grant Park, it will mark the end of the final festival under a 10-year contract between promoter C3 Presents and the Chicago Park District.

Typically, at the end of the raucous four-day, eight-stage, 400,000-person production at Grant Park, Lollapalooza organizers announce the dates for next year’s festival. It’s unclear whether that will happen this year as the contract between the festival and the city is set to expire at the end of the year.