Mayor Lightfoot Says City Will 'Cautiously' Reopen In Early June

CHICAGO — You will be able to get a hair cut, manicure and a tattoo, check out a library book, go back to the office and dine alfresco in Chicago in early June, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday.

Lightfoot didn't set a date for the easing restrictions as the city transitions into Phase 3 of her plan to gradually reopen the city.

“Given their trajectory over these last few weeks, I am pleased to announce that we are preparing for Chicago take the first step in early June. We don’t have a crystal ball, but we are looking daily at the data. ... The best I can say right now is we’re hoping, and we believe it will be, in early June," Lightfoot said. "[It] may be frustrating, but it’s just a little time. I know we can do this, but we have to be smart and careful.”

The reopening plan for "hopefully the single digits" of June doesn't include the lakefront and adjacent parks, which Lightfoot shut down in March after crowds of people continued to gather there despite the statewide stay-at-home order. The mayor said the lakefront and beaches will open sometime this summer but only when public health experts determine a safe way to do so.

When Lightfoot gives the word, the following industries will be allowed to reopen with capacity restrictions including childcare centers and in-home daycare, parks not located on the lakefront, libraries, office-based jobs, professional and real estate services, hotels and lodging, non-essential retail stores, personal services, and restaurant and coffee houses that offer outdoor dining.

Golf courses and some boating not located on the lake will be allowed to open. But the party boat gathering spot near Navy Pier known as the "Playpen" will remain off limits.

“Sorry, folks, the Playpen is not gonna be open this summer,” Lightfoot said.

The mayor said she hopes to find a way to allow restaurants to open with some indoor seating, but that requires coming to a deal with Gov. J.B. Prtizker's administration. Under the state's phased re-opening plan restaurants are only allowed to open with outdoor dining.

Lightfoot said Chicago's financial fragile restaurants need more flexibility than what the state plan offers.

“No restaurant I know of is going to be able to survive dependent upon what the weather is going to be like on a particular day in Chicago. I think having the opportunity to do it and dine alfresco on a larger scale, which is what we certainly are talking about, is important," the mayor said. "But they also need to be able to be inside as well, or economically I don’t think the numbers work.”

Later in June, city officials said, summer programs and youth activities, religious services, gyms, limited-capacity outdoor performances, museums and the lakefront are expected to reopen.

Schools, playgrounds, bars and lounges, and large venues, including stadiums, indoor theaters, music venues and convention centers, will remain closed.

Lightfoot said a decision on whether to allow Lollapalooza and other major music festivals to go on as planned will be announced next week.

Decisions on easing further restrictions will be based on public health metrics that seem to be trending in the right direction, city public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.

“While we’re not out of the woods yet, and we all still need to take proper precautions, it’s clear the stay-at-home order and all the social distancing we’ve been doing has been working," she said. "We’ve prevented the health system from becoming overwhelmed and saved lives, and we should all be thankful and proud of that fact.”