Mayor Lori Lightfoot opened the door Wednesday to a more traditional summer in Chicago, saying the city is doing well in its fight against the coronavirus while highlighting the relative safety of outdoor activities.
“I believe that the summer of 2021 is going to look more like 2019 and less like 2020, but we’ve got to be driven by and led by what the science and the public health guidance tells us,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference.
Asked about Taste of Chicago and Air and Water Show, Lightfoot said it’s premature to say specifically what events will be allowed. And she warned the city’s progress could easily fall if residents aren’t still diligent and that would derail Chicago’s summer plans.
Lightfoot declined to predict the fate of “specific events,” such as Taste of Chicago or the Air and Water Show, but said she’s “very optimistic” about summer activities in general.
“It doesn’t mean people are going to come and flock back en masse, but we know so much more about this virus, how it spreads, than we did a year ago,” Lightfoot said. “We know in particular about outside events that we can manage these in a safe way that’s consistent with public health guidance.”
The city canceled summer activities such as the Taste of Chicago last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, choosing instead to do virtual versions to prevent crowds.
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Lightfoot spoke hours after a City Council committee advanced the city’s 2021 special events ordinance.
While the annual measure grants the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events the authority to administer summer festivals such as Blues Fest, Taste of Chicago and smaller neighborhood events by hiring vendors, selling tickets and signing contracts without needing to repeatedly seek council approval, its passage by the full council later this month would not mean the city necessarily planned to hold the full slate of signature summer celebrations.
Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly reminded aldermen during the hearing on the proposal that the city has earmarked money this year for neither Taste of Chicago nor the Air and Water Show. While they haven’t been canceled yet, the $9 million or so needed to run them isn’t part of his department’s budget.
Kelly said he wasn’t sure what kind of federal stimulus money his department might get to offset the pandemic loss of hotel taxes and other tourist-driven revenue sources it usually relies on for funding.
Announcements on Taste and the Air Show will be made in the “next couple weeks,” Kelly said.
