Mayor Lightfoot Announces Launch Of "Open Chicago"
Open Chicago is the latest initiative to safely reopen the city
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced the launch of Open Chicago, the latest initiative to safely and fully reopen the city. Open Chicago’s initial programming will feature activated, re-imagined, and pop-up spaces for Chicago residents to enjoy. These spaces will either build on ongoing Chicago traditions, are expanded from programs that launched last year, or are new programs specifically crafted to get the City back into a new normal.
The initiative’s mission centers on communicating Chicago’s safe reopening strategy, which allows for the reopening of public amenities and private venues, activating public spaces with arts, culture, and recreation, expanding outdoor dining, and ensuring businesses can return to offices and in-person events.
Under the new Phase Four Regulations, most Chicago industries will have the ability to increase capacity effective immediately, including the following changes:
Restaurants and bars: Indoor capacity can increase to the lesser of 50% or 100 people.
Spectator events, theater, and performing arts: Large indoor venues, including the United Center, can now operate at 25% capacity.
Meetings, conferences, and conventions: Large indoor venues can now operate at the lesser of 25% or 250 people.
Places of worship: Large indoor venues can now operate at 25% capacity.
Festivals and general admission outdoor spectator events: Operate at 15 people per 1,000 sq. ft.
Flea and farmers markets: Operate at 25% capacity or 15 people per 1,000 sq. Ft.
While COVID-19 capacity restrictions are beginning to loosen across industries, other regulations remain in place to keep patrons and employees safe, including the requirement to maintain six feet of social distancing and remove face coverings only in limited circumstances. Additional regulations will ease across industries once we reach the Chicago Bridge Phase, including expanding operating hours for restaurants and bars. The full reopening guidelines can be found at Chicago.gov/reopening.
In addition, effective immediately, guests that are fully vaccinated – defined as 14 days after receiving their final vaccine dose – will not count towards capacity limits at private events such as weddings. Events must be at a licensed business, they cannot be open to the public, and guests must RSVP prior to the event. Business owners will be responsible for verifying that exempted guests are fully vaccinated and keep records. The City will consider expanding this exemption to other industries in the coming weeks, provided that our COVID-19 metrics continue to improve.
Open Parks
The relaunch of the 9th season of Night Out in the Parks this summer will feature more than 100 of Chicago’s talented artists and organizations performing in over 350 outdoor cultural arts events. This year’s experience will reconnect diverse audiences across all of Chicago’s 77 community areas with the arts and cultural landscape of the City. Movie screenings in 100 parks will kick off on July 6 at Oakdale Park in the Washington Heights community.
Open Streets
In order to support bars and restaurants and encourage outdoor dining, which continues to be the safest option, the City is creating a $2 million program using CDBG funding to provide businesses in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods with grants to support expanded outdoor dining and safe spaces for consumers.
In addition, the City is receiving $4 million in CDBG funding to support Plaza Streets and Shared Streets. Plaza Streets will convert excess pavement into usable community space for outdoor seating or programming by local community groups. It will also help improve the pedestrian experience and safety of these corridors.
The Shared Streets program, which closes local streets to through traffic, will be returning this year to provide people with more comfortable space to walk, bike and roll. The 2021 program will launch this Spring on Leland in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and will be expanded to other streets where there is community support.
As the city reopens to with more in-person activities for the summer, we urge residents to continue to be safe, social distance, wear their masks and get vaccinated. As of April 19, all Chicago residents over the age of 16 are eligible to be vaccinated and can schedule an appointment or learn more about the City’s vaccination efforts at chicago.gov/covid. You can also read this full press release here.