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Business leaders and politicians are talking up Chicago as the host city for the next Democratic National Convention in 2024

Chicago Moves into Full Reopening as COVID Restrictions Lifted

Chicago has moved to Phase 5 of Illinois’ phased reopening plan, the Lightfoot administration said Friday. “Due to the incredible progress we’ve made in our mission to stop the spread of COVID-19, I am thrilled to announce that we are able to safely transition into Phase 5 and become the first major city in the country to fully reopen,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

For businesses, Phase 5 means a broad lifting of COVID-19 restrictions across industries. For the first time since March 15, 2020, businesses can operate without capacity limits, mask mandates, social distancing, or the prohibition of specific business activities, although masks will still be required in certain settings. 

Many businesses will choose to keep certain regulations in place for the safety of their customers and employees, including requiring masks for all customers, and the city supports any business that makes this choice. 

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Mayor Lightfoot’s Office

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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