CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio) — Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said Chicago’s bars and its Lakefront Trail will be allowed to reopen, with restrictions, within days.
Bars and breweries will be able to serve drinkers outdoors beginning Wednesday (June 17), much like restaurants have already been allowed to provide meals on outdoor patios.
Patrons must be seated at tables that are six feet apart, with six people or fewer per table. The alcohol sales at bars and restaurants for on-site consumption must end at 11 p.m. each night; carryout or delivery must end at 9 p.m.
The 18-mile Lakefront Trail, which Lightfoot ordered closed earlier this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, will be reopened on June 22. People will be required to keep moving -- by walking, bicycling or jogging -- and the trail will be open 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. “Social Distancing Ambassadors” will be on hand to remind people to keep their distance.
"Ambassadors will actively engage park patrons providing guidance on appropriate social distancing, the importance of face coverings as well as other health and safety guidelines," the mayor's news release said.
Beaches and parks east of Lake Shore Drive will remain closed.
“We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars back online with outside service, and, of course, taking our first, cautious move toward reopening our beloved lakefront,” Lightfoot said in a news release.