- Practice “social distancing” of at least 6 feet
- Wash your hands, often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- If you or a family member is sick, stay home and limit contact with others
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- Practice “social distancing” of at least 6 feet
- Wash your hands, often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- If you or a family member is sick, stay home and limit contact with others
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
The State of Illinois is in Phase 1a of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
- Suburban Cook County started to receive vaccine on December 16, 2020. All 15 hospitals in suburban Cook County have the vaccine and have started to vaccinate their healthcare personnel.
- Phase 1a is focused on healthcare personnel and long-term care facility staff and residents given their high risk of COVID-19 exposure. This phase includes licensed paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
- Frontline essential workers, like first responders who were not part of Phase 1a, teachers, and grocery workers, as well as people 65 years old or greater are part of Phase 1b.
- Local government workers who are not frontline essential workers, including elected officials, are in Phase 1c.
- The Illinois Department of Public Health is guiding local health departments and vaccine providers in Illinois from one phase to the next. Vaccine availability is a limiting factor as to how fast the changes between phases will occur.
- Planning is ongoing for vaccine distribution and timelines for groups beyond 1a. As the COVID vaccine continues to be distributed throughout Cook County, the Cook County Department of Public Health is surveying individuals qualified under Phase 1 who live or work in suburban Cook County, as well as other suburban Cook County residents to understand their interest in receiving the vaccine. The survey can be found at: https://redcap.dph.illinois.gov/surveys/?s=PP8PJNFHMW .
- The survey responses will be used to understand demand and build appropriate capacity to vaccinate. This is not a vaccine registry. It is a survey tool to assist in planning as additional vaccine is distributed. By completing the survey, individuals will be added to a list to receive updates on COVID-19 vaccine availability including the timing and scheduling.
- Information about additional phases of anticipated vaccine distribution is available on the Cook County Public Health website.
Executive Order #43 took effect on June 26, 2020 and supersedes Executive Order #38 which implemented Phase 3. An overview of Phase 4 can be found at here.
On April 15, 2020 Village of Morton Grove Mayor Dan DiMaria joined the US Surgeon General, the CDC and communities across the country by issuing an Executive Directive requesting that people wear a cloth face covering when they are in public settings, especially while shopping, using public transportation and in situations where social distancing is difficult. People need not wear a face covering when engaged in outdoor exercise such as walking, running, or biking, when riding alone in a personal vehicle, when alone or with household members in a separate single space, or when wearing a mask creates a health, safety or security risk.Recent studies have shown that people who are asymptomatic can spread COVID-19 more widely than previously thought. Wearing a cloth mask or other covering will help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and keep it from accelerating. Face coverings not only helps to reduce the risk that a healthy person can breathe the droplets in but also protects others around someone with mild symptoms who may not yet realize they have the illness.
Coverings can be made from several options most people probably already have at home. bandanas, fabric masks, neck gaiters, or even a triangle out of an old t-shirt. Fabric masks and bandanas can be washed and used again. However, please don't buy medical-grade N-95 masks, which are in short supply. Those should be saved for first responders.
In issuing this directive, Mayor DiMaria also reminded residents that wearing a mask is not a substitute for following social and physical distancing. “The best thing you can do for yourself, your family, our healthcare workers, first responders and those who must work is to stay safe at home. If you must leave home for essential work or shopping, please keep at least a double arm’s length distance from others. Social distancing is still the best way that we as a community can fight the COVID- 19 pandemic.”

All Illinoisans should wear as mask or face covering when they must leave their home or report to work for essential operations and they either cannot or it is impractical to maintain 6 feet of physical distance between themselves and others. Examples include:
- Shopping at essential businesses, like grocery stores or pharmacies,
- Picking up food from the drive thru or curbside pickup,
- While visiting your health care provider,
- Traveling on public transportation,
- Interacting with customers, clients, or coworkers at essential businesses,
- Performing essential services for state and local government agencies, such as laboratory testing, where close interactions with other people are unavoidable, and
- When feeling sick, coughing, or sneezing.
Executive Order #43 took effect on June 26, 2020 and supersedes Executive Order #38 which implemented Phase 3. An overview of Phase 4 can be found at here. All Village restaurants have been informed that they are allowed to continue their “Phase 3 Approved Outdoor Dining” until further notice. Phase 4 also includes the approval for indoor dining and drinking with limitations to occupancy and the size of dining parties. All Village liquor license holders have been informed of the Phase 4 guidelines. Guidelines for a particular phase can be altered based upon the Illinois Resurgence Mitigation Plan.
- Emphasize the words “Stimulus Check” or “Stimulus Payment.” The official term is economic impact payment.
- Ask the taxpayer to sign over their economic impact payment check to them.
- Ask by phone, email, text or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.
- Suggest that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer’s behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.
- Mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.
In an effort to reduce potential exposure to personnel, if you or someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, or is exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19, please bag your recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart. Please continue this practice until symptoms subside. If there are no signs of COVID-19 in your household, please continue to place your loose recyclables in your recycle cart.
Q&A – In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 via recyclables, please refer to the following list of questions and answers.
Q: What if I have COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Bag all recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart.
Q: What if someone in my household has COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Bag all recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart.
Q: When can I resume normal recycling if I have had COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Resume normal recycling when on one in your household shows signs or symptoms of COVID-19
Q: Can I still recycle if I don’t have signs of COVID-19?
A: Yes. Continue to place loose recyclables in your recycle cart.
As always, please refer to Groot’s list of approved items before placing them in your recycle cart. Now more than ever, “WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT”.
The below vendors* offer limited opportunities EXCLUSIVE to senior citizens:

*Please check with the particular location to verify days & times.
In addition, there are services available that will do your shopping for you and deliver the groceries to your home. As long as you have internet access, you may want to look here for on-line grocery shopping options. These are shopping & delivery services that use the local stores you direct them to. Of course, private services like this do charge a little extra for delivery.
View the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) website for a complete list.
The below vendors offer telephone ordering and delivery services (please verify w/ local vendor):
Osco
Credit Card over the phone
$7.99 - Next day deliveryWalgreens
Credit card over the phone
Before noon for same day delivery
No chargeCVS
Free delivery with care pass. Download app or fill out application in store
Although our senor programming at the Civic Center has been temporarily suspended, our older adult activity coordinator (Mather) continues to offer conversational and engagement opportunities through:
With Telephone Topics, you simply call a toll-free number to listen to a wide range of interesting discussions and programs. Click here for a current list of topics and dial-in instructions.
Wellness programs
Participate in live, guided chair yoga or meditation sessions to stretch your body or mind.
Education programs
Learn about history, healthy habits, architecture, and more—it’s easy to learn something new!
Discussion topics
Share a piece of your mind when you join a lively discussion on sports, movies, and other topics.
Music reviews
Listen and learn about opera, early rock ’n’ roll, and other musical genres that get your toes tapping.
Enjoy a live vocal performance or master storytelling session in the comfort of your own chair—with no cover charge!
Click here for current schedule.
Virtual Tours
Older adults staying at home may find the following virtual tours interesting:
Take a tour through a museum virtually: https://artsandculture.google.com/explore?hl=en and https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
Explore other virtual tours:
- Yellowstone National Park: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm
- Yosemite National Park: https://www.virtualyosemite.org/
- Great Wall of China: https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china
- Surface of Mars: https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
The Village of Morton Grove continues to provide and prioritize the delivery of essential services during this challenging time.
We hope this, as well as our future community communications, will help.