Chicago Auto Show Returns; City Hopes To Fully Reopen By July 4

CHICAGO — Conventions are coming back to Chicago, starting with the Chicago Auto Show, and the city hopes to fully reopen by July 4, state and city officials announced Tuesday morning.

"Spring is in the air here in Chicago, even if it's a little overcast outside, but what a great day it is," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference at McCormick Place. "We are here today because we are making an important step forward. A step away from the challenges of the pandemic and toward normalcy."

The governor said that progress was made possible only with the help of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The lifesaving power of vaccinations and the hard work by the people of our state have led us here," Pritzker continued. "In recent weeks, we have seen our statewide COVID case rates and hospitalizations flatten and begin to fall, demonstrating a surge far short of the one we saw over the fall and winter.

"To be clear, our fight against the virus isn't over yet, but things are getting better. And the excitement has been building for today's announcement — finally the return of our beloved Chicago Auto Show."

Calling it a "marquee event," Pritzker said the auto show — scheduled for July 15-19 — would support thousands of union jobs and attract "industry leaders, gear heads, inventors and curious residents alike."

Prior to the pandemic, McCormick Place supported more than 17,000 jobs, and Pritzker called its reopening a critical step to the state's economic recovery.

The auto show will take place both indoors and outdoors, and show organizers have worked with McCormick Place to make sure public health precautions are in place to keep attendees safe, the governor said.

Some of those precautions include:

• The event will be moved to Hall F in West Building with 470,000 square feet of indoor space and 100,000 square feet of outdoor space.
• Timed entrance windows and staggered entry will prevent congestion on the show floor and at arrival.
• Guests will be required to wear a face mask at all times.
• Sanitization stations will be available throughout the event.
• Contactless delivery will be available for tickets.
• Temperatures will be scanned at the door.
• A medical questionnaire must be filled out before entry will be allowed into the event.

As the first large event to be held in the state since the start of the pandemic began, the auto show will set the stage for the return of other big events in the coming months.

"Since 1901, the Chicago Auto Show has brought smiles and excitement to our city. So many of us have brought our families to the auto show. We've test driven cars here. We've looked at the future and imagined the fun of driving the next cool concept car," Pritzker said. "Well, the fun is back, and I, for one, can't wait."

During the height of the pandemic, McCormick Place was turned into an emergency hospital, but it was never needed, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during the news conference Tuesday.

"Just over a year ago, this space we're standing in looked incredibly different," Lightfoot said. "This facility that was here — built by union labor, funded by FEMA, supported by the state through IEMA, and staffed and managed by a group of volunteers — was incredible to behold."

The mayor said the facility was regarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the most professionally run alternative care site in the country — "no surprise," the mayor said, "because it was Chicago-made."

Lightfoot said the same kind of collaboration that built the FEMA site would also make the safe return of the auto show possible.

Lightfoot, who last week announced the city would loosen its Phase 4 COVID-19 restrictions, said the announcement of the Chicago Auto Show is part of a plan to safely and fully reopen the city. The new guidance from the city allows the United Center and other large indoor venues, including places of worship, to operate at 25 percent capacity.

"Our goal, ladies and gentlemen, is to be fully reopen by July 4," Lightfoot said.

The mayor and the governor asked unvaccinated residents to get the vaccine as soon as possible so the city can meet that deadline.

"We and I need you to continue to be on this journey with us, and that means getting vaccinated now, as soon as possible," the mayor said.

Illinois public health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike called the trends "encouraging," and said if they continue, the state is on track to enter Phase 5 of reopening in July, but she asked Illinois residents to be cautious as the state reopens.

"As more venues reopen, it is critical that we increase the number of people who are vaccinated," Ezike said. "Immunity is how we stop transmission of this virus, but we need greater community immunity, and that requires as many of us as possible getting vaccinated as soon as possible."

According to state health officials, 55 percent of Illinoisans 16 and older and 79 percent of those 65 and older have been vaccinated as of Tuesday.