City Of Chicago COVID-19 Spending Update -- $10 Million And Counting

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Between emergency housing, personal protective equipment, and various other costs, the City of Chicago has now spent at least $10 million in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chicago paid $35,570 to help secure novel coronavirus short-term housing and/or a quarantine facility to a vendor named Bravo 422 LLC on Feb. 10, 2020.

In all, five payments were made to that vendor through April 2, 2020 according to new spending records obtained by the CBS 2 Investigators.

Those records also show nearly $2 million was paid to five downtown hotels and the YMCA to rent rooms intended for first responders, healthcare workers, COVID-19 Patients, and the homeless.

The city gave another nearly $900,000 to A Safe Haven, another organization providing shelter for the homeless. That expense was described as providing isolation and/or emergency shelter related to the viral pandemic.

As for personal protective equipment (PPE), records show the city paid $1.75 million to two companies for face masks and shields, including associated shipping costs, between March 17, 2020 and the end of April.

Recently, on May 8, the city awarded contracts to three more companies totaling more than $2 million to supply reusable cloth face masks. Chicago wrote checks for another $500,000 for gloves, gowns and other unspecified PPE.

Nearly another $500,000 was spent on other medical supplies including thermometers and test kits and at least $200,000 on disinfectant and bleach.

The city gave the Family Independence Initiative $2 million for COVID-related housing assistance grants. That money came from the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund, which is funded by fees levied on developers. The grants were
announced in late March, intended to give $1,000 to 2,000 people to help cover rent and mortgage costs, especially low-income Chicagoans and those who have lost jobs during the pandemic.

The city spent just over $11,000 to nine restaurants and catering businesses to provide food for first responders.

Adding up checks already written and cashed, along with new contracts awarded, the total has climbed to least $10 million. As the CBS 2 Investigators previously reported, the costs, including all of those associated with setting up McCormick Place and other alternate care facilities, are expected to reach $100 million by the
end of July.

City officials say they expect all COVID-related expenses to be reimbursed by
federal money.