Des Plaines ZIP codes show higher COVID-19 numbers, but city says they're not all in town

State data on confirmed COVID-19 cases show particularly high numbers in two ZIP codes serving Des Plaines when compared to those of surrounding suburbs.

These numbers caused 45 concerned residents to call in questions to the normally much quieter public comment period of Monday's city council meeting, Des Plaines Police Chief Bill Kushner said.

As of Friday, there were 416 confirmed COVID-19 cases in ZIP code 60016 that includes an unincorporated area to the east of Des Plaines. That's more than twice as many as other ZIP codes in the area. And there were 154 cases in ZIP code 60018 that includes unincorporated areas to the south near Rosemont.

At the meeting, city officials discussed the questions they'd posed to the Cook County Department of Public Health about the case numbers being attributed to "Des Plaines" that they said just didn't sound right to them.

But only that morning, the county health department said ZIP codes and not municipal borders were the method used to divide up cases, Des Plaines officials said.

Then as now, they believe the densely populated unincorporated areas to the east and south of Des Plaines have contributed to the ZIP codes' high numbers, Kushner said.

While that didn't render the numbers unimportant to Des Plaines leaders in their discussion Monday, they said it did indicate a limit to their ability to influence them. For instance, in unincorporated areas they are not able to enforce their requirement that people wear face coverings for all public interactions, which took effect Friday.

The Daily Herald asked the Cook County Department of Public Health if it had looked into the Des Plaines area numbers and how the numbers affect the county's outreach, testing and deployment of resources.

Department spokeswoman Kimberley Conrad-Junius would say only that while Des Plaines has more cases than many other municipalities, it is not the highest in terms of total cases or rates. Des Plaines' rate of infection is 936 per 100,000 people.

"Des Plaines cases are not rising faster than other areas," she said. "We are seeing more cases everywhere."

The Illinois Department of Public Health did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Kushner said the numbers could create the appearance that the city is not doing as much as its neighbors to curb the spread of COVID-19. "I think it's misleading to the general public," Kushner said of the numbers.

Case counts by ZIP code

Number of COVID-19 cases in a sampling of suburban ZIP codes and their base towns:

60016 (Des Plaines)<span title="charref:8"></span>416

60714 (Niles)<span title="charref:8"></span>224

60056 (Mt. Prospect)<span title="charref:8"></span>180

60025 (Glenview)<span title="charref:8"></span>163

60090 (Wheeling)<span title="charref:8"></span>158

60018 (Rosemont)<span title="charref:8"></span>154

60068 (Park Ridge)<span title="charref:8"></span>124

60053 (Morton Grove)<span title="charref:8"></span>115

60005 (Arlington Hts.)<span title="charref:8"></span>51

60007 (Elk Grove)<span title="charref:8"></span>73

60193 (Schaumburg)<span title="charref:8"></span>68

60133 (Hanover Park)<span title="charref:8"></span>144

60107 (Streamwood)<span title="charref:8"></span>139

60188 (Carol Stream)<span title="charref:8"></span>142

60505 (Aurora)<span title="charref:8"></span>212

60506 (Aurora)<span title="charref:8"></span>170

Source: Illinois Department of Public Health.

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