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‘Are you sick?’ Chicago reporter backlashed into oblivion for targeting ice cream man who won’t wear a mask

May 8, 2020 | | Print Article

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A CBS Chicago anchor was raked over the coals for a piece of so-called journalism about a man “ignoring COVID-19 protocol.”

Investigative reporter and anchor at CBS 2 Chicago, Brad Edwards was lambasted and dubbed the “male Karen” for his report on an ice cream truck driver who was not practicing social distancing or wearing a protective mask while operating in one neighborhood.

“During a pandemic, social distance is the rule. Getting close to the ice cream man could also mean getting something else,” Edwards said in his report Wednesday, saying the “enticement ” for children is “not only unsafe, but illegal.”

Edwards got all the heat on social media for the report, which noted that the Hoffman Estates village manager advised residents to call 911 if they saw the ice cream man. But it was actually CBS 2 Assignment Editor Greg Kelly who provided the video – and had the confrontation with the driver of the truck.

“Yet Mr. Freeze – not his name – was right there in his truck of treats, unmasked and ungloved as he took cash for cones in the northwest suburbs Wednesday afternoon,” Edwards reported.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to be doing this with the stay at home order? COVID-19,” Kelly asked the ice cream man when he stopped him.

“Why aren’t you wearing a mask?” he pressed.

“Why are you trying to take ice cream out of the hands of children? Are you sick?” the driver asked.

“No, and I want to stay that way,” Kelly replied.

“I’m not sick either. Why are they quarantining healthy people?” the ice cream truck driver said. “There’s not any law.”

But Edwards noted that there is, in fact, a law, showing a clip of  Gov. JB Pritzker saying, “At this time, face coverings are required in public situations where social distancing cannot be maintained.”

Kelly continued to harass the ice cream truck driver, informing him that the permit he said he had was issued before the stay-at-home order.

“I can’t understand what you’re saying. Back up and remove the mask,” the driver said.

“I’m not removing the mask,” Kelly shot back.

Edwards concluded his report by telling viewers that ice cream trucks in the particular community “are banned and have been for years.”

It took no time for Edwards to share the report on Twitter, and for the floodgates of criticism to open.

Edwards made an attempt to respond when confronted by one Twitter user.

But there was no holding back the condemnation.

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Frieda Powers
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