43 Comments - SSL - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:35 am: Breathe deep everyone, we’re gonna get through this. Based on some things I’ve seen, it was wise to have comments off yesterday. - AFSCMEWorker - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:40 am: I’m a non-essential employee at a state agency that has the ability to work from home. This morning I’ve heard my division manager yelling about how the Governor’s statements don’t contradict her directives because one of my co-workers chose to work from home today without prior authorization. I’ve been informed by the guard at our facility that individual agencies in our building are supposed to be screening visitors to our building, but apparently no one within my agency is aware that we’re responsible for our own screening. We don’t have any personal protection equipment, so I guess if they screen positive we’re just risking infection. I don’t know why I am here today. If they needed a day to get everything figured out they could have just asked non-essential employees to not report today and to look for future updates regarding when they would be asked to return to work. It’s been a pretty rough Monday so far, but at least the bathroom has toilet paper so we’ve got that going for us, which is nice. - Cheryl44 - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:40 am: I’m waiting to hear from a friend who flew into O’Hare yesterday from Lisbon. The last text I got yesterday was just ‘Lordy oh lordy’ right after she got off the plane. - Moe Berg - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:41 am: I’m fine, but beside myself at how much irresponsibility is out there from elected officials trying to gain some political advantage by saying this is no big deal and an overreaction. Just stunning ignorance that shows, in too many cases, we are led by morons. The biggest problem is the lack of leadership from the Trump administration, from which far too many are taking their cues. Thankfully, not Gov. Pritzker, who continues to impress with calm, steady and helpful briefings. - muon - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:42 am: In response to the severe shortage of election judges, I voted early on Saturday and signed up to be a judge tomorrow. - Bourbon Street - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:45 am: I’m feeling pretty well other than the headaches I get from slapping my forehead whenever I read about people who don’t seem to appreciate how dangerous this situation is and how the virus gets transmitted, e.g. Rep. Bailey, the partygoers in Wrigleyville, the Champaign Republican dinner-goers. Closer to home, there were posters on a local social media site complaining about our HOA Board’s decision to close the fitness room for two weeks—these folks wanted either the fitness room to stay open because they said they were willing to “assume the risk” of contracting the coronavirus or they wanted a refund of HOA fees for the inconvenience of losing access to an amenity. Sheesh. - Fixer - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:46 am: Frustrated with multiple things, but fine otherwise. How’re you holding up Rich? - JoanP - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:52 am: =people who don’t seem to appreciate how dangerous this situation is and how the virus gets transmitted= Oh, man, you said it. Devin Nunes says “it’s a great time, to go out to a local restaurant.” Idjit. And compare the Illinois Restaurant Association’s presence at Pritzker’s news conference yesterday with a restaurant group in D.C, which, responding to much less onerous restrictions, said “It is not our burden to bear nor is it our staffs burden to bear.” More idjits. - Retired Educator - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:53 am: I chipped a tooth Saturday evening. I went to the dentist this morning. Dentists are not allowed to do procedures for at least two weeks. I guess I get to walk around with a chipped front tooth. H=The dentist said, they are only allowed to do emergency procedures, and mine was cosmetic. We all have a lot to adapt to. Good Health to everyone. - JB13 - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:53 am: Look, I get it. I am staying home and encouraging others to do the same. But can we dispense with the “stiff upper lip” nonsense and recognize that a great many of our neighbors and friends are about to lose everything because of this, and they’re allowed to not be happy about it? - Thomas Paine - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:53 am: Slow and steady realization there just are not enough competent people to go around. Starting to here a lot of people use the excuse: “This is unprecedented.” “1918.” Also, there is a Venn Diagram of people who have access to international news and people who pay attention to international news. The former does not include many boomers, the latter does not include many Millennials. Survival rates for Gen-X look good. - Thomas Paine - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:57 am: @JB13 - Nope. “Stayng Alive” is the name of the game. If your bar went bankrupt, but you are still alive to complain about it in August, and your family survived as well, you are a winner. - Sangamo Girl - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:57 am: Feeling OK. The state got its act together and I am working from home now. I am not so much worred for me but all the medically fragile folks or their families at work. Remember “Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases “https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/images/hygiene/coughs_and_sneezes.jpg - yinn - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:00 am: I am extremely stressed due to my spouse having a job in the medical field, the primary election, and the poor decisions being made at the local level, including a retirement home being used as a polling place. (It’s not an IDPH-licensed facility so state lockdown rules don’t apply.) - 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:03 am: Okay. Waiting for older son to fly home from study abroad in Northern Ireland tomorrow, he has to go through Heathrow and then to the mess than is ORD. Hoping they have their act together before he arrives, but have counseled him to try to get some rest on the plane and make sure to eat before landing, and try meditating while standing in line for hours. - Archpundit - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:06 am: Doing pretty well. Daughter had been in Chicago and got back last night (don’t get me started). She has a cough so we are monitoring her, but given age and everything else we are not too worried about her, but she’s self-quarantining. - JS Mill - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:08 am: Schools close tomorrow, they are supposed to be closed for two weeks. If you are a parent that has younger kids that need day-care please plan for longer than the two weeks. I believe the closure will be more like 4 weeks and as long as 8 based on what the CDC was recommending. - Pundent - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:18 am: I’m encouraged by what is occurring on other countries particularly those that now seem to be on top of this or on the other side of it. One thing is clear, we didn’t take this seriously enough and the efforts out of Washington to downplay the impact of this have certainly made things worse. It saddened me to see the party goers on St. Patrick’s Day and the spring breakers completely disregarding the health and well-being of our population. This is not going away this week or the next. But we will get through this and recover. - Flapdoodle - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:20 am: The wife, an administrator at a private college, is showing signs of stress fatigue as they deal with getting students relocated with as little disruption as possible. A mid-state local government entity with which I’m involved is making ongoing adjustments to stay even with changing circumstances. Our people are doing a good job and are in good spirits. There’s currently no open thread on CapFax, so I’ll say this here: Rich Miller is what journalism is, or should be, all about. His commitment to getting accurate, timely information out on this blog has made it much easier for many of us to cope with these extraordinary circumstances. All I can say is Wow, Rich, and thank you so much (banned punctuation). - Thomas Paine - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:21 am: Yinn - Having family in the health care field is extremely stressful. It makes me furious at all of the revellers packing bars and restaurants which will force overcrowded health facilities and stretch people like your spouse beyond comprehensible limits. Let us know if there is something tangible that can be done to support the families of practitioners through this time. - City Zen - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:33 am: ==Survival rates for Gen-X look good== Finally, our moment to shine. https://www.themarysue.com/in-this-time-of-panic-we-look-to-generation-x-for-inspiration/ - Downstate - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:34 am: Rich, A critical part of immunity, is exercise. It’s important to remind people that, even though they are in their home, they need to consider doubling down on their exercise. This is not a snow storm. Staying inside (without exercise) reduces your body’s defenses should you come in contact with the virus. Figure out something to get your heart pumping for 30 minutes. It will get your white bloods cells circulating more rapidly. - Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:36 am: One of my friends is starting a state job today. I can’t wait to hear how that went. - Flapdoodle - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:38 am: @ Downstate You are correct about exercise and getting the heart pumping. I find following the comments & inaction of some elected leaders an excellent way to do that. /s - Grandson of Man - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:39 am: Thanks, Rich, for the phenomenal job you’re doing to keep people informed. Holding up well so far, with folks having their hand sanitizers, alcohol, bleach wipes, etc. The key is to be aware and practice hygiene, for the folks who are working right now. Many are needed to provide vital services, but those should be protected as best as possible. - Vote Quimby - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:47 am: ==Survival rates for Gen-X look good.== As a fellow Gen-X-er, I agree and say a hearty “meh.” I hope everyone copes as well as they can. This will hurt a lot of people in many different ways. Working at a Missouri university, I was back in my SE Illinois hometown for my uncle’s funeral. In addition to being amused by the political radio ads claiming who was best at “SE values,” I was shocked at how casually many of the residents were downplaying the situation. Apparently, somehow they got the mistaken idea COVID-19 was a hoax. My grad assistant this semester is from China, and her heartbreak over the last two months has been eased as the situation there improved. Sadly, I don’t think Americans are as well-equipped to withstand the economic paralysis that experts are saying are necessary to “flatten the curve.” I sincerely hope I”m wrong. - Top of the State - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 10:50 am: A nurse mentioned that closing the schools is putting the grandparents now at risk. The older folks will (in many cases) be providing child care for the young parents. We’ll see how that goes….. - Huh? - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:07 am: IDOT is supposed to be sending letters informing staff which are essential and must report to work, which are to work from home and which are on call. A lot of uncertainty about what to do. This too will pass. What is the line from “Scent of a Woman” something along the lines of of getting all tangled up, just tango on. - Not a Billionaire - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:17 am: And I feel much better because our Gov is going South Korea not Italy. If secondly had more testing ……Fed failure. - Pundent - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:20 am: =A nurse mentioned that closing the schools is putting the grandparents now at risk.= Some grandparents but not all. The goal is to minimize the spread by limiting large interactions of people. All decisions will present risks and those risks need to be considered. But shutting down a school with a few hundred to a few thousand people interacting daily will slow the spread of the virus. Will it eliminate the spread completely? Obviously no. But that’s not the goal. - ktkat1 - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:28 am: Working from home until at least the end of the month. Concerned that my sniffles may not just be a seasonal cold but for the moment just waiting to see if it progresses before calling the Dr… Worried about parents and 97 year old grandpa. Hubby is a truck driver who now has to answer questions at each stop about potential international travel over the past year. I have a feeling the worst is yet to come. - Earnest - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:30 am: Overloaded with and supportive of DDD closing community day programs through April 15, staffing group homes for vulnerable people when already short of DSPs, watching for state and federal legislation affecting personnel, figuring out the best choices on all the other things that arise. On a personal level, frustrated with people criticizing or flouting appropriate public health efforts rather than reinforcing the need to be responsible and help each other. - No Longer A Lurker - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:16 pm: Holding up well. I’m over 60 with cardiac issues. My wife is reluctant to let me out of the house. Not sure how much longer that will last though before I go crazy. Two of my daughters are elementary school teachers. Their heads are spinning as they enter the new normal of e-learning and how it will be implemented. I’m sure this is relatively new for most instructors throughout the state. I’ll agree with JS Mill above that the schools will be closed longer than 2 weeks. Perhaps JB will make his decision every couples of weeks. With the CDC recommendation of 8 weeks of no groups larger than 50 that JB and his staff are planning for the long term right now. - Joe Bidenopolous - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:18 pm: ==If your bar went bankrupt, but you are still alive to complain about it in August, and your family survived as well, you are a winner.=== Co-sign. We’re doing well. We’re caregivers and have both kids and a vulnerable family member staying with us, so we pulled out the stops early and I’ve already been working from home for two weeks. We preemptively pulled the kids from school last week as well and already have our at-home learning packets. Need some bread but that can wait til the list grows longer. Wife’s work shut down last week. Kids might kill each other before it’s all over. Also co-sign on the exercise comments - it also might help keep you sane. - RNUG - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:19 pm: So far, so good. Couple of observations Everybody must be trying to do their IL taxes this morning. I’ve gotten several Server Busy responses when trying to download forms. Did manage to get what I needed but took several tries. Called my pharmacy about a needed refill that hadn’t shown up automatically. Should be in tomorrow. They are located in a grocery store, but said they had closed the counter and were only supplying through the drive-thru. Should be interesting tomorrow … I know the needed prescription will not fit through the tube unless they take it out of the box and send 4 separate syringes out 1 or 2 at a time. - No Longer A Lurker - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:22 pm: I wanted to add to my last post. Many Kudos Rich for your tireless work over the weekend. Your weekend posts were greatly appreciated as they are everyday. - Suburban Mom - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:44 pm: Quiet here in suburbia. We see a few dogwalkers and one or two joggers, instead of the usual busy sidewalk with lots of families and individuals out for walks. I drove over to a family member’s yesterday to drop some stuff off, and it really did remind me of the eerily quiet roads on 9/11. (I also felt like I was doing something illegal, just driving to my mom’s, because nobody else was out.) We have been making good use of the Cook County Forest Preserves to try to get the kids out of the house for an hour or two every day. (Playground equipment apparently can infect you for days, so we’re going with hiking for now.) Kids have been cooperative with their first day of distance learning; we’ll see how long that lasts. My older two, who are 8 and 10, understand what’s happening and while they’re upset or disappointed about some things, they’re making the best of it. My 3-year-old, however, is really upset she’s not going to school to see her friends and her teacher. I tried to explain about the “bad bug” and staying healthy, and she cried and said, “But I cough into my elbow” which they’ve been emphasizing all winter at school (because of the bad flu season). I already telecommute so my work life isn’t too disrupted. But it’s going to be really hard on the kids being cooped up for weeks; we’re trying to plan some special things every few days and do some family games and projects that are more time-consuming that we don’t often have time for because of school and commuting and activities. I have one child who is disabled and usually receives fairly extensive therapies, which right now are inaccessible and I’m pretty worried about that. I don’t want him to get sick (or his providers to get sick), and we can do some of it at home, so I’m taking it as it comes, but I am lying awake at night worrying about whether there will be long-term effects from the missed therapies. I mean, it is what it is, and flattening the curve is the most important thing right now. But it does keep me awake at night. - Suburban Mom - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 12:53 pm: Oh, I also wanted to add; our town and schools were a little ahead of the state with regard to shutting down, so everything’s basically been shut down here since the end of the school day on Friday. The kids all came home with work packets and we’ve had pretty steady contact from their teachers most of last week and into this week about their preparations to close and helping the kids with their distance learning. Their PE teacher is even posting goofy daily workouts for them to do at home on the school portal. The school staff has done an awesome job with a difficult situation and has provided a lot of support for kids and families. And I’ve been really proud of my town as well, which has provided clear, consistent, timely messaging about local closures and containment measures, and is having every communication approved by an infectious disease specialist at our local hospital. In contrast to a lot of what I’ve heard from friends, who’ve had inconsistent and haphazard messages from their communities, which has added to the stress and uncertainty, we’ve had really good, clear communication that has honestly been a model of crisis communication. The situation is stressful and uncertain, but I’ve felt very secure that I know what’s happening locally and that I will receive timely updates with accurate information. - Last Bull Moose - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 1:06 pm: My daughters love The Office. They found the episode where they all panic during the fire drill. A cat is thrown into a hole in the ceiling with the cry “SAVE BANDIT “. Now I am Bandit. Basically quarantined now. But am heartened by news that the Australians are testing the effectiveness of a combination of a drug that attacks HIV and one that attacks malaria. That could help the seriously ill until a vaccine is developed - Anotheretiree - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 1:09 pm: All stocked up for a three week stay..except bread..waited too long. It will be English muffins,crackers and Artisan bread 2nd half of hibernation. Getting annoyed by talking heads lecturing us about “hoarding”. Stocking up for a three week stay eliminates 5 trips to the grocery store and its less than 6′ line spacing. - Yup - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 1:33 pm: Idea for the Secretary of State from Texas. Texas announced that all driver’s licenses expiring between March 13th and the end of the State of Emergency will remain valid until 60 days after the State of Emergency has ended. Let’s do this in Illinois to protect both the hard working people at SoS Offices and the public. https://www.easttexasmatters.com/health/coronavirus/texas-dps-extends-renewal-time-for-drivers-license/ - revvedup - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 2:36 pm: We need to be careful, not paranoid. Get outside for a bit every day, even just walking up and down the driveway or block. If you can’t walk or stand, sit there a bit if dressed for it. This is a “stay out of groups of 50 or more, not tape your house airtight” situation. Wash your hands a couple extra times a day. So far, so good here for a mid-50’s bachelor in the south burbs of Chicago. And don’t read/watch news all day; enough to drive you crazy. - Cal Stone - Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 9:05 pm: Bummed out that the state prison I work in still has offenders walking around, hundreds eating in the chow hall, and students going to school. One staff member was even threatened to be written up because they did not want to sit in a room full of 25 offenders. All these things that we are encourage/directed not to do “in the world.” Although, they did take my temperature this morning, so there’s that going for us. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.