OK, I’m ordering a lockdown
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We just have way too many first-time commenters these days posting ridiculous things that I always end up deleting. So, we’re going to Defcon 3…
I have never done this before, so I don’t know if it’ll initially block all comments from everybody (which is why I’ve never done this before). But I cannot take all these crazy newbies flocking here, so what’s done is done. This ain’t Facebook, peeps. If you’re a rumor-mongering know-nothing nutball, I don’t want you here.
82 Comments
|
* From WalletHub…
Hi Rich,
With the U.S. experiencing a record number of initial unemployment claims, WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.
To identify which states have experienced the largest unemployment increases, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key metrics. These metrics compare initial unemployment claim increases for the week of March 23, 2020 to both the same week in 2019 and the first week of 2020. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.
Increase in Illinois Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):
1829.93% increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims – from 9,230 the week of March 25, 2019 to 178,133 the week of March 23, 2020. 4th lowest increase in the U.S.
1412.29% increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims – from 11,779 in the first week of the year to 178,133 the week of March 23, 2020. 21st lowest increase in the U.S.
Full data is here. Indiana was 3rd highest, Florida was 5th highest, Michigan was 7th highest, Ohio was 12th highest, Massachusetts was 14th highest, Pennsylvania was 28th highest, California was 33rd highest and New York was 43rd highest.
For decades, Illinois has been one of the last states to fall into recession and also one of the last to emerge.
* More on NY…
The state with the current largest number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is New York. How has New York’s unemployment rate been affected?
“New York has seen a 717% increase in initial unemployment claims from the beginning of 2020 to the 13th week,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “This is better than the average increase of 2,002%.”
…Adding… Some deep thinker in comments claimed that the reason we were so low was probably because the IDES system is so jammed up. It is a real problem and DoIT is not handling things well. But I have like a kabillion links to other stories about other states’ problems. Here are just a few…
* March 31: Ohioans Still Reporting Problems In Filing For Unemployment Claims
* April 2: Florida residents run into problems filing for unemployment as nationwide claims rise
* April 1: Cuomo Apologizes for Crashing Unemployment Site; US, NY Claims Hit Shocking Records
* April 1: Thousands in Texas face delays to their unemployment relief because of busy phone lines and website outages
* April 2: State unemployment offices scramble to handle surge in jobless claims amid coronavirus fallout
10 Comments
|
715 new cases, 16 additional deaths
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 715 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 16 additional deaths.
Christian County: 1 male 80s
Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 male 40s, 2 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 4 male 70s, 1 male 80s
DuPage County: 1 female 80s
McHenry County: 1 male 60s
Whiteside County: 1 female 90s
Logan, Macoupin, Mercer, Moultrie, and Piatt counties are now reporting cases. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 7,695 cases, including 157 deaths, in 61 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
26 Comments
|
* Gov. Pritzker at his daily presser today…
I’d like to begin with an update on the development of alternative care facilities in the state, which are essentially field medical stations designed to alleviate the crush of COVID 19 cases at area hospitals. Last Monday I informed you that in Cook and the collar counties where the vast majority of COVID 19 cases are today. We had formally launched work on three facilities. McCormick Place in Chicago, the former advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin and the Metro South Health Center in Blue Island.
Of these, McCormick Place will be our largest facility slated to reach a total of 3000 beds. Kane County’s Sherman Hospital and suburban Cook County’s Metro South Center will together host more than 500 patients.
Today we formally added a fourth location to our capacity Westlake Hospital in Cook County’s Melrose Park, which will host 230 beds. Construction at all four of these sites will be completed on a rolling basis throughout the month of April.
We’re also finalizing the necessary steps to stand up an alternate care facility in Central Illinois in the coming weeks and I look forward to providing you with the update on that very soon.
As a reminder, these temporary facilities are meant to support, not replace, our existing medical infrastructure. Patients will be directed first to existing hospitals, and if they are lower acuity, they will be transferred to these alternative sites.
We’re also adding additional beds at our existing institutions every day. But for a rough picture, we had about 26,000 non ICU beds and 2600 ICU beds across the state. As of March 24, about half of our non ICU beds and less than half of our ICU beds were available then, and those numbers have only dropped in the nine days since.
Please pardon all typos.
* New website…
For a little while longer, we must all commit to staying home, staying safe and practicing social distancing to stay healthy. So, every one of us must abide by this if we are to get through this difficult time.
So to honor you and to bring us together in our commitment to doing what’s right, I’m introducing a new statewide initiative that we can all participate in. And it’s called, All in Illinois. All in is our anthem, and our point of pride, Illinois and staying home for the good of each other and for our state.
Today I’m asking all of us, all of you to join in and be all in for Illinois, all in for our neighbors, all in for our grandparents, all in for cancer survivors and those who are immunocompromised, all in to protect essential workers like grocery and drugstore employees and food delivery workers, all in for our heroic doctors and nurses respiratory therapists, social workers EMTs pharmacists, er technicians registration staffers sanitation services, and the hospital food service workers who keep our patients fed.
Join us and take the pledge. Pledge your commitment to go all in for Illinois, go to allin.illinois.gov [fixed link] and take a look around.
See comedic actress Jane Lynch telling you why she’s staying home and hear from Veep star Matt Walsh, athletic phenom Jackie Joyner kersee actor and comedian Deon Cole, Chicago PD star Jason Big, and there are many more to come.
You can also print your own yard or window sign, you can update your Facebook profile picture with a themed frame. Display the words all in for Illinois proudly. Post your own videos on social media, demonstrating your pride. The All in in Illinois means we care about one another. It means we care about our communities. We are one Illinois, and we are all in this together.
* IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike…
We’re also starting to see clusters of cases at essential businesses. And although these businesses need to continue operating, they must take steps to protect both their employees and their customers.
Employees should be monitored for symptoms and their temperature should be checked daily. Anybody who’s sick should absolutely be sent home and stay home businesses should be thoroughly cleaned each day, and measures should be in place to protect clients. That might mean keeping customers at least six feet away from the cashiers or if Plexiglas can be intervening.
And I have to go here regarding churches and other religious services. There are reports that people are still holding services. I understand the importance of communing with fellow believers, but let’s understand, kids are home from school, people are home from work, schools and offices are closed. Religious houses have to do the same.
We all must make the sacrifice. Then on the other side of this pandemic, we can gather at the mosque or the synagogue, the church, the museum, the library, all of these places that we love. We must not continue putting people at risk. Please hold virtual services, whether by web or phone.
I may sound like a broken record, but these are all the things we have to do. It just can’t be some of the community that’s following these restrictions and these guidelines. We all have to do it together. Let’s be all in for Illinois and do our part to end this pandemic.
* On to questions for the governor. Should more prisoners be released?…
I want to remind you that we had more than 1000 fewer prisoners in prison today than we had on February 1.
We’ve been in the process of reviewing cases, especially during this crisis, but quite all along, and especially looking at vulnerable populations and trying to let them go for example.
We commuted sentences of pregnant women and women with babies that were in prison. We looked at cases of non violent offenders who were, for example retail shoplifters who are serving relatively shorter sentences, but would still be in prison now had we not reviewed their case and let them out and given them, commuted their sentences essentially. We looked at other non violent cases like narcotics convictions and have processed, we’ve been processing those as well.
And then finally just recall that one of the important rules that sits in place today is that when you let somebody out when you commute their sentence or early release them they have to have a place to go. You can’t just release them on the street and have them become homeless immediately. And we also want to do a medical check and so on but but the most important thing is they have to have a place to go and there are a number of people who may have met certain criteria who did not have another place to go.
* What’s up with the IDES unemployment claims system?…
This is the biggest onslaught of unemployment claims, I think, ever at least in my lifetime, and even more so than the great recession of 2008-2009. I want to remind you that the systems and IDs were actually rebuilt in 2010. Now, you might think well gee that then it shouldn’t be running properly. Well, it’s now 10 years later, not a lot of investment was made in the states IT systems in that last 10 years. And they were operating properly for the number of claims that were expected you know over that 10 year period the system was operating. Now it’s 10 times as many or you know whatever the multiple is now.
And so the systems aren’t acting properly. And I’ve been talking to our department of innovation, technology which is partly responsible, talking with IDs staff which is partly responsible and then we’ve also asked the public, to those who are filing, to segment themselves by the first letter of their last name, to call on certain days and certain hours and so on. We’re trying to spread it out as best we can, but the truth is that the system does go down it went down. This morning for a short period of time they were working very hard to get it back up. Didn’t quite come back up in the same hour that they thought it would but an hour later. But believe me that we’re trying very hard to both answer every call, which is hard to do because you know we have a system that just there aren’t enough people we’ve asked many of our staff to go stay home, as many businesses are, but we also have non essential staff there to help augment whoever is there. So, again, this is a problem. I don’t know exactly that we’re going to fix it entirely so that everybody could do it all at once, but we have asked people please to spread out their calls and spread out their applications online and to use the online system because that really is the best way to do it in off hours.
* Yet another question from yet another reporter about something far off in the future. Not posting it because reporters should stop acting like the “Are we there yet?” children in the back seat. Ridic. I mean, he has answered this silly question every day.
* Stateville update from Dr. Ezike…
Three of those individuals have been released from the hospital
* Sen. Durbin mentioned how he was calling CEOs and others trying to get shipments of PPE from China, where most of the PPE is made in the world…
It is true that I have been making calls night and day to make sure that we can not only locate and procure PPE wherever it may be in the world or in the United States, but also to make sure that it gets shipped here properly and promptly, by the way. And as you can imagine there’s quite a lot that has been held up over some time because of the challenges of coronavirus in China. And so the shipping from China has been, you know, has been curtailed to some degree. It has begun to pick up again. But as you can imagine there’s a backlog of everything that was going to be shipped from China, not just BP. And so trying to get to the head of the line because we have an urgent need is critically important for our state and so that’s why I’m calling heads of airlines heads of shipping companies. I’m calling private individuals that I know have connections in China, because the Chinese government is has been a little bit difficult at putting PP at the head of the line to be shipped to the United States.
* But…
You may have heard the last day or two the president talking about the air bridge, he’s been calling it from China where they’re shipping goods back to the United States.
Well the reality is that the airbridge is carrying private goods for private companies. It can be PPE, but their private goods are not going to the states, they’re going to private companies that are then distributing it to their customers wherever they may be. And that may be there may be states that are on those customer lists, but they may also not be. And so, I asked directly well could I put goods that are bound for Illinois that we are acquiring PPE for the people of Illinois on the airbridge, and essentially the answer has been no.
* Asked about his advice for Wisconsin in its upcoming primary…
I would say to Wisconsin, I don’t know what the laws are about mail ballots in Wisconsin mail in ballots and absentee balloting, but it was very important in the state of Illinois. Many, many people took advantage of mail in ballots many, many people early voted. […]
I guess the only advice that I would offer is make sure you’re coordinating with your election officials that they know how many volunteers they have that are actually going to show up. And perhaps don’t listen to them when they say they’re all good they don’t need any help, and use the volunteers that you have available to you as governor, or as legislature to augment, you know, the need.
* Why are gun stores considered essential?…
We wanted to make sure that people had the ability to protect themselves if they needed to … There are a number of things that I think one person might not consider essential and somebody else would consider essential. But it was just something that we felt would be important. I think there were quite a lot of people downstate who felt like they’d like the opportunity at least to be able to buy ammunition, or something else because they might want to go hunting by themselves, or to protect themselves.
* Have you been given solid promises on Illinois having first dibs on the Abbott Labs rapid test, and expected date for when they will start to be used in Illinois?…
Let me just compliment them. I spoke with them literally the day they made the announcement about the rapid tests and they were so incredibly responsive and helpful. And we expect to have machines online very shortly. They are shipping those, we may have already been getting a taste. We’re getting 15 of those machines today. … hey’re They’re manufacturing these for the entire nation, but they have said that Illinois is going to be, because of we’re their home, that we’re a priority for them and so obviously they’re delivering on that promise with the first 15 machines already.
-30-
27 Comments
|
Question of the day
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Um, OK…
* The Question: What do you miss most and least about spring session? Make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.
27 Comments
|
COVID-19 roundup
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hannah Leone at the Tribune…
Illinois schools could be getting nearly $570 million through the federal coronavirus stimulus package, according to preliminary allocation estimates from the Illinois State Board of Education.
A large portion of that — about $205 million — could go to Chicago Public Schools, ISBE estimates. That’s more than two and a half times the $75 million COVID-19 budget measure the Chicago Board of Education passed last week. […]
Schools are eligible if they received funding this fiscal year through Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the percentage of Title I funding they received will determine how much of the CARES Act funds they could get, according to ISBE. […]
However, that money may not be available in the immediate future. The Department of Education has several weeks to release an application needed for states to access the CARES Act funds. Then the education department will have 30 days to review ISBE’s application. While final allocations will be known only once the U.S. Department of Education issues awards, ISBE provided preliminary estimates to help district leaders plan.
* Not good at all…
Eleven nursing homes in north suburban Lake County have been found to have multiple cases of COVID-19, health officials announced Wednesday.
Each facility has at least two confirmed cases of the coronavirus, health officials said. A total of 62 cases have spread among the 11 nursing homes, with four of them resulting in death.
* One case can easily spread in these facilities…
A 90-year-old female diagnosed with COVID-19 is a resident of Manor Court, a skilled nursing facility within Liberty Village of Carbondale, the facility administrator confirmed.
The resident was one of three cases confirmed Wednesday in Jackson County.
She is receiving treatment at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
Manor Court Administrator Melissa Neitzel said the facility has notified all staff, residents and their families by telephone, and plans to send a letter to them today.
* Things are getting rough in Kankakee County…
Kankakee County’s infection rate is 5.18 positive cases per 10,000 residents. The county, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, has 57 positive coronavirus cases.
However, based on the county’s population of just under 110,000 residents, as of the 2017 population figures, Kankakee County trails only Cook County and northern Illinois’ Lake County as the state’s highest infection rates. […]
Kankakee County Health Department leader John Bevis said population density is a key factor in a county’s infection rate. He also noted long-term care residential facilities such as Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee and the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Manteno also play a role as cases can quickly multiply in those areas. […]
Dr. Keith Moss, chief medical officer at Riverside Medical Center, concurred Wednesday with Bevis’ sentiment on long-term facilities being major drivers of the county’s rate. A residential and training center for people who have an intellectual disability, Shapiro accounts for 12 of the county’s confirmed cases.
* Oh, man…
A worker at Exelon Generation’s Quad-Cities Nuclear Power Plant has a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.
That worker is receiving care and any employees who came into contact with that worker or work where that affected worker is employed have been notified, said Bill Stoermer, spokesman for the Quad-Cities Station.
“We performed an additional deep cleaning of all areas that have potentially been exposed. We are maximizing social distancing for those who must continue to report to their locations,” he said.
Moving forward, Exelon will require workers to pass a symptom screening and body temperature check prior to entry every shift, while also requiring social distancing, frequent hand washing and remote work where possible, Stoermer said.
* Sun-Times…
The Cook County medical examiner’s office Wednesday confirmed 23 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the county’s toll to 94.
Five people were pronounced dead Wednesday, seven died Tuesday, one died Monday and six on Sunday, the medical examiner’s office said. Four others died March 28, 27, 25 and 23.
The youngest of the confirmed deaths was 27-year-old James Brooks, of South Shore, who died March 23, the medical examiner’s office said.
* A whole lot of those folks will be booked into Illinois hotels…
The Democratic National Committee is delaying its presidential nominating convention until the week of Aug. 17 after prospective nominee Joe Biden said he didn’t think it would be possible to hold a normal convention in mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Convention CEO Joe Solmonese confirmed the decision in a statement Thursday.
* Selected headlines from the Tribune’s solid live blog…
Preckwinkle encourages Cook County businesses to get in line first for federal stimulus money
Chicago police officer stricken with COVID-19 dies
Funding for field hospitals announced – will be set up in tents
Bremen high school district loans 3D printers for fire department to create protective masks
They were told their coronavirus test results would take days. These Fox Valley residents waited more than a week in self-isolation.
12th Cook County Court Clerk’s employee tests positive for coronavirus; worked in downtown traffic court
* From the Sun-Times COVID-19 page…
Aurora extends emergency declaration to May 15
* Some headlines from the SJ-R’s COVID-19 page…
Anthony Fauci to get a security detail after facing threats, reports say
Ford donates face shields to St. John’s
Long wait for COVID-19 test result causes frustration, angst
Local small business pushes on through pandemic
* More…
* Thousands of US medical workers furloughed, laid off as routine patient visits drop during coronavirus pandemic
* Could state switch to endorsing face masks to help contain COVID-19?
* Federal judge in southern Illinois strikes and resets jury trials in response to coronavirus outbreak
* Triage tent opened at St. Elizabeth Hospital to screen for coronavirus: St. Elizabeth Hospital in O’Fallon has set up triage tents where patients with respiratory symptoms can be screened for coronavirus.
* How planners are deciding to cancel or keep summer festivals in age of coronavirus
* COVID-19 social distancing measures complicate census efforts in southwest Illinois
* Individual in Effingham County tests positive for COVID-19
* Illinois High School Association provides update for status of spring sports, hopeful for state series tournaments to be played in June
19 Comments
|
Cannabis sales held steady in March
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pretty remarkable considering the circumstances…
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has announced preliminary numbers show statewide adult-use cannabis sales in March totaled $35,902,543.22. Dispensaries across the state sold 812,203 items over the 31-day period. Sales to Illinois residents totaled $27,096,931.23, while sales to out-of-state residents totaled $8,805,611.99. These figures do not include taxes collected. A portion of every cannabis sale will be reinvested in communities harmed most by the failed war on drugs.
February sales were $35 million in February and $39.2 million in January.
12 Comments
|
* Rep. Allen Skillicorn on Facebook…
Some great news:
68% of IL ventilators are not in use and are available.
41% of our adult ICU beds are empty.
I know most politicians and the media want to paint a picture of doom and gloom to keep people scared, but more evidence is coming out showing that’s not the case.
The peak is coming, Allen. You cannot possibly be this stupid. It’s like saying we only need two lanes on the Dan Ryan because traffic is so light at 3 in the morning.
…Adding… I mean, is FEMA overreacting too, Allen?…
There were sobering preparations for a rise in U.S. deaths: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Pentagon for 100,000 body bags because of the possibility funeral homes will be overwhelmed, the military said.
* Rep. Skillicorn on Twitter…
So, which is it, Allen?
36 Comments
|
MLB open thread
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Secretary of State Jesse White…
“We have lost an extraordinary person with the passing of Chicago White Sox radio announcer Ed Farmer, and I have lost a dear friend,” said Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. “I was proud to partner with Ed on organ/tissue donation awareness and saw first-hand his passion and commitment to this lifesaving program. As a kidney recipient, he dedicated himself to giving back to the program that extended his life for nearly 30 years. Ed and I worked together to bring White Sox players to the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago where they signed autographs, educated the public and most importantly registered people for the state’s organ/tissue donor program. Ed was a hero. My deepest sympathy to the Farmer Family, his White Sox Family and Ed’s many friends and fans.”
The Secretary said it all there. Rest in peace, Ed.
Now, let’s talk baseball and get our minds off the horrors around us.
36 Comments
|
* Bruce Rushton at the Illinois Times…
State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, helped talk a physician into making a $1 million loan in 2010 while he was running for governor, according to a court ruling entered Tuesday in Springfield by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Gorman.
The money loaned to Robert Brady, one of the senator’s brothers, was never repaid. Gorman ruled that the loan made to bail out a construction company owned by the senator and two brothers was made under false pretenses and so the obligation cannot be discharged via bankruptcy.
Dr. Tom Pliura loaned the money predicated on promises that there was plenty of collateral in real estate if the loan went south, according to Gorman’s decision. In fact, the real estate, four apartment buildings in Normal, were mortgaged and underwater.
Contrary to what Robert Brady told the doctor when the loan was made, the buildings were owned by limited liability corporations as opposed to Robert and Edward Brady, also a brother of the state senator. According to Sen. Brady’s statements of economic interests filed with the secretary of state, the senator, dating back to 2010, has stock in one of the corporations and a “membership interest” in the other.
Ultimately, the buildings were turned over to a bank in lieu of foreclosure, and Pliura received nothing. With interest, the doctor says that he is owed more than $1.8 million.
Oof. And, yes, that’s the same doctor who tried to hand out free COVID-19 “tests” in Champaign this week. We’ll have more on him later.
24 Comments
|
Time to prepare the public, mayor
Thursday, Apr 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Credibility matters during a crisis and Mayor Lightfoot undermined her credibility yesterday. Here’s Heather Cherone at the Daily Line…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot insisted again Wednesday that Chicago’s municipal finances are weathering the storm whipped up by the coronavirus pandemic, even as Gov. JB Pritzker says the state’s budget will be “vastly different” than he planned.
Pritzker told reporters that he could not list all of the changes that will have to be made to the state’s plan for 2021, which he introduced in February based on projections that the state’s economy would continue to thrive.
“It will be a vastly different budget, there is no doubt,” Pritzker said, adding that he has begun working with his team to develop estimates for revenues and expenses. […]
The mayor said she had “great confidence” in her finance and budget team, which predicted a “substantial” economic downturn in 2021.
Chicago has a diverse revenue stream, with no one source accounting for more than 13 percent of the city’s revenues, Lightfoot said. In addition, “economically sensitive revenue streams like state income tax and sales tax” make up about 25 percent of the city’s budget, the mayor said.
Um, her budget proposal was chock full of holes, some of which are still not filled (a $163 million emergency services reimbursement from the federal government, for instance). And it was also balanced by doing things like drawing down years of savings up front on a bond refinancing scheme ($200 million). She further relied on the General Assembly to approve a graduated real estate transfer tax to bring in an additional $50 million, but that never happened.
She got an almost total pass from the Chicago media for that budget and that attitude mostly continues.
Also, her budget did not predict a “substantial” economic downturn. Sales taxes were projected to rise by $37 million. She predicted overall revenues would increase by $352.2 million and that she could wring $537.6 million in savings.
Yeah. How’s all that working out?
* Lightfoot is right that the economy could vigorously bounce back after this is over. And she will be getting significant help from the latest federal stimulus law, which funnels a bunch of money to municipalities with more than 500,000 residents.
But, I mean, look at this…
Can the downtown hotel market go to zero?
It took a step closer the week of March 22, when the downtown hotel occupancy rate fell to 5.9 percent, down from 9.3 percent a week earlier, according to STR, a hotel research and consulting firm based outside Nashville, Tenn.
* Setting aside the over-heated rhetoric in Paul Vallas’ Tribune op-ed, he’s not wrong here…
The city’s $4.45 billion corporate fund, which pays for core city services, is heavily dependent on taxes directly impacted by the pandemic and the economic shutdown.
Taxes such as the sales tax, parking tax, amusement and transportation-related taxes are all tied to business sectors taking a direct hit. Additionally, shared revenues from the state of Illinois are impacted by a slowdown of economic activity.
Obviously, revenues tied to hotel room rental, sporting events, concerts and theater entertainment, parking garages, the convention business, gasoline sales, property transfer taxes, CTA ridership, parking and red-light tickets have all been impaired or eviscerated.
And he has some decent revenue ideas as well, so go read it.
18 Comments
|
* MSNBC…
The torrent of Americans filing for unemployment insurance skyrocketed last week as more than 6.6 million new claims were filed, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That brings to 10 million the total Americans who filed over the past two weeks. […]
On an unadjusted basis, the total was 5.8 million, a number that some economists consider more relevant because seasonal adjustments are less relevant due to the unusual impact the coronavirus-induced shutdown has had on the economy.
“Sadly, this probably still underestimates the actual numbers because of the overload in the systems and not every call getting through,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. “Even if we’re accurately calculating the numbers, we still likely have worse to come.”
As more states issue stay at home orders this week, that number will undoubtedly continue growing.
…Adding… Tribune…
More than 178,000 Illinois residents applied for unemployment insurance benefits last week, as the number of workers who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic continues to swell.
The surge in jobless claims in Illinois — up about 50% from the 114,000 reported for the week ended March 21 — comes as many struggle to file for benefits. With Illinois unemployment offices closed due to the pandemic, the state’s computer systems have been overwhelmed, and many applicants have had trouble getting through.
The state said last week that additional steps were being taken to handle the “unprecedented volume” of applications, with new hardware infrastructure on the website, and increased call center capacity and staff. But newly unemployed residents say they continue to be frustrated by online glitches and trouble getting through by phone.
“I called yesterday all day long,” said Nicole Morsut, of Round Lake, who has been trying to get benefits since March 20, after being furloughed from a retail sales job.
10 Comments
|
* Jon Seidel at the Sun-Times…
Civil rights attorneys launched a coordinated legal challenge Thursday to demand the swift release of Illinois prisoners most vulnerable to the coronavirus, and accusing Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders of putting the general public at risk.
The effort includes a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday morning in federal court, naming Pritzker and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, as defendants. Ten IDOC prisoners are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“To effectively prevent the continued spread of the COVID-19 infection in prison communities, the state must take urgent steps to release, furlough, or transfer to home detention all that qualify under the law, and particularly those who are elderly and medically vulnerable,” the lawsuit states.
It adds: “Class members who are elderly and medically vulnerable, and those with pathways to release, must be released now.”
*** UPDATE *** The lawsuit is here.
31 Comments
|
* Gov. Pritzker began his press conference by urging people to fill out their census forms and then turned to healthcare. Here’s some actual news…
I also want to provide an update on our search for new or renewing healthcare workers. We have now received over 1100 applications from both former health care workers looking to rejoin the fight and from out of state professionals who want to help Illinois, many of whom are Illinois residents who happen to practice in a border city in another state. Right now, those numbers are running about half and half, with more applications coming in every day. It’s really incredible to watch the people of this state are truly so deeply genuinely caring. […]
We’re also hard at work, exploring options to allow some of our fourth year medical students and nursing students at the end of their programs to join the fight against Cova 19.
As always, please pardon all typos.
* On to questions for the governor. It sounded like the question was yet another “when will we be there” query…
It is very hard to know to be honest with you. I mean I think you’ve seen that as I put in a stay at home order and when we started with the closing of schools and so on. You know, we were relying upon what we knew at that time which seemed like it was just weeks perhaps that were necessary. We’re continuing to follow the science to know what date we ought to be extending to there are states who have chosen different dates for their stay at home order. And so, we’re looking at all of that if there was a definitive answer I would hope that the CDC would put that forward to everyone. It’s unclear, to be frank with you. And so we’re listening to the best minds that we can get the right answer, right now we’ve extended our stay at home and all of the other orders to April 30, but as I have said, we’re going to continue to evaluate every day whether we’ll need to extend that at any point. But right now I think that that seems like the right period of time. Again, not knowing exactly when we might peak income off of that peak, which is a very important point at which will be making new evaluations.
* IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike was asked about the rise of deaths…
I have said every day that we knew we would see more cases and we knew we would see more deaths. So as we develop more cases, we are going to have more deaths. I can’t tell you, I can’t predict exactly the number that it will be obviously each day, but we know generally from following data that we have from around the world unfortunately we have a lot of information from all the situations all the cases from around the world. We know that approximately 20% end up requiring hospitalization and more severe care, and that about five 5% require ICU care. We know that the mortality rate is somewhere between, maybe one and 3%. So I think our numbers are unfortunately, going to bear that out, and we will see growth in the number of decimals, most, unfortunately, until we get to that peak and hopefully we have done all that we’ve can all that we can in terms of staying home and doing all these mitigation efforts so that the peak is lower than what was originally anticipated.
* Dr. Ezike was also asked about the public wearing masks…
So, of course, the best way to not get ill is to stay at home … wash your hands twice a day. You’re doing a great job if you wash your hands five times, 10 times a day. You’re doing an even better job if you clean frequently touched surfaces. So all of these measures, obviously, are helpful.
When we say cover your cough, the point of covering your cough is that you’re not letting those droplets go on to the person standing in front of you, go on to the person that you’re in front of you so the covering your cough covering your sneeze and the social distancing are essentially similar to the advice of wearing the mask. The idea of wearing the mask as you said would be to keep those droplets potentially from spraying on others so I understand what you’re saying that that is logical. And so we want everybody to do the most that they can to prevent potentially infecting others before they know it. And we know that covering your cough staying away from people, and potentially some kind of covering of your mouth and nose would also potentially be helpful as well.
* Gov. Pritzker on masks…
I want to add to something that Dr Ezike said that while the question about is it effective to wear a mask. I’m sure it’s more effective than not wearing a mask. But it does not replace staying at home. Staying at home is the best mitigation strategy, please stay home. […]
In fact, I think that there’s some evidence to show that it can be effective. A are we thinking about changing policy again, we’re evaluating these things every day.
* Are you considering taking action to delay the deadline for the second installment for property tax payments currently around August 1, or do you think that is one deadline the state cannot afford to push back?…
That is not a state function to, just to be clear. … These are functions of local governments and county government, the state does not collect property taxes and those decisions have been made by local governments county governments.
* Director Ezike, can you please explain the numbers in a more clear fashion for people on the cases at Stateville…
We have tested 127 individuals, 80 of those samples were sent to a university lab, another 47 were sent out elsewhere, of the 80 that we were able to get back, we had 36 were positive, which gave us about a 45% positivity rate. We have 19 individuals who are hospitalized and at multiple different hospitals throughout the state. And we’re continuing to monitor other individuals that are still in the facility
* 12 of the cases in Kankakee County are from the Shapiro Developmental Center. What do you say to the families…
Not only do we have a very strong PPE policy, but we also provide significant amounts of PPE. Look, there is no doubt and you’ve heard this from our medical experts that sometimes congregate facilities are difficult because of the very nature of people living in the same facility. And who have felt like you know we are actually running it reasonably well, doing the right things at the right time sometimes you know that this virus is so it’s an invisible virus you know you just don’t know where it’s going to come from we’re doing everything we can to try to separate people out, who may have contracted the virus to detect it. You just heard, General Neely talk about, you know, taking temperatures and checking people’s medical situation before they enter a facility we’re trying to do that in as many places as we can.
So you know we’re doing the best we can. We’re certainly trying our best to take care of our, our seniors our children, people who are you know in our care as prisoners too. So we’re addressing it as best we can and again. In each of these situations, our number one concern is the welfare of the people who are in our care.
* We may not have as many confirmed cases downstate, but already clusters of cases at a senior home and Taylorville outnumber the available number of ICU beds at the hospital in town. What is your administration doing to coordinate the response in rural areas with critical access hospitals and should county officials make those numbers of available ICU beds public?…
As we move towards the peak of this, we are going to be filling up ICU beds across the state. It isn’t the same in every area, there are critical access hospitals that may have fewer ICU beds. There are other hospitals and other areas of the state that may have more availability just as a percentage of what they’ve got. […]
We’re trying to make sure that we’re either offloading the non acute people who are in the hospital, the patients in the hospital or we’re providing additional facilities for people to have ICU capability.
* Are you considering calling the General Assembly to meet someplace else, or to meet virtually?…
The General Assembly leaders are talking about how they might be able to accomplish a general assembly legislative session.
It is something that I think may be very important to do. It’s hard to do, there are 177 members of the General Assembly and we’re asking people to stay home and not congregate in groups of more than 10. So some Governor’s might think this is a dream that you can’t get your legislature together, but we have things that we need to get done in the state of Illinois. So I’m hoping that we’ll be able to figure out how we might be able to get them meeting. And I know that the leaders are thinking about that as well.
* How would you recommend churches handle Easter Sunday services?…
Well, I would suggest that many people need to attend services online, that the churches should try their best to provide a connection on the internet. It may be the best way in order to make sure that you’re abiding by the stay at home rule, which is so vitally important. I understand how important worship is and especially in these moments, but it can be done virtually, and I would suggest that people should never, you know, despite the desire on Easter to get together to celebrate together to worship together. I would still tell people, please stay home please stay home and contact your pastor to find out if they have services online that you can participate in or at least view it.
* Have you been in contact with the legislative leader leaders and budget committee chairs to talk about a revised FY21 budget, and what if any major changes from your original budget proposal, do you think the state will need?…
Well, I don’t think I could list all the changes that would need to be made to the original budget. Our budget proposal was put together in January, presented in February, weeks and weeks before the coven crisis came upon us, or at least we were all aware of how serious it was.
I have had conversations with various members of the General Assembly and leaders, just to begin, we are obviously working to figure out what is the revenue shortfall, what are the challenges that we’re going to go through, when do we think that we’ll begin to see revenue return. And trying to make estimates of that as you can imagine, at this moment are very difficult when I couldn’t tell you two days ago that we were going to extend the stay at home rule that we put in place. So, we’re still working on it. There’s no doubt that it will be a vastly different budget.
-30-
14 Comments
|
986 new cases, 42 additional deaths
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 986 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 42 additional deaths.
- Carroll County: 1 male 80s
- Cook County: 1 male 20s, 2 males 30s, 2 males 40s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 50s, 3 males 60s, 2 females 60s, 5 males 70s, 3 females 70s, 3 male 80s, 4 females 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 female 100s. (5 incomplete data)
- DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s
- Kane County: 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 50s
- Sangamon County: 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 60s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
Massac and Vermilion counties are now reporting cases. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 6,980 cases, including 141 deaths, in 56 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
11 Comments
|
JCAR meets during pandemic
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line…
The Joint Commission on Administrative Rules met in the Stratton Building in Springfield despite federal recommendations banning large gatherings and Gov. JB Pritzker’s own executive orders
Commission Co-Chair State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) said the lawmakers had no choice but to meet and extend emergency rules before they expire in the coming weeks in order to avoid possible legal battles down the road. […]
One of the most pressing set of emergency rules JCAR needed to vote to extend were ones approved by the Illinois State Board of Education in November after Tribune/ProPublica Illinois investigation into the use and potential abuse of isolation rooms in school settings for children who are deemed disruptive in classroom settings. The new rules prohibit the use of locked seclusion rooms and stop schools from using prone restraint. […]
“We would open things up to all sorts of legal debate about us renewing a rule after it was already expired,” Cunningham said. “Do we have ability to extend rule that already expired?”
The other emergency rule they extended was to collect parking tax revenues.
JCAR can meet, but the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform can’t.
Only 8 of JCAR’s 12 members attended, but a handful of staff were also in the hearing room. The public was not allowed into the room.
* Here’s something from Hannah’s story that I had missed…
A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office, which controls the Capitol Complex in Springfield — said the Capitol, the Stratton Building and the Howlett Building are closed to the public, though lawmakers, members of the media and state employees with identification are allowed in.
The SoS office closed the Capitol Complex to large groups on March 12. The entire complex was closed to the public on March 17.
6 Comments
|
* Tina Sfondeles and Carlos Ballesteros at the Sun-Times…
The Illinois National Guard is sending 30 service members to help with medical care at Stateville Correctional Center, where one inmate has died from the coronavirus and at least 32 more have tested positive.
The service members are medics from the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in Urbana and will be setting up medical tents, triaging and providing medical care for inmates at the Crest Hill-based correctional center, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office.
Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, a spokesman for the Illinois National Guard, said the medics should arrive by the end of the week. […]
The medical help is intended to assist inmates who need care but not hospitalization. The medical tents will be “fully operational there before the end of the week,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said.
* Speaking of which, the ING’s Twitter account remains on point. More agencies need to be doing rumor patrol…
* From the other day…
The Illinois National Guard announced Monday that Governor JB Pritzker had activated about 115 additional Illinois National Guard Soldiers and Airmen in support of COVID-19 response operations.
About 80 of these additional Illinois National Guard members will help with communications and reporting between county health departments throughout the state and the State Emergency Operations Center. Another 30 Illinois National Guard Airmen will assist in the establishment of a medical facility at McCormick Place.
7 Comments
|
Question of the day
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My phone started buzzing loudly yesterday morning when I received this text…
State needs licensed healthcare workers to sign-up at IllinoisHelps.net to fight COVID-19
* The Question: What was your first reaction when you received that emergency alert?
55 Comments
|
Learn something new every day
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Um…
A virtual press conference hosted by Chicago politicians was cut short after someone hijacked the conference call and started streaming pornographic images.
On Tuesday morning, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), and Illinois State Reps. Theresa Mah and Ann Williams held a private press conference with organizers, health officials and reporters on popular teleconferencing platform Zoom.
The leaders aimed to call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. JB Pritzker to close metal scrappers polluting Chicago neighborhoods including General Iron in Lincoln Park and the Sims Metal Management in Pilsen, particularly because of the respiratory nature of COVID-19.
But 16 minutes into the Zoom chat, that push was interrupted by a person who said: “Yeah, I don’t care.”
As confusion set in, a pornographic video that included images of a woman who was not fully clothed began playing on the video call.
I work alone from home when the General Assembly is not in session and I’ve never used Zoom or anything like that until last week when several pals and I connected over some cocktails to celebrate a birthday. All of this is new to me.
* It could’ve been worse. From the FBI…
As large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called “Zoom-bombing”) are emerging nationwide. The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language.
Within the FBI Boston Division’s area of responsibility (AOR), which includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, two schools in Massachusetts reported the following incidents:
• In late March 2020, a Massachusetts-based high school reported that while a teacher was conducting an online class using the teleconferencing software Zoom, an unidentified individual(s) dialed into the classroom. This individual yelled a profanity and then shouted the teacher’s home address in the middle of instruction.
• A second Massachusetts-based school reported a Zoom meeting being accessed by an unidentified individual. In this incident, the individual was visible on the video camera and displayed swastika tattoos.
As individuals continue the transition to online lessons and meetings, the FBI recommends exercising due diligence and caution in your cybersecurity efforts. The following steps can be taken to mitigate teleconference hijacking threats:
• Do not make meetings or classrooms public. In Zoom, there are two options to make a meeting private: require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests.
• Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on an unrestricted publicly available social media post. Provide the link directly to specific people.
• Manage screensharing options. In Zoom, change screensharing to “Host Only.”
• Ensure users are using the updated version of remote access/meeting applications. In January 2020, Zoom updated their software. In their security update, the teleconference software provider added passwords by default for meetings and disabled the ability to randomly scan for meetings to join.
• Lastly, ensure that your organization’s telework policy or guide addresses requirements for physical and information security.
19 Comments
|
COVID-19 roundup
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lynn Sweet…
Speaking from his backyard deck in Springfield, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday that Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling the CEOs of major airlines to organize an airlift to haul personal protection equipment from China to Illinois.
Durbin also said Pritzker told him about an Illinois company with COVID-19 supplies to sell — yet was “playing hard to get” while seeking a better price from another state for this equipment now referred to in shorthand simply as PPE. […]
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Durbin said, “I talk to the governor almost every day and yesterday he said he felt like a shipping clerk. He was calling the major airlines that he knew the CEOs to be available, asking and begging them to help Illinois secure goods from China, PPE from China. […]
Durbin said the Illinois company was profiteering on the disaster and that was “unacceptable.”
* Elena Ferrarin at the Daily Herald…
Work to turn the shuttered Sherman Hospital site in Elgin into a facility for non-acute COVID-19 patients will take place as quickly as possible, officials said.
“We are in a race against time right now to see what we can get done in next three to four weeks as a relief valve for existing hospitals,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Aaron Reisinger said Tuesday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District has been assigned to work on the rehabilitation of three hospital sites, including the one in Elgin and MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, Reisinger said.
* Cities have the right under the state disaster declaration to restrict access to any geographic area within their boundaries…
Some Chicago police officers Tuesday were assigned to check the identification of anyone who wanted to enter four historically violent West Side blocks in an effort to tamp down gang gatherings.
Under the order, issued by Harrison District Cmdr. Darrell Spencer, only people who live on those blocks would be able to enter them.
Several police officers said they were hesitant to follow those orders out of concern that the directive was not constitutional. […]
“Following 89 dispersal orders in the 11th District on Monday alone, the Department temporarily closed certain streets as part of a strategic and public health effort to disrupt the open-air drug market in the area and prevent excessive gatherings of people,” Guglielmi said in a statement. “During this time, only residents who reside on the streets are permitted to enter while others are directed to alternative routes.”
It’s akin to sealing off areas that have been slammed by a hurricane. Whether it’s wise to do it in this instance is another story.
* Press release…
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today joined Governor JB Pritzker to announce a new ‘Arts for Illinois Relief Fund’ to provide financial assistance to artists, artisans and cultural organizations impacted by COVID-19. The fund is a partnership between the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois and the broader philanthropic community. Arts for Illinois Relief Fund is administered by Arts Alliance Illinois in partnership with 3Arts and Arts Work Fund. To date, more than $4M has been committed from public and private sources to seed an upcoming statewide campaign that will provide additional funding to meet the growing and critical needs of the state’s creative sector.
Grant applications for artists, artisans and cultural organizations open today. The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has contributed $1 million to the relief effort, along with leadership gifts from Walder Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Fundraising activities will be co-chaired by First Lady MK Pritzker and First Lady Amy Eshleman, with support from other civic leaders. Individuals, corporations and charitable foundations are encouraged to donate to the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund by visiting www.artsforillinois.org.
* I’ve posted this UFCW press release before…
Local 881 workers must be designated as first responders for the remainder of the COVID-19 crisis. Governors in Minnesota, Michigan, and Vermont have taken this position, which will make retail workers eligible for free childcare, provide coverage for all coronavirus treatments, tests, and medicines if diagnosed or quarantined, and ensure that they have adequate access to PPE.
These minimum benefits come at a pivotal time as our members are working to sustain the food supply when demand is high, and schools are closed. Like the rest of us, grocery store, pharmacy, and food processing workers have children who are no longer attending school and are themselves at risk of getting sick. Everything must be done to ensure they can work and come home safely to their families.
I’ve been asking the governor’s office about it and received a reply yeserday afternoon…
The Governor is deeply grateful for the dedication our grocery store workers have displayed during this crisis. He is working with advocates and industry to ensure we’re implementing best practices to keep workers and consumers safe. National shortages in PPE have resulted in tough decisions being made between bad choices and less bad choices. The Governor is urging the federal government to step up, utilize the Defense Production Act, and work to end the national shortage of PPE we’re all dealing with.
So, the answer, apparently, is “No.”
* Related…
* U.S. emergency medical stockpile nearly out of protective gear as demand rises -officials
* A global ‘free-for-all’ to buy and sell face masks emerges amid coronavirus battle
* ‘They should assume their neighbors have it,’ officials say of COVID-19 pervasiveness
* County maps reveal suburban spread of coronavirus infections. Some of the highest numbers are in the northern suburbs.
* A crying doctor, patients gasping for air and limited coronavirus tests: A look inside a triage tent in Chicago
* Shuttered soup kitchens make life even tougher for homeless: ‘No sandwiches. No dinners. No nothing.’
* No layoffs in city government due to declining revenues and rising costs, Lightfoot says
* ‘Doing the best they can’: Southern Illinois towns give distance governing a go as COVID-19 limits interaction
* SIU culinary workers speak out about COVID-19 concerns after two students test positive
* Reaching Out in Crisis: 2 Altamont CNAs head to Chicago to aid COVID-19 patients
25 Comments
|
Tiny green shoots
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is a hugely important step…
Scientists are starting to roll out new blood tests for the coronavirus, a key development that, unlike the current diagnostic tests, will help pinpoint people who are immune and reveal the full scope of the pandemic.
The “serological” tests — which rely on drawn blood, not a nasal or throat swab — can identify people who were infected and have already recovered from Covid-19, including those who were never diagnosed, either because they didn’t feel particularly sick or they couldn’t get an initial test. Scientists expect those individuals will be safe from another infection for at least some time — so the tests could signal who could be prioritized to return to work or serve as a frontline health worker.
That story was from last week.
* Yesterday…
Two US companies have launched a rapid antibody test for the coronavirus, which can be used to detect if a person’s immune system has Covid-19 or has recovered from it.
BD, a large medical technology company, and BioMedomics, a North Carolina-based clinical diagnostics company, announced a new point-of-care test that can detect evidence of past or present exposure to the virus in as little as 15 minutes.
But…
BD plans to make a million tests available in the coming months, distributing through its partner healthcare supplies company Henry Schein.
Without a vaccine, the only way we can start getting people back to work after the peak is to find out who may be immune.
We need reliable tests and we need to get production scaled up fast. That’s why the Defense Procurement Act is so important in times like these…
Invoking the Defense Production Act is hardly a rare occurrence. As recently as last summer, the Department of Defense used it to obtain rare earth metals needed to build lasers, jet engines and armored vehicles.
The Defense Department estimates that it has used the law’s powers 300,000 times a year. The Department of Homeland Security — including its subsidiary, FEMA — placed more than 1,000 so-called rated orders in 2018, often for hurricane and other disaster response and recovery efforts, according to a report submitted to Congress in 2019 by a committee of federal agencies formed to plan for the effective use of the law.
The law, which was used frequently by previous administrations as well, does not permit the federal government to assert complete control over a company. The federal government can, however, use it to jump ahead of other clients or issue loans so a company can buy all of the supplies it needs to complete the government’s order by a specific date. A rarely used authority of the law also allows the administration to control the distribution of a company’s products and determine where such materials go.
15 Comments
|
Support For Fair Maps Gains Momentum
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Leadership counts more than ever. Every voter’s voice is at risk if nothing is done to improve the remap process before May 3. Failure to improve redistricting will leave communities un- or under-represented.
CHANGE Illinois is proud to work with these organizations, and many others, in the Illinois Redistricting Collaborative.These are just some of the dozens of groups that have endorsed the Fair Maps Amendment (SJRCA18/HJRCA 41):
● Asian-Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago
● Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
● Chicago Urban League
● Chicago Votes
● Common Cause Illinois
● Indivisible Chicago
● John Howard Association
● Latino Policy Forum
● League of Women Voters Illinois
● Mujeres Latinas en Accion
● NAACP Chicago – South Side Branch
● National Rainbow PUSH Coalition
● Workers Center for Racial Justice
The Illinois Redistricting Collaborative includes 33 organizations fighting for a fair and equitable redistricting process. Gerrymandering is voter suppression. It needs to stop.
Lawmakers can stand with Illinois voters and our diverse, statewide coalition by sponsoring HJRCA41 and SJRCA18 and by calling on leadership to allow votes. Together, we can bring equity to Illinois representation.
Learn more by visiting changeil.org/get-involved.
Comments Off
|
Is it starting to work?
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lisa Schencker and Joe Mahr at the Tribune…
The number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois could exceed 19,000 a little more than a week from now, according to a new analysis by experts at Rush — but that’s far less than the 147,000 cases the state could have seen by then if residents had not retreated to their homes. […]
The Rush calculator, which includes four growth models, projects how the number of Illinois cases might increase over the next week or so, depending on how fast the illness spreads. It also includes forecasts as far as 30 days out, but Hota said those more distant forecasts are far less reliable.
According to the calculator, Illinois could have expected to see 146,581 cases by April 9 if cases had continued growing at the fast pace seen earlier in March.
In the earlier stages of the illness’s spread, Rush University Medical Center saw a doubling of cases every two to three days, Hota said. But the growth rate in new cases has slowed, and the medical center is now seeing a doubling every five to six days.
However, testing is still spotty and private labs are overwhelmed and unable to provide timely results.
Just do your best and stay at home.
7 Comments
|
U of I won’t publish March Flash Index
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
For the first time in its quarter-century history, the University of Illinois Flash Index will not be published for March because the COVID-19 pandemic has compromised the components of the index. The index, which stood at 105.7 in February, is derived using receipts from the state’s sales tax, personal income tax and corporate income tax.
“The sudden, unprecedented near-shutdown of economic activity from the coronavirus is clearly causing huge, but as yet unmeasured, economic damage,” said economist J. Fred Giertz of the U of I System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs, who has compiled the monthly Flash Index since 1997.
“The shutdowns and the stay-at-home orders clearly have had an immediate impact on economic activity that would show up in declining state tax receipts,” said Giertz. “However, the state’s response in granting deferrals in tax payments will further depress revenues for March.”
Due to the unexpected closures of businesses caused by the pandemic, the state provided extra time to pay sales taxes, and has conformed to federal changes that moved the personal and corporate income tax filing deadlines to July 15.
The value of the Flash Index has been the availability of nearly contemporaneous information about the economy from tax receipts, but the pandemic turned this advantage into a liability for the index, Giertz said. Adjustments have been made for ad hoc problems that have arisen in the past, but they were much more minor, affecting only one of the three kinds of tax receipts, he said.
“The saying ‘It’s different this time’ is almost always wrong. But this time, it’s accurate,” Giertz said. “The economic effects of the suddenness and severity of the current crisis are unprecedented and will take some time to understand fully.”
Wild times.
That most recent Flash Index of 105.7 was the ninth highest February rating since 1984 and the highest month since the beginning of 2017.
1 Comment
|
Controversial Champaign testing put on hold
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yesterday…
Dr. Tom Pliura, an independent physician, has obtained thousands of COVID-19 tests and will be offering tests to the public at a drive-through test site in Champaign starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The tests will be available to anyone, he said. […]
Pliura, a LeRoy-based doctor and lawyer who owns CampusTown Urgent Care at 631 E. Green St., C, said he has 8,000 tests available to start, and can get 8,000 more. He’ll be working with two private labs, Quest and LabCorp, which will be processing the tests and turning around results — he expects within three-to-four days, he said.
That was such an odd story. How did he get those tests? And shouldn’t those tests be going to hospitals and first responders or where they are most needed? Plus, private testing labs are being widely criticized for taking on more tests than they can quickly process. The backlogs are enormous and growing, so how could he expect results in three or four days?
* Today…
“In the interest of serving our local community, First Christian Church initially partnered with a local health care clinic to provide a mobile test site for COVID-19. After further conversation with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and medical officials, we have been advised to postpone this partnership.” […]
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde said the church staff asked for her professional advice about going ahead with the drive-through, and she advised waiting until several questions that have been raised are answered.
“First of all, there is just no unfettered access to testing in this country,” she said.
“Among questions are tests done outside the guidelines, insurance coverage for testing and what people may wind up paying. Just because Dr. Tom Pliura has promised he won’t bill anyone without coverage doesn’t mean the private labs processing the tests won’t, she said. “There’s no reason they can’t hold off until the questions are answered,” she said.
21 Comments
|
Open thread
Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the other day…
Ain’t that the truth.
As always, please be nice to each other and stick to Illinois topics. Thanks.
17 Comments
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|