* Press release…
With workers at nearly 70 nursing homes across the state planning to go on strike because of unsafe working conditions, several Illinois Senate Democrats wrote a letter to the Illinois Department of Public Health and many local health departments Tuesday requesting to know the amount of Personal Protective Equipment that has been distributed to those nursing homes and the process by which it was distributed.
“The hardworking people who put their own health on the line to care for our state’s most vulnerable population should not have to do so without proper protection,” said State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago). “Workers shouldn’t be left wondering when and if they’ll get more supplies, and management shouldn’t have to find and pay for most PPE that is needed out of its own pockets.”
The request comes from members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus who have at least one nursing home in the district they represent where management received strike notices last week. Employees of 64 nursing homes across the state sent strike notices to management, saying facilities do not have enough PPE, safety protocols, and adequate hazard pay.
In an effort to stand up for those workers in their districts, the group sent a letter to IDPH and local health departments to ask how facilities are chosen to receive PPE and how much PPE these nursing homes have received since the start of the outbreak.
“When our nursing home staffs aren’t afforded adequate PPE, that puts worker and resident lives in danger,” said State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview). “PPE is scarce right now, but our frontline workers need these supplies in order to continue caring for those who need it the most.”
Late last month, WBEZ — a Chicago-based public radio station — reported 625 Illinois nursing home patients and staff have died from COVID-19. Nursing home deaths make up more than a third of the state’s COVID-19 deaths.
“We need to do everything possible to provide a safe environment for our nursing home workers, who day in and day out protect our most vulnerable loved ones,” said State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Schaumburg).
* HB5769 synopsis…
Creates the Personal Protective Equipment Responsibility Act. Requires an employer designated as an essential employer under a disaster proclamation issued pursuant to the Illinois Emergency Management Act or an executive order issued pursuant to the disaster proclamation to provide personal protective equipment to independent contractors and to all employees during the duration of the disaster proclamation or executive order. Defines terms. Authorizes the recovery of damages, including punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. Effective immediately.
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line…
A group of progressive lawmakers on Monday unveiled proposed legislation seeking a six-month “cancellation” on rent and mortgage payments for those impacted by the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic. The proposal would wipe out rent payments for six months whenever Pritzker’s stay-at-home order eventually lifts, and it would defer home mortgage payments until late in the year. In addition, the bill would freeze rents and waive penalties for failing to pay property taxes. During a virtual press conference Monday, State Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) said 27 percent of Illinoisans were not able to pay their rent in April. She cited a much higher figure for the city of Chicago — approximately 67 percent. “We can’t even imagine what’s going to happen in May,” Ramirez said. “We need to take immediate, proactive and bold action.” The draft proposal released by Ramirez’s office would make the relief available to anyone suffering “any negative financial, medical, or other impact, on an individual or household because of Covid-19 and associated governmental orders, including…loss of income, furlough, hour reduction or other interruption to employment due to workplace, school, and other facility closures; or increased household, childcare, health care or other expenses.” The bill would also establish a Housing Relief Fund that Ramirez said she hoped would be funded by another major stimulus package passed by Congress, which would also benefit small landlords.
* Phil Luciano…
Dave Koehler is tired of talking about toilets.
The Peoria senator and his staff have been pounded with calls from constituents wondering why the state has kept shut Banner Marsh State Fish and Wildlife Area and Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area. Many state parks got reopened Friday 1, but not those two.
The reason: they don’t have flush toilets and hand-washing sinks. Because of the coronavirus, the state insists state parks must provide both.
Koehler thinks that’s an overreach, especially as there’s an easy solution. Meantime, instead of helping constituents with unemployment benefits and other important matters, he has been busy explaining the state’s stringent bathroom requirements.
* Politico…
A confrontation was sparked the other day when state Democratic state Rep. Natalie Manley spoke harshly to a state Health Department worker about prisoners with coronavirus getting hospital care.
Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell responded with a text, telling Manley if anyone speaks to that employee again in such a way, “I will burn their house to the ground…the entire f—ing house.”
The governor’s office acknowledged the exchange got heated but said of course Mitchell wouldn’t burn down anyone’s home. “He was standing up for a public health employee who was berated for working to ensure prisoners were getting health-care,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh told Playbook.
Manley dismissed the exchange, saying “this is not a story… The focus needs to be on how hard people are working… Legislators are working very hard, as is the governor’s office and all his administration.”
Some Will County legislators are upset about the number of Stateville prisoners being treated at some local hospitals. It’s been a bone of contention for weeks. From WJOL almost exactly a month ago…
Stateville Correctional Center is a hot spot of coronavirus. One-hundred and twenty-five people have tested positive for COVID-19, 30 employees and 95 inmates. But the issue of where to send very ill inmates remains. Currently, St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet is still taking a huge majority of sick inmates. Illinois State Senator Pat McGuire says despite a plan by the Lockport Township Fire Protection District, the deputy governor has not signed off on it yet.
McGuire is hoping WJOL listeners will call the Deputy Governor, Christian Mitchell and ask him approve the plan. Call 312 814 -2121 or email, christian.mitchell@illinois.gov.
Mitchell got flooded with angry calls and emails after that. Trouble is, nobody really knew what they were actually complaining about.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Grant Wehrli tweeted today…
Same Deputy Governor texted me to “Get a life” when I raised concerns about how IDES was handling unemployment claims. Anger management issues should never be on display when responding to a member of a co-equal branch of government @cljmitchell
I asked Rep. Wehrli for a screen-shot of the entire exchange. He politely declined, saying the tweet “speaks for itself.”
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:00 am:
===I asked Rep. Wehrli for a screen-shot of the entire exchange. He politely declined, saying the tweet “speaks for itself.”===
The thing about Mr. Wehrli?
Easy.
When you look for a legislator willing to get things done, willing to make a difference, be a leader, be someone who is a work horse and not a show horse…
…
That’s NOT… Grant Wehrli.
I didn’t need a global crisis to see how useless he is, I don’t need his twitter trolling to reinforce it either.
- Don Harmon's Folly - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:06 am:
Christian Mitchell keeping it classy.
- Nagidam - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:08 am:
Lot of wrongs in these exchanges listed in this post. One thing that is certain is all involved are legislators or former legislators. Dep. Gov. Mitchell may be the “most right” but he doesn’t do his boss any favors thinking he can handle his former colleagues as equals.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:13 am:
Ya know, the thing about “the tweeters thingy“, sometimes… ya don’t need to tweet every thought you have.
As Coach Herm Edwards told rookies entering the NFL…
“Don’t press send”
I’m trying to grasp what someone gets in the positive by engaging with certain language or thoughts that aren’t… helpful.
Twitter rarely helps, it’s more likely to hurt you.
- COVincible - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:13 am:
No surprise to those that have regularly interacted with the self-proclaimed “wunderkind” Christian Mitchell.
- Snapple Lady - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:17 am:
If Rivers was open, I’d put $ on Manley
- Louis G Atsaves - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:19 am:
Somebody needs a time out in the Governor’s office.
- Unboxed Boxer - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:21 am:
Christian is a great guy. Smart, funny, hard-working. (His tweets are good stuff.)
But Christian is staff. Plain and simple. His job is to always help and never hurt his boss. JB loves him, Anne loves him, Julianna loves him. All good. But he is still staff, and the rules still apply to him. If he is more trouble than he is worth, then he will be gone in a split second. Poof.
- Perrid - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:22 am:
I can certainly sympathize with Mitchell, but he needs to take a breather. Wehrli is a blowhard and it’s easy to lose patience with him. You need to try to keep it anyway.
- Frank talks - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:22 am:
Wonder what was in that text exchange that Mitchell would respond with get a life?
Come on Grant you obviously wanted the attention. Or else you wouldn’t have put it out there. I’m guessing Christian has the texts as well so you probably can’t adjust it to you’re own narrative.
Might as well put it out now. Or are you afraid of being exposed for your usual self promotion and hoped relevance. Maybe stick with fighting McSweeney?
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:28 am:
- Same Deputy Governor texted me to “Get a life” -
Oh the horror. Is this supposed to be your one man #metoo movement?
Seriously bud, I hope you get the help you need after this horrific encounter. #snowflake
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:28 am:
I find it interesting that Mr. Wehrli won’t share screen shots.
As the choices of Mr. Mitchell are less than stellar in those tweets, we are seeing them to make choices about them.
Mr. Wehrli, “Mr. Transparency”, seems very reluctant to show his exchange.
- Roman - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:30 am:
If Wehrli is going to make that charge, he should be willing to back it up with proof.
As far as Christian is concerned, I’d like to cut him some slack because I like him. But I can’t get beyond two things: first, he put it in writing. Not only does that show a lack of judgement, it means he had a moment to chill and control his worst impulses and was unable to do so. Not good. And second, he has just given an easy defense to any state employee facing discipline for threatening or verbally abusing a co-worker. “The deputy governor did it.”
- former southerner - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:37 am:
Give widdle Grantie a break because he is just following neo-GOP marching orders. Their loyal followers don’t want data or scientific facts and avoid truth like a vampire avoids the sun. I am currently waiting for my old party to pull a Phoenix and follow up their current crash and burn with a positive rebirth.
- Unstable Genius - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:42 am:
State Rep Ramirez - Great ideas; canceling rent and mortgage payments, eliminate property tax penalties, freezing rent. In your next proposed bill, please include free college, free food, free medical, and free gym memberships. You are right, the Federal government can just print some money to pay for it all. You have a great future as a Democrat.
- The Most Anonymous - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:42 am:
Christian just cannot master the art of a shutdown. This ain’t it.
- Norseman - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:45 am:
Manley needs to apologize to the IDPH employee and Mitchell needs to apologize to Manley and to take anger management training.
- Howard - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:48 am:
Some people rise to the occasion some never have and never will
- JoanP - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:54 am:
A lot of people need to use that Call4Calm text line DHS set up.
- Socially DIstant Watcher - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:21 am:
Bottom line, Wherli lied about the ‘get a life” bit, and Mitchell talks like a sailor.
Did I miss anything?
- Centennial - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:21 am:
It will be interesting to see how the Gov office handle this situation. They have held themselves out to be holier than thou when it comes to intolerance of poor staff behavior. Now that a beloved, male staffer texted threatening language to a female, state representative…. I’m curious if they will respond or hope it goes it away.
- Dotnonymous - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:24 am:
Mitchell talks like Mitchell…Don’t blame Sailors.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:39 am:
Wherli’s pearl clutching is pathetic. “Get a life” is incredibly mild but then he is such a tender hearted suburbanite.
My experience with Mitchell has been positive but he has to reign it in and be more professional or he makes his bosses job more difficult rather than easier. Wherli isn’t worth it
- SAP - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:00 pm:
Don’t know what Rep. Manley said to the DPH worker, so the jury is still out. However, kudos to Manley for tamping it down with the it’s not a story comment rather than escalating.
- Miso - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:06 pm:
That’s a veiled threat to a female member of the GA. My reading is she was the one that gave the worker an unwarranted unbraiding. Did she threaten physical violence in that interaction? This was a threat of violence against a female Rep. that’s serious and needs more attention than just. “My bad.”
- Truth - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:27 pm:
Christian Mitchell is an overpaid mental lightweight. Ain’t worth his salt and shows it regularly. Next, please. We’d like a refund Mr. Governor and you should too.
- Tammy - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:37 pm:
== I’m curious if they will respond or hope it goes it away. ==
Since this happened a few weeks ago and Mitchell still has his job (and didn’t serve a suspension, as far as we can tell,) the administration was hoping it would just go away.
- Amalia - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 2:26 pm:
Dep. Gov. Mitchell, you need to pull back. chill out.
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 2:46 pm:
Since the beginning of this pandemic, I’ve been applying a filter akin to Rich’s admonition, “Everyone, please take a breath.” Everyone is stressed out more than ever before. And that leads me to Christian.
The guy has been working around the clock leading the PPE acquisition effort for almost two months. I really think people need to cut him a little slack.
- Spfld - Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 3:29 pm:
Any person that knows Deputy Governor Mitchell- knows he is anything but a lightweight. He is smart, kind and stands up for the groups of people that are voiceless.
If you don’t like that he is busy and focused; then you don’t know how state government works.
Be respectful people…these folks have not had one day off and working their butts are to keep the state safe!
- Rather B. Fishing - Thursday, May 7, 20 @ 9:18 am:
If you showed me the text, I’d have guessed it came from Christian. If you’d outside his circle, he’ll treat you like trash. Period.