* Every day, the governor’s office answers questions from state legislators in writing. From the latest…

Q: Can the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) give further clarification on how the regions were developed in the Restore Illinois plan and how the IDPH Districts will factor into the plan (if at all)?

A: IDPH has 11 Emergency Medical Services Regions that have traditionally guided its statewide public health work. For the purposes of the Restore Illinois plan, from those 11, four health regions were established: Northeast Illinois, North-Central Illinois, Central Illinois and Southern Illinois.

To learn more about the development and implementation of the Restore Illinois plan, we encourage you to visit the plan here.

But if you follow that link and then click on the FAQ link, you’ll see this…

Q: How did the administration come up with the four regions?

A: The Illinois Department of Public Health has 11 Emergency Medical Services Regions that have traditionally guided its statewide public health work. For the purposes of the Restore Illinois plan, from those 11, four health regions were established: Northeast Illinois, North-Central Illinois, Central Illinois and Southern Illinois.

* As we’ve already discussed, the lack of clarification or insight into the reasoning behind the regional map has led to anger, confusion and division. The latest from Capitol News Illinois…

Officials from Peoria County on Wednesday unveiled their own COVID-19 reopening plan that breaks up north-central Illinois into a sub-region of 11 counties, which officials say will allow the area to take a more localized approach that protects public and economic health better than the state’s plan.

The proposed plan, which Peoria officials have dubbed “Restore Heart of Illinois,” seeks to amend Pritzker’s four-region “Restore Illinois” plan by carving out an 11-county area within the 27-county North-Central region, which would include the metropolitan centers of Peoria and Bloomington.

The sub-region, which is based on commuter data, would include Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Fulton, Marshall, Stark, McLean, Livingston, Bureau, Putnam and LaSalle counties.

“They’re not really that different,” Peoria County Public Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson, who also has a background in epidemiology, said of the three-stage sub-region plan and the state’s five-phase plan.

Phil Luciano…

Friday, the proposal was sent to Gov. JB Prtizker, who has yet to offer a reply to Ardis or the others. In the past, Pritzker has said he is not considering localized changes to his Restore Illinois blueprint. But Ardis said Wednesday the governor’s blessing is not imperative regarding the Peoria-area plan, which could go into effect in seven to 10 days.

“The plan is to continue to move forward,” Ardis said. “If the governor comes out and say no, our plan is to move forward.” […]

The plan calls for three stages for reopening, with the entire sub-region aiming at moving forward together. “However, if an identifiable location within the sub-region is not following approved guidance and/or showing health system stress indicators, that area may be excluded from moving to the next stage,” the plan states.

But the plan is hopeful of an aggressive reopening: “We have an extraordinary ability to respond to health emergencies in our sub-region. We believe that ability uniquely enables the sub-region to move forward in a more aggressive manner, beginning with a 50 percent opening rather than the 25 percent common in many plans.”

The new plan would push the sub-region from what is currently the governor’s phase 2 into phase 3 almost immediately — a scenario not seen by the governor until the end of May, at best. Phase 3, for example, allows for offices, salons and barber shops to open, with capacity limits and other safety precautions. Face coverings would still be required. Any gatherings of 10 or fewer would be allowed. The governor’s phase 4 would start at the end of May.

* Look, I’m not saying the regions are necessarily bad. What I am saying is that the governor needs to explain exactly why the eleven EMS regions were not used…

       

50 Comments - Practical Politics - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:15 am: Absolutely right, Rich. - the Edge - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:16 am: the 4 regions need to be modified; a one size fits all bucket will only continue to cause courts to be receptive to arguments for modification. - NotRich - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:19 am: 2020 is not 2019.. JB is getting some bad advise from his team.. because I said so NEVER sits well with those on the 3rd floor.. when the honeymoon love affair fades, the Legislature becomes like a woman scorned..the longer this drags on with total authority ideas the uglier it will get. - Merica - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:20 am: There are way too many counties in Illinois. Consolidate them three at a time. There are 58 counties in California, 102 in Illinois, and California is more than three times the size of Illinois. - Hamlet's Ghost - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:22 am: If Brady and Durkin can to put GOP votes on an 11 region map and otherwise agree on the rules that will apply to those 11 regions, then it probably makes sense for JB to accept a bi-partisan legislative solution to replace the EOs. - Hamlet's Ghost - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:27 am: There is a 17 day window for a legislative solution to replace the Executive Orders - May 14th until May 31st. It’s time to get Zoom-ing and make some deals. - SAP - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:27 am: Regions 7 through 11 look like one region to me, with the possible exception of Grundy, Kendall, and Kankakee - OOO - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:28 am: Exactly. Transparency is the foundation of trust and the Governor and his staff have been sorrily lacking. Until he decides to do better, you’re going to see more talk and more action regarding subregional plans. - Bruce (no not him) - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:29 am: I hope the Governor will listen to the conflicting ideas and not just reject out of hand. Though, I really think the biggest issue is not the # of regions but the 28 days. - Precinct Captain - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:32 am: Aren’t the quadrants based on hospitalization capacity? Or regional health care availability? The EMS regions are about trauma care. - Perrid - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:33 am: Besides Chicagoland, would it change anything for the other regions? Like Peoria, since they’re composing so dang much? There’s a lot of travel (normally) within the Chicagoland area. It might be reasonable to lump the suburbs in with Chicago because there’s a lot of regular travel back and forth. I don’t understand why the Guv doesn’t just say that. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:33 am: ===Aren’t the quadrants based on=== I believe they are, but why the maps are drawn that way is still not explained. - Perrid - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:35 am: Lol, *complaining* not composing - Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:35 am: The governor need to do the following; 1) prepare an extensive PowerPoint laying out methodology to the orders and the regions. 2) explain within that methodology how the hot spots and larger towns and communities were factored in 3) using that explanation of hot spots known and larger towns and communities, show the hospital reach and how that factors into the phases and each reaching the next phases to open 4) highlight the current status within the regions and expectations towards the positives and negatives of opening up with and outside the guidelines. There’s more than enough time, data, information, and science to meet those 4 expectations. - RuralKing - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:41 am: Has anyone been able to ask questions of the “scientist and experts” that JB claims to be following? Does anyone know who they are specifically or just that they are from U of I or Northwestern or wherever? Seems pretty easy to pass the buck to these anonamous “experts” and therefore shirk the responsibility to some unnamed and therefore unaccountable entity. Maybe he has named them and I missed it. - Rabid - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:44 am: EMS is about transporting not treatment - Norseman - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:45 am: Rich is correct. They need to explain it better. That shouldn’t be a problem if it’s data-based. This needs to be placed in the “Do Better” category. - Nuke The Whales - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:47 am: ==Has anyone been able to ask questions of the “scientist and experts” that JB claims to be following?== Well, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health is at these press conferences all of the time, but with something as extensively commented on by the scientific community as COVID-19 an exhaustive “works cited” sheet of each qualified individual is necessary. - ajjacksson - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:47 am: Rich, I really appreciate this post. You may not agree with the people asking the question, but you do believe that it’s a legitimate question. - AD - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:52 am: ===1) prepare an extensive PowerPoint laying out methodology to the orders and the regions.=== I’m sure a Rauner PowerPoint would’ve been sufficient for OW during the Veterans Home Legionnaires cases. Governor’s Own. If you’re making a PowerPoint, you’ve already lost the audience. - Cheryl44 - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:52 am: Everything is done according to the number of hospital beds are available per population numbers in case everything goes south. I believe JB has explained this multiple times except for the part about people dropping dead in the streets. - Froganon - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:53 am: The kvetching, legal challenges and second guessing will continue regardless of what configurations the Gov. establishes. The 28 days give us all more time to prepare for the inevitable surge in cases and the death rate which will likely follow. Speaking as one of the “disposable population”, I won’t be out and about until there is a vaccine and/or effective treatment for those with asthma. I’m working remotely, ordering out and donating to help locally. I’m also working to elect Democrats to control The House, the Senate and the Presidency. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:56 am: Oh - AD -, === I’m sure a Rauner PowerPoint would’ve been sufficient for OW during the Veterans Home Legionnaires cases. Governor’s Own. If you’re making a PowerPoint, you’ve already lost the audience.=== If he puts out a PowerPoint owning the plan… isn’t *that* owning it. If you’re gonna mouth breath and sound ridiculous, please wear a mask. Thanks. (Governors own… it would be *his* PowerPoint… geez, Louise) - We'll See - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:57 am: The front page of yesterday’s Kankakee Daily Journal reports on a COVID outbreak at the Manteno Vets Home juxtaposed to an article about the County’s planning for reopening in which a board member claims “we are not a hotspot” The way I see it there little the Gov could say to satisfy the deniers. - Chatham Resident - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:57 am: Interesting that outside of Chicagoland and the Metro East, each EMS district includes 1 or 2 major urban centers. Except for District 2, which includes the Illinois Quad Cities (Rock Island/Moline), Peoria, and Bloomington/Normal all within the district. Plus smaller urban areas as LaSalle/Peru, Galesburg, and Macomb (at least when WIU is in session). A case could be made to split District 2 in half primarily along the counties immediately to the west of the Illinois River. Fulton, Peoria, Marshall eastward to Bloomington and Pontiac in one district; Knox, McDonough, Stark, Bureau northwestward to Quad Cities in a separate EMS district. LaSalle-Peru area could go either way (or LaSalle County could be a split-district county; north goes toward QCs, south goes toward Peoria-Bloomington district). - Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:57 am: - AD - Rauner denied and his emails to the damage and infections and deaths at the Veterans Home. Dave McKinney did a whole ting on it. You’re welcome - Precinct Captain - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:59 am: - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 10:33 am: Now, I’m not saying this is detailed enough information, but from IDPH’s website: “The plan is based upon regional healthcare availability, and it recognizes the distinct impact COVID-19 has had on different regions of our state as well as regional variations in hospital capacity.” http://dph.illinois.gov/restore/restore-faqs According the American Trauma Society, “Physical trauma is severe blunt, blast or penetrating injury primarily caused by automobile crashes, gunshots, knife wounds, falls, battery, or burns.” Furthermore, “The survival of trauma patient is reliant upon the strength of the trauma system in that patient’s geographical area.” IDPH says its EMS plans are set up to be local, areawide, and regional. The regional trauma centers accept patient referrals from local and area centers. Part of the reason these regions are set up the way they are is about transporting people to appropriate trauma centers. https://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/emergency-preparedness-response/ems https://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/emergency-preparedness-response/ems/res_sysListing https://www.amtrauma.org/page/About - Shark Sandwich - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:09 am: Overheard in the planning of those regions: “Why don’t you just make ten regions and make ten be the top number and make that region have a little more resources?” “These go to eleven.” - Michael Westen - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:28 am: The reason is……because he said so. That should be good enough for everyone. - Stu - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:36 am: @Shark Sandwich - a two word review… - Norseman - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:36 am: === EMS is about transporting not treatment === Said by someone who is clueless as to what an EMS system does. It’s about emergency treatment, medical supervision, administrative supervision, training and transportation to one of an array of hospitals from the basic to the most intensive Level 1 Trauma Centers. - zatoichi - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:37 am: If there were 20 regions people would be complaining it should be 30 or 10. If each county had their own plan then the complaints will be lack of statewide coordination. He is the governor and came up with a plan. If he had no plan the complaints would be equally loud. - Scott Cross for President - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:37 am: Shark Sandwich - thank you for the Spinal Tap reference. Much needed in these dark times. Here’s another favorite from the film: “We’re very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries… They’re two distinct types of visionaries, it’s like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.” - The Dude Abides - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:42 am: The kvetching, legal challenges and second guessing will continue regardless of what configurations the Gov. establishes. The 28 days give us all more time to prepare for the inevitable surge in cases and the death rate which will likely follow. Speaking as one of the “disposable population”, How can you say that there’s a big surge coming? Because the Governor’s people who are following the science say so? They also told us that the peak was coming in late April, then said it would be mid May and now are saying mid June. Dr Fauci said 2 days ago that there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the virus. I agree and I don’t think the Governor’s people or anyone else is certain about anything right now. - Banish Misfortune - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 11:57 am: I find it ironic that for years Peotone argued that it’s part of the Chicago region and should get an airport, but now it’s not. - thunderspirit - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 12:11 pm: == I believe they are, but why the maps are drawn that way is still not explained. == To elaborate on this: it’s not been explained so that the public gets it. As Rich is fond of saying, most people don’t do nuance. Part of politics is sales: you’ve got to effectively sell your vision. Whether I agree with him on these things or not (I do, largely), Governor Pritzker hasn’t created a succinct pitch on this, or on the 28 day decision, particularly well. That’s on him and his staff. - Chicagonk - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 12:13 pm: I don’t have an issue with the regions. I just think Pritzker needs to be more flexible with the border communities like the Metro East and the Quad Cities. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 12:19 pm: === Whether I agree with him on these things or not (I do, largely), Governor Pritzker hasn’t created a succinct pitch on this, or on the 28 day decision, particularly well. That’s on him and his staff.=== This is top shelf. To my own 4 points? My points revolve around what - thunderspirit - stared; The clarity of the decisions in a way that can seen, digested, and understood, that’s the call of this Administration. They may feel … “asked and answers”… and that may be true, and many don’t do nuance, that is also true… but what I do know… they, the administration can choose to make their position much clearer, and using their explanations without others interpret. - Responsa - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 12:31 pm: I’m gratified that legitimate questions being raised about the regions are starting to get a hearing in the Gov’s daily updates and reported in a responsible way by some media. This is a pandemic but also increasingly a morality issue to many Illinoisans; Overarching morality that must incorporate somewhere on a balanced scale both the moral imperative of reasonably preserving as many lives as possible from the virus, while also pursuing the moral imperative of getting schools operational and rescuing as much of the state’s fragile economy as is possible now for the unemployed and businesses who daily are losing their often multi-generational life’s work as doors close forever and lives are ruined and lost in other ways. There will be some lives lost and there will be some businesses lost and there will be tax revenue lost whatever is done from here. That is a fact. But adapting and altering course is what real leaders do. The governor’s current rigidity and lack of transparency on this issue is disappointing and concerning. - Annonin - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 12:52 pm: Ardis has been pretty relaxed in a region that has its share of whack jobs. Seems to be cracking. Howevver the WI SC decision may cause NE ILL rowdies to rush and come to PIA with their virus biproducts - Blooms of Spring - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 1:07 pm: I don’t think the 4 regions is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my local area is different. These smaller 11 regions seem better but… I don’t think the 11 regions is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my local area is different. Going by counties seems better but… I don’t think the county level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my city is different. Going by cities seems better but… I don’t think the city level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my neighborhood is different. Going by neighborhood seems better but… I don’t think the neighborhood level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my street is different than others. Going by streets seems better but… I don’t think the street level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my house is different. Going by houses seems better but… I don’t think the house level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my master bedroom is different than other rooms in the house. Going by rooms seems better but… I don’t think the room level is good for deciding how to transition to normal because my spouse that shares the room is different than me. Going by individual decision seems better but… My other split personality doesn’t think so. - In 630 - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 1:14 pm: Even a simple “the 4 regions are our starting point, from there we’ll adapt based on how areas the health and safety of areas within those regions progress” would go a long way for the sensible among us. Some areas aren’t really separable (DuPage and Cook, Boone and Winnebago, come to mind, but I’m sure there are others) but in general there are good reasons to have groups evolve over time. - Almost the weekend - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 1:22 pm: My guess would be he created four regions in hopes that the Northeast Illinois region could subsidize Chicago and enter them into Phase 3 in a quicker time. The problem is, that is not currently working, and Northeast Illinois is the lifeblood of the Illinois economy. If Pritzker is playing the waiting game hoping this will improve it will backfire. It’s not too late to change your plan and show your flexibility. You are adapting timelines based on models based on data. You can adapt your plan based on feedback along with data as well. - Fighter of Foo - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 1:22 pm: Serious question. I know from being in education for many years why consolidation of school districts was fought. Those reasons do not exist anymore. to cut them down from 800 plus now with e learning being talked about in the fall, i would love to hear why we can’t in the new normal. - OpentoDiscussion - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 1:28 pm: =Officials from Peoria County on Wednesday unveiled their own COVID-19 reopening plan that breaks up north-central Illinois into a sub-region of 11 counties, which officials say will allow the area to take a more localized approach that protects public and economic health better than the state’s plan. The proposed plan, which Peoria officials have dubbed “Restore Heart of Illinois,” seeks to amend Pritzker’s four-region “Restore Illinois” plan by carving out an 11-county area within the 27-county North-Central region, which would include the metropolitan centers of Peoria and Bloomington. The sub-region, which is based on commuter data, would include Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Fulton, Marshall, Stark, McLean, Livingston, Bureau, Putnam and LaSalle counties.= I have repeatedly said that his needs to be reviewed on a county by county basis. This is at least some recognition that a macro approach is wrong. - Shark Sandwich - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 2:14 pm: @Stu - Rich M. can’t/won’t print that. - Arock - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 2:14 pm: Should be more regions and more location data in each region where the majority of cases are located. The State should have never been closed as a whole and areas should have been shut down as needed based on data and much of the rural economies would have been spared devastation financially with cases reported until late in the shelter at home. Much of the data is skewed in rural areas by prison or nursing home numbers. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 2:18 pm: === prison or nursing home numbers.=== … and meat packing plants. Things, as Rich reminded us a couple times; Workers go home from all three. Speaking for me? Asymptomatic folks working at all three locations going about their towns, tracing is more important in these instances, and can be easier too(?) Testing, Tracing, Treatment. - So Blue - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 2:54 pm: If there were more regions, people would be traveling to the other reopened locations to eat out and shop and then returning to their local communities and spreading the virus. - Almost the weekend - Thursday, May 14, 20 @ 4:01 pm: =If there were more regions, people would be traveling to the other reopened locations to eat out and shop and then returning to their local communities and spreading the virus. = Illinois is surrounded by five states and four of them have relaxed or about to relax their stay at home orders by next week. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.