It’s working!
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* NBC 5…
As much of Illinois prepares for its next stage of reopening, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says numbers show the state may be coming down from a peak.
“We seem to have come off the peak,” Pritzker said during his daily coronavirus press briefing Tuesday.
The state of Illinois is set to move forward into phase three of the “Restore Illinois” plan Friday, and Pritzker says that despite reopening more portions of the state’s economy earlier this month, coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations are continuing to trend in the right direction.
The comments echo ones made by Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who reported the first week-over-week decline in COVID-19 deaths for Illinois so far this pandemic. Ezike said she hoped the decline marks the start of a “downward trend,” but noted “until we have a definitive cure and vaccine, we must prevent further spread.”
The governor also pointed out yesterday that COVID-related hospitalizations have dropped to a six-week low…
* The work is paying off…
Only one state has met all of the criteria contained in guidelines issued by the federal government for safely reopening businesses and easing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis by ProPublica. Despite the lack of progress by the overwhelming majority of states, Donald Trump is still pushing them to reopen.
ProPublica based its analysis on state-level data, updated daily, for five metrics stemming from the guidelines for reopening issued by the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its metrics are the number of positive tests per 100,000 people; the percentage of tests that are positive; the number of tests per 100,000 per day; the availability of ICU beds; and the number of hospital visits for “flu-like illness.”
Thirty states have met only three of the goals or fewer, and three of them — Alabama, Alaska, and West Virginia — have met only one of the five.
As of Tuesday, Illinois was the only state to have met all five.
The analysis is here.
- very old soil - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:19 am:
That is great news
- In 630 - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:23 am:
Keep masking and keep our new outings brief and sporadic. And no where crowded is worth being. We can keep this progress up
- @misterjayem - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:23 am:
Congratulations & thank you to Gov. Pritzker and his entire team
– MrJM
- Anon E Moose - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:25 am:
Finally some good news
- DEE - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:27 am:
Hurray for Illinois. Means more people are alive and well to sign Skillicorn’s recall Petition. /s
- Linus - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:29 am:
This is what it looks like to have adults in charge.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:30 am:
Congrats to all, from the governor and his team to the conscientious state residents and others who are looking out for one another and themselves by social distancing and wearing face coverings.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:30 am:
Thank God that the vast majority of Illinois citizens take Covid seriously, and have adhered to the guidelines that Governor Pritzker and IDPH have put forward. They are keeping people healthy, and helping to protect their fellow Illinoisans at greater risk of harm from this virus. It’s definitely a burden, but better than letting Covid run wild. Thank all of you doing the responsible things to help defeat this virus, and for taking your responsibilities as citizens seriously.
For the very few screaming about their individual rights being violated, try showing some collective responsibility as citizens of this great country to pull together and defeat this virus.
- Amalia - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:35 am:
Congratulations to the Governor and staff, and to the vast majority of the public in Illinois. Keep it going…..
- @misterjayem - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:37 am:
“try showing some collective responsibility”
Careful now — that’s just the sort of thing a follower of Marx or Jesus might say…
– MrJM
- DuPage Dave - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:39 am:
Keep up the good work, everyone. This has been a struggle, for sure. But it’s great to see positive results coming in.
- Norseman - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:39 am:
Waiting for the GOP to say “but … “ in 3 .. 2 .. 1.
This is good news. The response hasn’t been perfect, but in a crisis you need to be judged on how you adjust to deal with problems that can and do arise.
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:43 am:
Leadership
- Just Me 2 - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:43 am:
History will judge J.B. and Lightfoot as making the difficult decisions necessary for long term stability.
- JoanP - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:44 am:
=As of Tuesday, Illinois was the only state to have met all five.+
Yay, us!
On the whole, folks in Illinois have taken this seriously and followed the guidelines. Indeed, many were doing so even before Pritzker’s initial EO.
We’ve had good leadership in Pritzker, and, in Chicago, with Lightfoot.
Let’s keep it up. We mustn’t take this good news as a reason to let down our guard or move too swiftly. No one wants to see another wave.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:44 am:
=== As of Tuesday, Illinois was the only state to have met all five.===
Let’s be clear.
Let’s be more than clear, crystal clear, no ambiguity, just “straight up”
“It” worked to meet this.
It? It was… the governor’s plan.
It was… the mayor of Chicago doing her stuff too.
For all the “open now” and choosing to believe that this plan by the Governor and the restrictions by the mayor… Illinois is the first and ONLY state to make the matrix marks.
Without cooperation, this state would not be first, the only, this state would be the dysfunctional mess so many who cheer for Illinois to fail… love.
While I’m including the mayor and the city in this, because by working together this achievement was reached… here’s where the road splits;
The governor had a plan. Everyone had “their” plan… or thought of a plan… they *had* a plan… and here’s why I added the mayor and the city… we were ALL IN.
This is truly a credit to the governor’s office, all those working tirelessly these past 12+ weeks, and we’re not out of the woods by any measure or finish… we’re still in a global pandemic with 100,000 lives lost in this county, we need to continue to listen to the experts, and the leaders in Illinois that are leading the way, the first an only state to meet the first important measures.
Thank you, Gov. Pritzker.
- Henry Francis - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:48 am:
This is great news.
Will it get as much attention from the press (present company excluded) as a handful of maskless cranks at Grant Park or the Capitol?
- revvedup - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:50 am:
Illinois is first in something besides corruption? I never thought I’d see the day. /snark. Keep up the good work of staying home and masking up when you have to go out, and doing all the right things at work and at home in your community.
- walker - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:53 am:
proud of Illinois, all in
- efudd - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 9:55 am:
Good Work.
Now, someone please comment on how those protests will really ramp up in the coming days.
- Jibba - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:00 am:
I’d like to say something snarky to the Eastern bloc and all the disbelievers, but this is news that is too good. I’d be satisfied if they acknowledged that listening to the experts was the right call, because we’ll need to do it more as the pandemic progresses.
- Unstable Genius - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:01 am:
I was confident that there would be a decline in covid hospitalizations when hospitals were financially rewarded for the decline in covid hospitalizations - hospitals are dependent volume and profits from non-covid elective procedures to survive - I am not surprised by the recent improvement in covid results as reported.
- Wensicia - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:03 am:
Congrats to the governor and his team, and every Illinois resident who complied with the life saving guidelines. It’s not over yet, so stay safe and keep social distancing while wearing masks.
- Froganon - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:06 am:
Congratulations to Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, every staff person and frontline worker and the majority of caring, savy people who are doing what they can to care for each other and themselves. High-fives and hoorays all around. Illinois rocks. (dancing bear gifs)
- LakeCo - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:06 am:
Yeah, Illinois!
- Rachel - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:16 am:
Congratulations to everyone who has been part of the solution. MisterJayEm - I love you.
- Proud Papa Bear - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:32 am:
Glad to have a leader who does, in fact, take responsibility.
I’ve done so very little but I have done my little part, along with millions of my fellow Illinoisans.
Not out of the woods, but never more proud to be a resident of our great state.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:33 am:
=== when hospitals were financially rewarded for the decline in covid hospitalizations===
Cite this word salad.
Thanks.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:47 am:
That is good news. Now let’s keep it up.
I notice a few of the “regular” commenters are absent. Tells us all we need to know.
- XonXoff - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:48 am:
It’s a good initial indicator. I’m thankful Gov. Pritzker is at the helm and navigating these waters. I feel bad for all the crap he’s had directed toward him from those who would just wing it and let the chips fall where they may.
- Chicagonk - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:54 am:
Pritzker has handled this well. Lightfoot might be, but she continues to rub people the wrong way.
- DailyGrind - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:56 am:
Our stats are horrible compared to most states, but we met our own arbitrary goals, sooo….yay?
- efudd - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:56 am:
“hospitals were financially rewarded”
So, now hospitals are part of some cabal to misrepresent numbers?
You know, if you can tie this into Ted Cruz’s father being involved with the Kennedy assassination, you’ll really have something.
- Unstable Genius - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 10:59 am:
Oswego Willy - Per Michelle Gallardo ABC 7 website today - “They’re hailed as the heroes fighting on the frontlines but a growing number of Illinois healthcare workers are finding themselves sidelined by hospitals struggling to keep up with massive financial losses.
Employing over 8,000 people, Edward Elmhurst Health is among the latest to announce pay cuts and furloughs.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Danny Chun with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association. “Collectively across the state hospital systems are losing $1.4 billion dollars a month. That doesn’t include the cost of the pandemic itself.”
According to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, hospitals have seen outpatient procedures reduced by 50 to 70 percent since mid-March. Inpatient procedures are down 30 to 50 percent.”
Apparently, hospitals can’t do profitable work during a pandemic.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:02 am:
=== Apparently, hospitals can’t do profitable work during a pandemic.===
…
Ok…
But what does this mean?
=== when hospitals were financially rewarded for the decline in covid hospitalizations===
Who was rewarded by whom and how?
If you choose to go back to bed and start the day over instead of trying to defend your silly… I won’t fault you. Nope.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:05 am:
===but we met our own arbitrary goals===
Can you not read? These weren’t Illinois’ goals. The goals were issued by the federal government.
Sheesh. How down on your own state do you have to be to write something that illiterate?
- efudd - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:05 am:
UG, you intentionally implied some ridiculous conspiracy to try to downplay the good news regarding how this state has handled this crisis.
Don’t back up now, give us more.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:11 am:
=Apparently, hospitals can’t do profitable work during a pandemic.=
Healthcare should not be dependent on profit.
- Huh? - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:12 am:
“As of Tuesday, Illinois was the only state to have met all five.”
This is the result of having a leader for Governor. Who makes hard science based decisions based on what is the best for the citizens. Who takes responsibility for his decisions.
I’m glad I voted for JB. His handling this crisis has justified my vote in his abilities to govern Illinois.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:13 am:
Yay(exclamation point) JB (exclamation point)
- Lt Guv - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:15 am:
== Sheesh. How down on your own state do you have to be to write something that illiterate? ==
Thank you Rich.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:19 am:
Next step: Test, Trace, Isolate, Treat.
And JB’s on it.
- Cole - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:33 am:
I think it’s the construction of the hospital at McCormick Place that did it. Scared the virus off.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:37 am:
=== Careful now — that’s just the sort of thing a follower of Marx or Jesus might say… ===
@MrJM - Oh, I love Groucho. Amen to that.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:39 am:
=== I think it’s the construction of the hospital at McCormick Place that did it. Scared the virus off.===
The goal of that exercise was to have it, but never need it at full capacity.
They have reached that goal.
Are we cheering… against the response… and for the virus?
- Mama - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:40 am:
Do they think the numbers will go back up 2 to 14 days after the Memorial Day weekend? Lots of private parties last weekend.
- JoanP - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:41 am:
=I’ve done so very little but I have done my little part,=
It’s everyone (or most everyone) doing their “little parts” that has gotten us here. Don’t downplay your contribution.
- Huh? - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:46 am:
“Are we cheering… for the response… and against the virus?”
OW - I can’t resist. Fixed it for ya.
Those cheering against the response should be thankful for the leadership demonstrated by the Governor. But instead they are complaining about their constitutional rights to infect others are being violated. Instead of following a leader, they are following someone who is a petulant little boy, no matter his age.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:53 am:
=== Fixed it for ya.===
I can live with either version…
:)
- Mama - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 11:59 am:
Governor J.B. Pritzker and his knowledgeable team have and continue to do a great job. Thank you. Ignore the far-right folks who love to complain about everythinhg.
- Eastside - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 12:30 pm:
IL is third in total cases, in the top 10 in cases per million residents and 11th in deaths per million residents.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 12:33 pm:
(Sigh)
=== IL is third in total cases, in the top 10 in cases per million residents and 11th in deaths per million residents.===
Welp…
=== ProPublica based its analysis on state-level data, updated daily, for five metrics stemming from the guidelines for reopening issued by the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.===
Your beef is with the White House and the CDC
- Responsa - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 12:40 pm:
This makes most of us feel good and I do feel hopeful about our progress as a state. But Chicago-its economy-safe transportation-its events restarted- restored tourism is the true key to success in our region, and despite the governor’s assurances I do not feel that Mayor Lightfoot is really on the same page with either her actions or her messaging. This is a problem that will become even more obvious over the coming weeks I think.
- Eastside - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 1:00 pm:
===Your beef is with the White House and the CDC===
Isn’t the point of the policy to prevent infection and reduce the loss of life? Or is it to appease the White House/CDC policy?
- In 630 - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 1:00 pm:
Minor quibble with the analysis of the ProPublica info- which is definitely very good for us- shouldn’t low, but steady rates that are in the “good” zone of certain metrics be considered meeting the criteria? (provided they’re actually steady, not just missing data)
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 1:05 pm:
=== Isn’t the point of the policy to prevent infection and reduce the loss of life? Or is it to appease the White House/CDC policy?===
Are you arguing with yourself are just angry in general?
The only way you’d be beefing is if total lockdown until a cure is your only agenda.
If it’s not, you’re picking nits to seem thoughtful to numbers in a context to seem like a failing… but the measure of both The Executive Branch and its agency fighting thus virus… Illinois is first and only to reach a matrix of five points showing an overall breakthrough to move forward.
Again, your beef is with the CDC and the White House directing its own agency.
- cermak_rd - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 1:15 pm:
Tourism isn’t going to be a thing for some time I’m afraid. Really not till a vaccine or treatment is available. People might be willing to attend a party with some others in their own neighborhoods. They’re going to be a lot less likely to want to travel to somewhere that has had a lot of cases.
Plus don’t forget that tourism and even conventions are things that occur during times of prosperity. Right now, a lot of people can’t afford to travel and lots of those that can afford it aren’t because of both the economic and the health implications.
- Eastside - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 1:38 pm:
OW, my “beef” is your praise of an accomplishment that does not seem to mean anything. But data that is reflective of real consequence seems to escape your grasp. Sorry, did not mean to interrupt your parade for for achieving an accomplishment no one cares about or is adhering to. By all means, proceed.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 2:01 pm:
==your praise of an accomplishment that does not seem to mean anything==
The guidance was established as a metric to determine how you beging to re-open things. So it most certainly does mean something.
You are the one who cannot seem to grasp things.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 2:10 pm:
=== my “beef” is your praise of an accomplishment that does not seem to mean anything.===
Tell that to the White House and CDC.
According to them, this accomplishment is what allows states to press forward to help this country and the medical professionals find a way to move forward until we can not worry about Covid-19… because of a vaccine.
=== But data that is reflective of real consequence seems to escape your grasp.===
Doubtful, since all I’ve written during this crisis says otherwise.
Good try. No. Making it about me, even as phony as you’d like it to be… it won’t fly. Nope. Making it about me is losing sight of why your beef is with your own perceived take.
- Eastside -
We all need to vent, I get it, I really do, this might not be the thing you’d choose to point that frustration.
Stay well.
- efudd - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 2:10 pm:
“for an accomplishment no one cares about”
Bud, don’t speak for me.
Ever.
- Pundent - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 3:35 pm:
= my “beef” is your praise of an accomplishment that does not seem to mean anything.=
We accomplished what we set out to do and what the federal government set as the benchmarks for us to hit. We’re the only state to be able to make that claim at this point. If that’s not an accomplishment I don’t know what is.
- jake - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 4:05 pm:
Not to downplay what Illinois has done, but a look at the source just now says that New York and Connecticut have also hit all 5 marks. This has brought out the best in some people.
- Nax - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 4:58 pm:
If we’re the best in the nation, why don’t we let our people and businesses get working? We lag nearly every other state including ones like NY/ NJ who have been hit harder by covid. I’m not sure what everyone is cheering. Number of deaths per capita is the true measure of how well JB addressed this pandemic, then it is how well he got the state back to functioning.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 27, 20 @ 5:03 pm:
=== If we’re the best in the nation, why don’t we let our people and businesses get working?===
Please keep up.
The reason we were first and only was we followed a plan.
Continuing to follow the plan… is the plan.
Deciding to “open up, ‘cause” ruins all the hard work and sacrifices made up to this point.
If you’re having a difficult time grasping why we are happy, cautions, and not jumping feet first into herd immunity… there’s a plan. We need to keep following it.
=== Number of deaths per capita is the true measure of how well JB addressed this pandemic, then it is how well he got the state back to functioning.===
Doubtful.
Polling indicates that the governor is handing this crisis well, and the overall also sees those things positive.
Trying to nuance that won’t be a good way to see how Pritzker will be measured.