44 Comments - levivotedforjudy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 9:48 am: I don’t know how you pull this off. The rule of thumb was always that about 35% of the people on the Illinois side of the Metro-East worked in Missouri. - DownSouth - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 9:49 am: Live in one of SW IL border counties - masses have been hopping across, bragging about it, and feel they are sending the message that they will spend all of their money in MO. I don’t even want to talk about how many families have been carting their kids across to play summer ball. - Precinct Captain - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 9:50 am: The position of Missouri is “Let the kids die,” so good for JB. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 9:51 am: Very true. We are having a hard enough time with the virus to make things worse by traveling to areas of higher infection rates. Reopening early has been a terrible idea. The “early” proponents, like people at the Trib, owe an apology at the very least, for pushing something so harmful. Missouri did something great a few weeks ago. Voters expanded Medicaid through a ballot amendment. Watching it on a county map, it was the cities who passed it. Rural counties overwhelmingly voted against it, rejecting healthcare for “the least of these” in a pandemic. - Jose Abreu's Next Homer - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 9:53 am: As 41 members of the St Louis Cardinals are driving in separate cars to Chicago right now. - SSL - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:03 am: Clearly Twitter is full of some angry people, but the replies to JB’s message are pretty nasty. We have a long way to go in this state. - Donnie Elgin - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:05 am: Have many friends near the state lines both North and West. They head straight to the first spot to grab low tax gas/spirits/cigarettes, they wear masks and head straight back. - Frumpy White Guy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:07 am: The anti mask and anti vaccine Faux America Patriots are looting our vulnerable of their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. - Bob_Loblaw - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:08 am: We aren’t traveling to Missouri but my wife works there and her employer has insisted on her coming back several days a week even though she can do everything from home. They’re basically invoking team spirit and a can do attitude - Brett - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:25 am: But they are wearing a mask back in Illinois So what’s the problem - City Zen - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:33 am: If you encounter anyone going by the name Yadier, please keep your distance and notify local authorities. - Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:35 am: =Watching it on a county map, it was the cities who passed it. Rural counties overwhelmingly voted against it,= Which is ironic because a ridiculous number of people in those counties will now be eligible for Medicaid - West Sider - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:38 am: We once declared “Loose lips sink ships”. We celebrated the sacrifices of our collective war efforts. Rather than harsh- JB has been too patient. Citizenship includes accountability. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:44 am: Traveling to hot spots and returning to Illinois? Self quarantine, after 5 days, please test. After 14 days… It stinks, but it’s for the greater good. - Birds on the Bat - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:44 am: Are we also going to disallow Missourians from coming to Illinois to purchase goods, like automobiles and marijuana? - TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:49 am: ===like people at the Trib=== Well, not that long ago they wanted a hurricane to destroy property and lives in the state. They know exactly what they are supporting with the open early position they have taken. - lake county democrat - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 10:56 am: Nobody is self-quarantining - this has devolved into kabuki and if/when the numbers get bad enough to rollback to stage 3 we will hear “we told you blah blah blah” - Anon - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:01 am: Given that these actions will result in the closure of the state and continual economic destruction if people dont care for human life maybe they will care about their livelihood. So in answer to the question below, if its its closed dont need to worry about car sales and drugs. Are we also going to disallow Missourians from coming to Illinois to purchase goods, like automobiles and marijuana? - Frumpy White Guy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:07 am: = But they are wearing a mask back in Illinois So what’s the problem= Hi Brett, Many illinoisans are wearing masks and a lot are not wearing masks. The masks available for most to wear do not block Covid. The more Covid 19 carriers who aren’t containing their spread the higher the risk even for those who are wear masks. Hope that helps you find your way in this very confusing topic. Hee Haw. - brett - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:12 am: frumpy- if that is true - then we have a bigger problem than people just crossing the border - like containment in our own state. if the masks don’t work what the point in the first place - DownSouth - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:19 am: What do you expect from those residing in borders counties when their legislators reaction goes like this, “Throughout this pandemic, Governor Pritzker’s comments on the Southern Illinois region have been ill-informed and frankly insulting. It is disappointing and highly hypocritical that Governor Pritzker is trying to lecture my constituents about traveling to Missouri when his own family spent significant time in Florida and Wisconsin during the height of the pandemic. I wish the Governor would stop worrying about Missouri and focus his efforts on fixing the dismal performance of the state’s unemployment system.” - Sen. Schimpf’s Facebook post this morning. News flash Senator - I am one of your constituents, and from what I have observed most of your constituents need that lecture. - Exit 59 - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:21 am: My favorites are the small business owners who brag about going to Missouri and then want us to shop local. Ugh. - Frumpy White Guy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:30 am: Brett, it is proven that not brushing your teeth will cause gingivitis and potentially a blood infection that reduces cognitive ability. Please brush and floss daily. Hee Haw. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:39 am: ===if the masks don’t work what the point in the first place=== Hey, genius, masks aren’t fool proof. Maybe 80 percent. That’s a lot, but not 100 percent. Kinda like my automated screens that only catch 80 percent of covidiots. - Collinsville Kevin - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:47 am: I travel to Missouri four days a week for work and don’t feel any less safe there. - illdoc - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:55 am: If everyone had been wearing a mask all of this time we would be in far better shape. Maybe we would not be having the issues of school and universities struggling to reopen. Maybe we would have B10 sports. I wear an n95 and full PPEs everyday. I would not consider not wearing a mask when not at work and putting my family and patients at risk. It is not about politics,it’s about health - Captain Obvious - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 11:58 am: Have travelled back and forth to MO all along. Couple trips a month for the weekend. To this point I still only personally know 1 person who has had covid. He got infected by a relative in his household who works in a nursing home. Time to flatten the fear folks. - nadia - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:03 pm: Captain Obvious - I personally don’t know one person who has been shot in Chicago, so is it time to “flatten the fear folks” concerning gun crime in Chicago? - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:06 pm: === Time to flatten the fear=== 1 in 2,000 Americans dead. That’s not fear, that’s a fact. Don’t be a Covidiot, don’t treat this virus like it’s nothing to fear, the long term effects are dangerous as well. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:12 pm: ===Time to flatten the fear=== B1G and the Pac-12 disagree. Mizzou, an SEC school will be, allegedly, playing football. Guess the virus only goes on some college campuses? - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:27 pm: === I still only personally know=== Anecdotes aren’t data. - Blue Dog Dem - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:49 pm: About an hour ago I crossed over the Chester bridge. 27 Illinois cars fueling up. Cheap gas is the culprit. - Captain Who - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:51 pm: I’ll take 80% over 0% any day. It isn’t rocket science, wear the (banned word) mask(banned punctuation) - don the legend - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 12:51 pm: ==To this point I still only personally know 1 person who has had covid.== This just tells me you don’t know many people. What a (banned word). - JS Mill - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 1:00 pm: =They head straight to the first spot to grab low tax gas/spirits/cigarettes, they wear masks and head straight back.= The COVID tax is a much higher and nastier tax as some Illinois travelers have found out. The cigarettes and COVID have the highest tax of all. but..freedoms. Sen. Schimpfs FB post is the classic childs argument to which I would respoond- “if all of your friends jumped off of a bridge would you?”. My mom taught me that one. =I travel to Missouri four days a week for work and don’t feel any less safe there.= You may not “feel” less safe (which is all about emotion and not science) but you are less safe there. I only personally know one person that was tested and don’t personally know anyone that has/had COVID. I am still wearing a mask and social distancing because I know 166,000+ Americans have died from COVID. - HangingOn - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 1:09 pm: ==To this point I still only personally know 1 person who has had covid.== The 1 person I know is my sister. She’s now testing negative but months later is still having trouble breathing and keeps having to go back to be tested to find out how much damage there is to her lungs. They still don’t know. And she wasn’t considered in the high risk group. - Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:12 pm: ===To this point I still only personally know 1 person who has had covid.=== The 1 person I know who got it died. He was 41 with no underlying health conditions. - Jimmy H - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:15 pm: HangingOn, sorry to hear about your sister. People need to up their awareness. Even some that only had mild symptoms are now having chronic health problems. Most that have had a serious C-19 infection are facing permanent health problems. - Nitemayor - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:25 pm: Does anybody track the Missouri folks coming to the East Side and Jersey and Calhoun? Grafton is wide open.Most lllinois folks go across the river for gas, cigarettes, then return home. Ironically, I just filled up at QT in Godfrey, paid $1.90 for regular. Missouri was at $1.96. - Pundent - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:26 pm: =Cheap gas is the culprit.= Cheapest gas by me is at Costco. $2.05 a gallon. I can drive about 25 miles to Wisconsin and but it at the Costco there at $1.98 a gallon. Of course the gas I would use going there and back would negate any savings and either way my life is worth a bit more than 7 cents a gallon. - Astute Stu - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:27 pm: US Attorney John Lausch Jr. does all the heavy lifting and cleans up the mess and now the vultures swoop down to take what doesn’t belong to them. The 200 million should go to the Feds. - SOIL M - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 2:49 pm: I live in a County where going to MO is a necessity, not an option for the vast majority of Residents. I have been over there twice this week myself. We currently have 0 active cases. There have been a total of 0 deaths. We are up to 37 total positive tests overall. - Blue Dog Dem - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 3:13 pm: From an update a few minutes ago, Monroe Counties positivity rate is down to 4.7%. That info was from the local newspaper I subscribe to online. - God's Country - Friday, Aug 14, 20 @ 3:44 pm: Monroe County about to hit 10% positivity? How do they remain open? Probably more than half the working people in that county work somewhere in Missouri. They also shop there because St. Louis County is next door to them and prices and taxes are lower in Missouri. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.