* Sun-Times…

Illinois counties, municipalities and townships will receive $250 million for transportation needs Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday, unveiling the third installment of funds as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program.

Chicago will receive $29.6 million for its infrastructure projects, according to the governor’s office.

“This difficult year has brought a whole lot of challenges, but it’s also underscored the vital importance of smart investments that open stable and steady doors for our working families and that fortify the bonds that tie our neighborhoods together,” Pritzker said. “Rebuild Illinois is exactly the kind of job-creating, community-shaping initiative that makes things happen for our people from construction to completion.” […]

In 2020, the state improved 1,700 miles of highway, over 120 bridges and completed 600 highway projects. In the first half of the current fiscal year, the state has improved 1,300 miles of highway, 65 bridges, awarded 270 new projects and completed “major initiatives” like the Chicago Veterans Home, Pritzker said.

Illinois Secretary of Transportation Omer Osman said the money announced Thursday will be the third of six installments for transportation infrastructure projects.

The list is here.

* Yesterday’s announcement in DeKalb was bipartisan…

“I was proud to help pass legislation for Illinois to once again invest in our infrastructure. We live in an incredible state with unlimited potential,” said Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore). “We can realize the dreams of generations if we work together on platforms for success like this. We can and will put Illinois on a path to a prosperous tomorrow with our hard work today.”

“Access to a robust transportation network makes it possible for new jobs and projects to come to cities and towns across Illinois. Today’s investment is made possible by a historic capital bill that provided new transportation funding and made Illinois more economically competitive. We’re already seeing many positive results from that legislation here in DeKalb County,” said Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon).

* Meanwhile…

MORRIS - Building on efforts to ensure the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine across Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced that nine critical access hospitals were selected as part of the Safety Net Direct Vaccine Allocation Pilot program.

This is the next phase of the vaccine pilot program the administration announced on March 3, 2021, in which five federally qualified health centers and four safety net hospitals started receiving vaccine doses directly from the federal government. This next phase specifically targets rural communities, providing hundreds of doses to each site per week.

That announcement was also bipartisan. A small sampling of quotes..

“As we continue with the state’s vaccination rollout, it’s crucial that the more rural areas of Illinois are not forgotten and overlooked,” said Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg). “Especially here in Southern Illinois where gaining access or traveling to vaccine sites proves to be more of a challenge, we have to ensure that we are doing everything we can bring vaccine availability to our residents. I’m encouraged to learn that Hamilton Memorial Hospital will be receiving critical vaccine dosages and hope that we continue to expand vaccine access in the region.”

“The medical teams and staff at both Taylorville Memorial Hospital and Hillsboro Area Hospital have been working diligently to improve the health of those within their communities and this substantial increase in the COVID-19 vaccine supply is urgently needed,” said Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield). “We are certainly making strides to bring this pandemic to an end as we’ve seen more hospitals receive additional dosages. I am proud of this administration’s efforts to target vulnerable areas where residents have experienced limited access to the vaccine.”

* One more press release…

Governor JB Pritzker today announced a new plan for ending food insecurity across the state put forward by the Illinois Commission to End Hunger. The new plan, titled “From Food Insecurity to Food Equity: A Roadmap to End Hunger,” advances a three-part strategy for connecting residents in need to nutrition assistance programs while simultaneously promoting equitable access to food. The plan was compiled with input from various state agencies and stakeholders located across the state and will guide the administration’s work to achieve meaningful progress towards ending hunger in the coming years. To view the complete plan, click here.

Bipartisan statements as well…

“This road map identifies a three-pronged strategy that is critically needed to address the food insecurities that far too many Illinoisans face every day,” said Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris). “I look forward to working with the other members of the Commission to End Hunger as we continue our efforts to ensure that no one in Illinois has to face hunger ever again.”

“Too many were struggling from food insecurity and lack of access to nourishment even before the pandemic,” said Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago). “Lack of nourishment is linked to a plethora of health problems and must be put to an end. Everyone deserves access to healthy food, regardless of race, region, or income. I am happy to support this initiative and see these disparities eradicated in Illinois.”

* But not everything was sweetness and light yesterday…

Following the Grundy County mass vaccination site’s opening ceremony, State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is continuing to raise questions regarding the state’s vaccine rollout, and released the following statement:

“While I am overjoyed that Grundy County has received the additional vaccines we have been seeking on their behalf, the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus still has several outstanding questions regarding the Pritzker Administration’s vaccination rollout.”

“After speaking with over 45 local county health departments, our Caucus compiled a vaccination rollout report that identifies the top logistical issues they shared with us along with their suggestions for improvement. We sent the Governor this report on March 4, and have still received no response. We have continually asked the Governor’s administration to provide more transparency on his vaccination rollout data, including his formula for allocation and why some counties are receiving far more vaccinations than others, so we can better understand the process and communicate it to our constituents.

“We all want to do everything we can to save as many lives as possible and to quickly bring an end to this public health crisis. The governor has chosen a go-it-alone approach from the very beginning of this pandemic and it is up to him to improve the transparency of his operation so everyone – legislators, public health officials and the general public alike – can understand his process.”

Click here to view a copy of the Illinois Senate Republicans’ vaccination rollout report. Additionally, click here to view a copy of the letter that Leader Dan McConchie and Deputy Leader Sue Rezin sent to Governor Pritzker on March 4.

* Response from Jordan Abudayyeh dated March 8th…

Illinois has administered over 3.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to our residents, the fifth highest in the nation – including 132,000 shots on Thursday, a new one-day record for Illinois. So far, more than 21% of Illinoisans 16 and over have been vaccinated, including over 47% of our seniors 65 and over. As of the morning of March 5th, Illinois is first among the ten largest states for percentage of population receiving at least one dose of the vaccine.

While we – and the nation – have a ways to go in getting vaccine into the arms of everyone who wants one, Illinois’ relative strength to date is a product of the great work of our 97 local public health departments, pharmacies, hospitals, federally qualified health centers, Illinois National Guard, state-run mass vax sites and healthcare professionals across the state. The COVID-19 vaccination rollout will prove one of the most difficult tasks of our lifetimes, and while Illinois’ network of local health departments are doing an incredible job reaching their communities, the process is undeniably exhausting for our frontline healthcare heroes who have been working so hard for months – not just in the vaccine rollout, but for the entirety of the last year. For that reason and more, IDPH continues to provide LHDs with a host of resources and opportunities for feedback as we navigate this process together – and, because LHDs can’t go it alone, IDPH continues to expand the number of providers in the state able to distribute vaccine, such as the recently announced FQHC expansion program direct from the state’s allocation.

The administration welcomes all willing partners in combating misinformation about vaccines, educating constituents about the vaccine availability timeline, spreading the word about vaccination opportunities, helping less tech-savvy family members access appointments, and lifting up our local health departments as they charge ahead in this final marathon stretch.

1. Vaccine allocation

• Doses delivered to the state of Illinois have increased in recent weeks, but still fall short of demand. The Biden Administration recently started providing states with longer lead time on projected dose deliveries, a major improvement for planning purposes both at the state and local level. Local health departments started receiving projections for the upcoming three weeks of deliveries on February 12. Doses are distributed to counties based on population. Counties that have demonstrated the ability to manage vaccination efforts efficiently have had additional doses directed to their region, while IDPH has directed resources and additional personnel to counties that have had doses sitting in inventory longer than necessary. IDPH is currently working to publish the county allocation numbers and that information will be publicly available soon.
• It is important to note local health departments outside of Chicago are not the only entities the state is allocating doses to. The state has more than 850 sites, including nearly 20 state-supported Illinois National Guard sites, and we’ve worked with our federal partners to establish a FEMA site at the United Center, bringing thousands of weekly doses into Illinois outside of our state-specific allocation. The federal government also delivers doses directly to pharmacies and federally qualified health centers in Illinois beyond our state allocation. To further expand our support for underserved communities, Illinois is sending additional deliveries from our state allocation to federally qualified health centers and safety-net hospitals around the state starting early next week.
• Allocations are already publicly available by state from the CDC, such as the National Weekly Pfizer and Moderna allocation dashboards.
• Illinois makes inventory, # of administered vaccines, and % population fully vaccinated available on a by-county basis.

2. Vaccine availability

• Local health departments are receiving vaccine as quickly as the state can get it to them, but as President Biden recently stated, the national supply won’t match the adult population until the end of May – an incredible feat by public health standards, but still a frustrating timeline for those who have not yet received a vaccine. To date, the CDC has only sent about 110 million doses of vaccine (and since the vast, vast majority of those represent a two-dose regimen, that’s only enough vaccine to vaccinate roughly 15 percent of Americans). As of March 5th, Illinois has given at least a first dose to 21 percent of our 16+ population, including to over 47 percent of our seniors.
• Illinois is building out our vaccination administration infrastructure so that no resident has to drive an exorbitant distance to access the vaccine – what’s more, we recognize that not every resident has access to long-haul transportation. While state government cannot go out and purchase more vaccine that would arrive more quickly than what the federal government has already secured, the federal government continues to ramp up supply, with more than 100,000 doses slated to come into Illinois per day on average starting later this month.

3. Delivery Communication

• The administration is in constant communication with our local health departments, understanding that this is a task far greater than anything they’ve taken on previously. In additional to weekly calls and multiple weekly opportunities for engagement, including office hours with the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Assistant Director, IDPH offers webinars, guidance, and collaborative opportunities for departments to learn from one another. IDPH has also assigned regional health officers and emergency response coordinators for each region.
• Local health departments and IDPH have a historic working relationship that continues to serve as the backbone of this all-hands-on-deck rollout.

4. Qualified Technicians

• IDPH has already expanded the number of people who can administer the vaccine while still recognizing the specific clinical background that best supports vaccine administration.
• Illinois has no lack of qualified technicians – currently, we have more doctors able to administer the vaccine than we have supply. As vaccine supply grows, more and more of these localized physicians offices will come online as micro-distribution sites.

5. Financial resources

• Of Illinois’ $90 million allocation, $25 million went to local health department for their vaccination efforts. The vast majority of the money is specifically earmarked for the broad COVID-19 response, not just vaccination, including testing and contact tracing.
• The state is not sitting on a blank check. We run mobile teams, provide PR and education marketing support, and have contracted with additional 3rd party vendors.
• The American Rescue Plan, which passed the House without a single vote from Illinois’ Republican Congressional delegation, contains an additional $20 billion to create a national COVID-19 vaccination program. As we have more funding coming in from the federal government, the local health departments will see their fair share.

6. Vaccine Registration

• Illinois makes all vax sites in the state available at coronavirus.illinois.gov and includes booking information for all sites. IDPH has incentivized all local health departments to use our centralized EM Track booking service in order to free up more manpower for vaccinations. IDPH continues to work with LHDs to bring this service online if they haven’t already
• The state hotline for appointments will be up and running shortly.
• The United Center, the largest vaccination site in the state available to residents of every county, has a website and a phone number available to make appointments. As of March 5th, over 30,000 seniors have signed up during the senior-exclusive booking period that runs through this coming Sunday afternoon. Tens of thousands of appointments remain available as of this morning.