* Effingham Daily News…

Local school superintendents are asking the Illinois State Board of Education to give them greater control over their affairs in light of state mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendents from Teutopolis and Altamont addressed the board prior to Tuesday’s meeting, spotlighting their districts’ efforts to keep classes in session and criticizing the board and state leaders for forcing them to implement measures without their input. […]

The tug-of-war between the state and area school districts is best exemplified through the state’s mask mandate for anyone on school property, initially implemented in August. Many area districts chafed at this idea, with large groups of parents coming into meetings to voice their displeasure with the state’s actions.

Some school districts – such as Teutopolis, Dieterich, Altamont and Beecher City – initially deadlocked or decided not to pass a mandate. The consequences were severe for districts that didn’t go along: potential loss of recognition, inability to compete in state competitions at the junior high or high school level, diplomas being invalid for entry into any college or institution of higher education.

Some hugely important context was left out of that story. Hospitalizations more than doubled from the beginning of August through mid-September, but those superintendents were pushing back against the state mandate throughout. And now they demand to be trusted to handle things on their own?

Nope.

Also, the UK’s summer surge started a couple of months before ours did. They’re now surging again. Hard. 79 percent of UK residents 12 and above have received two doses compared to 66 percent in Illinois. And it’s less than that in Effingham County. People keep spiking the football before they’re even in the red zone.

* Press release sent yesterday from Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge President Chris Southwood…

“The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police remains strongly opposed to any changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would diminish any individual’s right to their religious liberties.

“In America, one group can’t force another to have certain beliefs or dictate how they should feel. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that the government cannot impose the beliefs of one segment of the population onto another, no matter how well-intentioned the government claims its actions to be.

“We are confident that any attempt to usurp these religious freedom rights will be found unconstitutional by the courts. And we fully intend to make every Illinois legislator’s constituents aware of how they voted on this basic right we all have as Americans.”

I followed up at 7 this morning to ask what specific “religious freedom rights” the ILFOP was talking about. I was promised a response at 8:25 this morning. I have not yet heard back.

* Press release…

The 700+ parents who have brought legal action against their local school districts, as well as the Governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education, by and through, Thomas De Vore, Attorney at Law, provide the following statement: […]

Parents will no longer sit idly by while Governor J.B. Pritzker rules by executive fiat, to say nothing of the simple fact that lawful requests for the executive to share the ‘facts and science’ on which his edicts are based go unanswered.

Pretty sure the science has been explained all along. Also, the General Assembly has been free from the beginning to step in whenever a majority of their members decided to do so. The GA has so far decided to mostly stay out of it (although that may change this week). The super-majority of legislators made a conscious decision to stand aside.

* Center Square…

Republicans wanted to have a bill heard to limit the governor’s emergency powers to 30 days. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued more than 90 such orders over the past 20 months unchecked by the legislature.

In the majority, state Rep. William Davis, D-Hazel Crest, said the governor is doing just fine.

“I would argue the governor is trying to keep us safe and healthy,” Davis said. “The science suggests that that’s what he’s trying to do so I’m okay with executive orders.”

* This appears to be quite common. Vaccinated person earns nice living in part by urging others to resist the vax mandate…

Cumulus Media, owner of news/talk WLS 890-AM and more than 400 other radio stations nationwide, is on a collision course with some of its biggest personalities over the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees.

Dan Bongino, who took over Rush Limbaugh’s coveted midday slot (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays) in May, is threatening to quit — even though he already was vaccinated on the advice of his doctors because he has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Sampling…

Bongino addressed his “Cumulus struggle” and “protesting their vaccine mandate” during his October 20 show, saying he “wouldn’t be letting it go.” He went on to encourage his audience to join his protest, saying, “I’m one spoke in an enormous wheel of people who are fighting back. Don’t let them break you. Don’t let them break you. They want to break you. There’s a cabal of idiots, little mini-tyrants and totalitarians who need subjugation, and they want you to kneel, get on your knees, sit in the corner, and shut your mouth.”

…Adding… Press release excerpt…

With nearly 6.2 million children nationwide testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, Governor JB Pritzker today outlined the coordinated statewide efforts to prepare for the anticipated approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. Joined by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike and other pediatric healthcare professionals, the governor announced the administration is partnering with pediatricians, local health departments, schools, and other organizations ahead of the expected emergency-use authorization from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

Once the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for use in children ages 5-11, more than 2,200 locations and providers statewide, including Chicago, are already enrolled to provide the vaccine. Illinois is expected to receive an initial allotment of approximately 306,000 doses for the state’s youngest residents, with an additional 73,000 doses for the City of Chicago, and well over 100,000 additional doses headed to the federal government’s pharmacy partners in Illinois. Overall, the initial allocation will amount to approximately 500,000 doses available to children in Illinois.

* Other stuff…

* Matt Nagy tests positive for COVID-19: He announced the diagnosis on Zoom call Monday morning. He will not be allowed inside Halas Hall until he can pass two tests within 48 hours. Nagy received the call Monday morning from head trainer Andre Tucker.

* Police union members and supporters rally against vaccine mandate