* Mark Maxwell interviewed House Speaker Chris Welch last week…
Maxwell: The House and the Senate just passed remote voting rules and remote committee rules again for this third year in a row. Let me go back to December of 2020. That was the peak of the deadliest wave of COVID-19 that we had. We didn’t have vaccines at the time. And you were meeting at a committee here in person, that Special Investigative Committee. Since then, schools have returned to work in person. We’ve seen a lot of other types of industries return to work in person. We’ve had the rollout of the vaccine. Lawmakers were among some of the very first groups of people entitled to access to that vaccine, plus the masking requirements, the distancing. We know how to do this. And I just wonder, with all of those things that have changed, how can we still justify meeting remotely today? Why can’t people space out in a committee room with a mask on?
Welch: Well, as you know, Mark, in the legislative space, it’s more than just members when we’re in person. There are staff that we have to be considerate of. There’s journalists like yourself that we have to be considerate of, and those who follow what we do on the legislature. And, you know, we have to be considerate of everyone. And we want to make sure that everyone is as safe as possible. The virtual committees work very well. I think we had probably one of the busiest years last year than we had in quite some time. It showed that the committee work that was done virtually works quite well. And so we do plan to return in person at some point. I like that to be when we believe it’s safest to do so. If you saw a press conference by Governor Pritzker this week, hospitalizations are smashing records, according to Doctor Ezike. We cannot ignore that. And unfortunately, many of our colleagues, particularly those on the other side, like to flaunt our mask rule, they don’t like to have the mask on, we have to constantly remind them to put the mask on. We don’t know if they’re vaccinated or not. And we know that these records of hospitalizations is because of those who are unvaccinated. And so we have to be mindful of our entire surroundings and try to operate as safely as we possibly can. When we were last year a couple of weeks ago, I had to take into mind that most of our staff was out, many of them because of COVID positive tests. They have family members and members have family members. We have to think about the whole and not just ourselves.
Thoughts?
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:43 pm:
He isn’t wrong.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:47 pm:
Why don’t any of these reasons apply to public schools?
- The Real Downstate - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:49 pm:
He’s absolutely right. All you have to do is watch the stream of the House floor and see all the maskless GOP members to know he’s telling the truth. They’re endangering their colleagues and employees with their anti-science nonsense.
- Amurica - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:53 pm:
Probably more participation using remote than in-person cause no need to travel to Chicago or Springfield. I assume it could also save the state on per diem.
- L.A. - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:53 pm:
See Gorsuch, Neil
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:58 pm:
===how can we still justify meeting remotely today?===
How many Illinoisans died of COVID-19 last week?
How many Illinoisans will die of COVID-19 this week?
How smoothly can the legislature function with staff testing positive that then require isolation with the potential for others they work with needing to be put into quarantine?
Last December we were dealing with a variant of the virus that was less contagious and while we’re considering Omicron to be “mild” it’s in comparison to deadlier variants, and that does not mean that all cases are mild.
Taking an abundance of caution is an appropriate action.
===schools have returned to work in person===
Hundreds of school age children across the country have died from COVID-19. Having schools open in person is not without it’s costs.
The legislature can do much of it’s job remotely. Let them do the job remotely.
- Red Ranger - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:59 pm:
Yet there are plenty of blue and purple state legislatures that are meeting in person already this year.
- Blue Dog - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:00 pm:
That ought be a winning theme come midterms.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:00 pm:
I wonder how many fully vaccinated legislators have been to an anti-science Bulls or Hawks game?
- Loop Lady - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:05 pm:
I still can’t believe an epidemic has become political.
Folks, please don’t be a pawn.
Vax and mask for Gods sake.
- Blue Dog - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:07 pm:
Loop Lady. Couldn’t agree with you more. I keep telling my democratic friends that it’s going to haunt them in 2022.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:10 pm:
==I keep telling my democratic friends that it’s going to haunt them in 2022==
Perhaps you should talk to your Republican friends who have made COVID political since the beginning.
- ItsMillerTime - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:16 pm:
@Bluedog
And I’m sure your dem friends will give that as much stock as all your other “accurate” predictions
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:18 pm:
“I still can’t believe an epidemic has become political.”
“Vax and mask for Gods sake.”
A lot of them will not let science get in the way of their beliefs.
And the mask part isn’t happening here much in my little corner of Forgottonia.
I went to an auto parts store and to our Casey’s about an hour ago.
Only person wearing a mask at both places…..including employees…..was me.
- Downstate Illinois - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:25 pm:
I’m torn between two thoughts. One, they need to get their butts back in Springfield and do their jobs. On the other hand we’re generally better off when lawmakers aren’t in session.
- Google Is Your Friend - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:25 pm:
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 2:47 pm:
At the same time Lori Lightfoot was demanding teachers teach in unsafe schools, she extended remote work for her own staff–and this is before she announced a positive COVID test.
- Medvale School for the Gifted - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 3:43 pm:
Maxwell: “We know how to do this…”
Yes “we” do when “we” act like one and in each others’ best interests.
One must question Maxwell’s analytical capabilities.
- Loop Lady - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 4:02 pm:
Blue Dog: most of the hospitalized adults are not vaccinated and are the most likely to die…this will hurt turnout.,,
- Jaded - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 5:04 pm:
Of course the chart published on this blog a couple of weeks ago showed the cloth masks we’ve been wearing for the past 18 months are virtually no better than wearing no mask at all. So there’s that…
Get vaccinated, get boosted, and get on with your life.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 6:20 pm:
yep, some of the kids in class ruining for the rest of the class.
- Nagidam - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 7:28 pm:
Well at least by taking January off they can get their petitions done…so there’s that.
- POB - Tuesday, Jan 18, 22 @ 10:12 pm:
It sure hasn’t put a halt to the whistle stop petition signing events. Most of the same staffers are on these trips. And you sure as heck can’t control masking in the venues that I have seen some of these people in. It’s a sham. It’s just another excuse to not take up legislation in an election year.