* My annual medical checkup is this afternoon and then I have some errands I need to run that can only be taken care of during a weekday. So, y’all are on your own for awhile. Hopefully, nothing big happens while I’m away, but I’ll take my laptop just in case.
* Anyway, on to the setup…
Today, Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington), and the Illinois Opportunity Project announced their statewide grassroots campaign to place an Advisory Question of Public Policy on the November 2022 ballot asking voters if they want the power to recall their elected officials.
“Voters should have the ability to hire and fire their elected officials,” said Rep. Batinick. “Illinois’ culture of corruption has gone on for far too long, and the people of Illinois have lost faith in their government. That begins to change today.”
Illinois Democrats have ignored calls to increase accountability and empower voters. Last year, Sen. Barickman and Rep. Batinick introduced legislation to give voters the right to recall elected officials who have broken the public’s trust.
The General Assembly has refused to discuss their legislation; even while a Democratic member of the State Senate is currently under indictment for crimes related to his office. This advisory referendum movement will educate voters on the culture of corruption and the solutions. It will also build political pressure to encourage the General Assembly to end this culture of corruption and give voters the right to recall certain elected officials.
“Single party rule has concentrated power with the political elite and taken away Illinois citizens’ voices in their state government,” said Sen. Barickman. “Giving voters the ability to recall a failing elected official will empower the people and help restore faith and trust in their government.”
The proposed Advisory Question asks, “Shall Illinois voters be given the power to recall their elected officials?” Petitions for advisory questions of public policy require signatures equivalent to eight percent of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election, or roughly 363,000 signatures to be placed on the ballot. These signatures must be submitted six months prior to the election.
“Today, the political establishment, special-interests, and lobbyists have too much power,” explained Mark Cavers, President of the Illinois Opportunity Project. “We are all feeling the consequences. There is a statewide movement of people who want to improve the quality of life in Illinois by returning power to the people. We have faith in average Illinoisans and that if we empower them with the right accountability tools, they will reform their government and save our state.”
“Illinois should be the land of opportunity and prosperity where families can pursue the American dream. To make that a reality, we must have an honest and efficient government that is responsive to the people’s will.”
Corruption costs Illinois taxpayers $556 million per year. This referendum will empower voters with the opportunity to hold politicians accountable before their next election. The petition can be viewed and downloaded at IllinoisOpportunity.org/recall.
* The Question: Do you support the advisory ballot question? Make sure to explain your answer in comments, please.
Governor JB Pritzker announced Monday more than $300 million dollars in new funding to assist struggling residents with rent, utilities, food and other household expenses regardless of immigration status.
With support from the American Rescue Plan Act and increased eligibility provisions by the State of Illinois, residents will have access to more utility assistance than ever before, as well as increased availability of funds per household. The State is leveraging $209 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to expand relief for Illinois families struggling to pay their bills as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
The $327 million is available through two state programs — the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program and the Community Services Block Grant Program. The funds can be put toward rent, utilities, food and other expenses related to housing regardless of a person’s immigration status.
Pritzker made the announcement at Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity, one of the 37 community action agencies in the state that helps residents receive payments through the energy and community assistance programs.
Of the funds available, $209 million comes from federal funds Illinois received through the American Rescue Plan Act. Those seeking the aid can go to the state’s Help Illinois Families website to apply.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was at the intersection of Adams Street and U.S. 150 Peoria Monday afternoon to announce investments in the McClugage Bridge project with the goal of bringing improved infrastructure to the Peoria region.
“Investments like the rehabilitation of the McClugage Bridge, which was first built in World War II and carries about 20,000 eastbound vehicles a day, will not only support freight routes on Illinois’ roadways, but make day-to-day life easier for Peoria and East Peoria families who use this bridge to get groceries, see their doctor or visit the pharmacy,” Pritzker said.
Also Monday, Pritzker claimed the ongoing McCluggage Bridge rehabilitation project as a victory for him and for the state.
The $167 million work slated to finish in 2023 is being funded through the state’s Rebuild Illinois Capital plan.
“With a new deck bridge that will nearly double its width, the new structure will not only be safer, smoother, and faster at larger capacity, but we’re adding a protected bike and pedestrian path,” said Pritzker.
The McCluggage Bridge was first opened during World War II.
The Peoria Journal-Star had no coverage of either event that I could find.
Every season the flu sickens millions of people in the U.S., hospitalizes hundreds of thousands, and kills tens of thousands. This season, in addition to flu, the state continues to battle COVID-19. More than 41 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have been reported, including more than 1.5 million in Illinois. More than 660,00 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the U.S. with more than 24,400 deaths reported in Illinois.
“Because of the effectiveness of masking in preventing virus transmission, we saw fewer flu-related ICU hospital admissions in Illinois and no flu-related pediatric deaths,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “However, with inconsistent mask usage, we could see a more severe flu season along with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time to get your flu shot. Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time if you haven’t already gotten your COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines are our best protection against severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths due to either flu or COVID-19.”
Everyone six months of age and older is recommended to get the seasonal flu vaccine. All flu vaccines this season are quadrivalent, meaning they will offer protection against four flu strains – an H1N1-like strain, H3N2-like strain, and two B strains. More information on the types of flu vaccine, as well as recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, can be found on the CDC website.
Many of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are the same, but there are some differences. Flu usually comes on more suddenly, a person with COVID-19 can be contagious for a longer period of time compared to flu, and COVID-19 seems to cause more severe illnesses in some people overall. If you have symptoms of either flu or COVID-19, self-isolate and contact a health care provider who can talk with you about testing and other measures you should be taking.
Both COVID-19 and flu can have varying degrees of signs and symptoms, ranging from no symptoms (asymptomatic) to severe symptoms. Common symptoms that COVID-19 and flu share include:
• Fever or feeling feverish/having chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle pain or body aches
• Headache
• Vomiting and diarrhea
• Change in or loss of taste or smell, although this is more frequent with COVID-19.
In addition to getting your flu and COVID-19 vaccine, IDPH recommends staying home when sick, wearing a mask, and frequently washing your hands. These everyday health practices will help protect against becoming infected with either flu or COVID-19 viruses.
Influenza antiviral drugs can be a second line of defense for people who get sick with the flu. Many studies have found that in addition to lessening the duration and severity of symptoms, antiviral drugs can prevent flu complications.
To find a location to get a flu shot in your community, check with your health care provider, local health department, and area pharmacies. More information about influenza can be found on the IDPH website at www.dph.illinois.gov. More information about COVID-19 can be found at www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.
The state’s moratorium on enforcement of residential evictions will expire on Oct. 3, according to Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest COVID-19 executive order issued Friday.
Pritzker had extended the order each month with minor to substantial revisions since March 2020. The extensions have come in 30-day windows, coinciding with his monthly reissuance of a disaster proclamation in response to the pandemic.
While most of the provisions in Pritzker’s latest executive order were extended through Oct. 16, the section providing for the eviction moratorium is scheduled to be rescinded just two weeks into the 30-day order which was issued Friday.
The most recent iteration of the moratorium, which will expire Oct. 3, allows for court proceedings but prevents law enforcement from carrying out an eviction. It also allows for evictions in health and safety circumstances, and for “uncovered persons,” which include those who refuse to fill out paperwork for assistance, who can’t prove loss of income from COVID-19 or who earn more than $99,000 individually or $198,000 as a joint-filing household.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today an amendment to Order M.R. 30370 which extends the temporary stay on residential evictions through October 3, the same date that Gov. Pritzker’s moratorium is set to expire.
Amended Order M.R. 30370 is available on the Court website by clicking here.
The extension of the temporary stay through October 3 allows for more rental assistance to be distributed through the statewide Court-Based Rental Assistance Program (CBRAP) which was launched throughout Illinois on September 15. Under the CBRAP, litigants may qualify for up to 12 months of past due rent and 3 months of future rent to prevent eviction and homelessness.
The Illinois Judicial Conference’s Court Operations During COVID-19 Task Force (Task Force) recommended these amendments to the Court. The Court and the Illinois Judicial Conference created the Task Force in June 2020 to serve as a rapid response unit to address ongoing challenges to court operations caused by the pandemic. The Chair of the Task Force is J. Timothy Eaton, Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, and the Vice Chair is Chief Judge Eugene Doherty of the 17th Circuit.
State Representative David Welter, R-Morris, has filed new legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to defend the right of parents to make medical decisions for their children.
The legislation, House Bill 4149, would prohibit the State or any local entity, agency, institution, official, or person from requiring a minor to obtain a health care service or take a health-related precaution, including facial masking or vaccination. If passed and signed into law, any person aggrieved by a violation would have a right of action in a State circuit court against an offending State or local entity, agency, institution, official, or person. A parent whose case prevailed would be entitled to recover damages in the amount of $1,000 per day for the duration of a violation.
“Protecting public health and respecting individual freedom are not mutually exclusive priorities. Both are essential to our democracy and the well-being of our communities,” Representative Welter said. “I am deeply concerned that parental rights are not being taken into consideration by those advocating one-size-fits-all mandates with regard to COVID mitigation. These actions are setting a dangerous precedent that threaten to eradicate the role of parents in all future public health situations beyond COVID. I cannot stand by and be silent in the face of this fundamental threat to our democracy that would deny a parent the ability to make medical decisions for their child.”
Representative Welter tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020 and publicly shared his status including the symptoms he experienced. He is fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and has encouraged voluntary vaccination ever since vaccines became available. During the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak, Representative Welter sponsored a cloth mask collection drive at his district office in Morris, which he then distributed to local individuals and organizations who had reached out requesting them. During his cloth mask collection drive, Representative Welter shared the specific CDC guidelines for how to make and wear a homemade face covering. Welter has met with local hospital and health department officials and frontline health care workers throughout the pandemic, publicly praising and supporting their efforts.
As I told subscribers, this legislation is so broadly written that kids might not be barred from, or disciplined for pooping in public swimming pools.
Creates the Parental Medical Choice Act. Provides that no State or local entity, agency, institution, official, or person shall require a minor to obtain a health care service or take a health-related precaution. Provides that no State or local entity, agency, institution, official, or person shall discriminate against a minor because the child has or has not obtained a health care service or has or has not taken any health-related precaution. Provides that no public institution of higher education shall require any health care service or health-related precaution to be taken as a condition on enrollment or in-person classroom attendance. Makes other requirements concerning the prohibition against compulsory health care service or health-related precautions for children. Provides that any person aggrieved by a violation of the Act shall have a right of action in a State circuit court against an offending State or local entity, agency, institution, official, or person. Provides that a prevailing party may recover liquidated damages in the amount of $1,000 per day for the duration of a violation of the Act.
…Adding… From comments…
As written doesn’t this get rid of any vaccine mandates in schools? Also, doesn’t this mean that if my kid has a gaping infected wound he can’t be made to stay out of the school swimming pool?
Do these people think through what it is they are actually writing?
Three children in Effingham County can’t be forced to wear masks without an official quarantine order from the county health department, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The attorney who brought the case anticipates more such cases across the state.
Earlier this month, attorney Thomas DeVore won several cases on behalf of parents of school kids being kept from in-person learning because of possible COVID-19 exposure.
Courts in multiple counties said only county health departments can issue quarantine orders.
* DeVore filed another lawsuit against a school district in Christian County this week. Click here. The Christian County coroner revealed last week that Taylorville High School senior Alexia Garrison died “due to natural causes, with COVID-19 being a contributing factor.” Her parents were told she died of COVID pneumonia.
Schools in Illinois should exclude students and staff with confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases or those who come in close contact with sick people, according to a new executive order Gov. JB Pritzker filed late Friday night.
Under this executive order, schools are obligated to exclude students or school personnel with confirmed or probable COVID cases. The order states schools must refuse entry to the premises, extracurricular activities, or any other events organized by the school. […]
“The schools and local health departments are helping to separate people, to quarantine them, to keep them from infecting other people and to give them the opportunity to test and then come back into the institution,” Pritzker said Monday. […]
“I know that there are people that are attempting to challenge these things in court,” Pritzker said. “I would just say that this is a very unhelpful thing to do and it is going to make schools and health care settings less safe.”
• All Schools must take the following measures to ensure the safety of Students and School Personnel:
1. Exclude any Student or School Personnel who is a Confirmed Case or Probable Case for a minimum of 10 days following onset date if symptomatic or date of test if asymptomatic, or as otherwise directed by the School’s local health authority.
2. Exclude any Student or School Personnel who is a Close Contact for a minimum of 14 days or as otherwise directed by the School’s local health authority, which may recommend options such as Exclusion for 10 days or 7 days with a negative test result on day 6. As an alternative to Exclusion, Schools may permit Close Contacts who are asymptomatic to be on the School premises, at extracurricular events, or any other events organized by the School if both the Confirmed Case or Probable Case and the Close Contact were masked for the entire exposure period and provided the Close Contact tests negative on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 following the exposure.
3. In addition to (b)(i) and(b)(ii), Schools shall Exclude any Student or School Personnel for a minimum of 10 days who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 until they are fever free for 24 hours and until 48 hours after diarrhea or vomiting have ceased.
• All Schools shall make remote instruction available consistent with the requirements declared by the State Superintendent for Education pursuant to Section 10-30 and 34-18.66 of the School Code, 105 ILCS 5/10-30 and 105 ILCS 5/34-18.66, for Students Excluded from in-person instruction pursuant to this Executive Order.
• State agencies, including but not limited to the Illinois Department of Public Health, may promulgate emergency rules as necessary to effectuate this Executive Order and aid in its implementation.
• Nothing in this Executive Order prohibits a local health authority from issuing orders for isolation or quarantine pursuant to the Department of Public Health Act, 20 ILCS 2305/1.1 et seq., and regulations implementing that Act, or requiring schools to take more stringent measures than described in this Executive Order.
Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says it clarifies orders confusion after court rulings in Macoupin and Adams County on the state’s rules: “The governor and the ISBE definitely have the desire to keep all close contacts out of the physical schools, so in response to the legal challenges about the use of the term ‘quarantine,’ they have altered it with a new executive order to mandate to school districts that we must exclude students from schools who have been determined to be a close contact. We are no longer issuing a quarantine. The health department isn’t issuing a quarantine. We are excluding those individuals from the physical school, and that is mandated and it says we must follow it.”
Ptacek says this circumvents the necessity of a local health department or court order to issue a quarantine order. Ptacek says the district has received a statement from the Illinois State Board of Education that they will enforce the rule based upon further clarification in the Executive Order granting them the authority of enforcement.
* From Katherine J. Wu, Ed Yong and Sarah Zhang at the the Atlantic…
If vaccines are working, how could vaccinated people make up such a large proportion of an outbreak?
The answer is simple: They can if they make up a large proportion of a population. Even though vaccinated people have much lower odds of getting sick than unvaccinated people, they’ll make up a sizable fraction of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths if there are more of them around.
Let’s work through some numbers. Assume, first, that vaccines are 60 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections. (There’s a lot of conflicting information about this, but the exact number doesn’t affect this exercise much.) Vaccinated people are still less likely to get infected, but as their proportion of the community rises, so does the percentage of infections occurring among them. If 20 percent of people are fully vaccinated, they’ll account for 9 percent of infections; meanwhile, the 80 percent of the population that’s unvaccinated will account for 91 percent. Now flip that. If only 20 percent of people are unvaccinated, there will be fewer infections overall. But vaccinated people, who are now in the majority, will account for most of those infections—62 percent.
Register now to join Ed Yong alongside Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci at the 2021 Atlantic Festival
That is why this particular statistic—the proportion of vaccinated people in a given outbreak—is so deeply misleading. “The better the vaccine uptake, the scarier this number will seem,” wrote Lucy D’Agostino McGowan, a statistician at Wake Forest University. By extension, the safer communities become, the more it will seem like the sky is falling—if we continue focusing on the wrong statistics.
“If you’re trying to decide on getting vaccinated, you don’t want to look at the percentage of sick people who were vaccinated,” McGowan wrote. “You want to look at the percentage of people who were vaccinated and got sick.”
Note percentage. In July, an NBC News article stated that “At Least 125,000 Fully Vaccinated Americans Have Tested Positive” for the coronavirus. In isolation, that’s an alarming number. But it represented just 0.08 percent of the 165 million people who were fully vaccinated at the time. More recently, Duke University reported that 364 students had tested positive in a single week—a figure that represents just 1.6 percent of the more than 15,000 students who were tested. The denominator matters.
The denominators in these calculations also change, dragging the numerators higher along with them. As surges grow, so too will the number of infected people, which means the number of breakthrough infections will also grow. Even if the percentage of breakthroughs stays steady, though, vaccines will feel less effective if the pandemic is allowed to rage out of control, because …
I do not yet know if this is on broadcast, but it’s a modest $9K cable buy running through September 23.
* Script…
Nancy Pelosi and Adam Kinzinger picked your pocket. Their spending spree sparked record inflation, driving up prices and eating into the value of your paycheck.
Now will Kinzinger support Pelosi’s reconciliation scam? It’s a $3 trillion tax hike that could cost your family $2400. And experts warn its higher investment taxes could slam your retirement savings. Remind Kinzinger he works for you. Tell him to stop Nancy Pelosi’s tax scam.
* I told subscribers this morning that this was probably coming. Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today announced Illinois’ first union agreement requiring vaccines for certain state workers in congregate facilities. The agreement covers approximately 260 supervisory employees at the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) which are represented by VR-704. Employees must receive their first shot by October 14, 2021. Should an employee elect a two-dose vaccine, they must receive the second shot by November 18.
State employees who remain unvaccinated pose a significant risk to individuals in the Illinois’ congregate facilities. Therefore, if employees do not receive the vaccine or an exemption by the dates identified, progressive disciplinary measures will be implemented, which may ultimately lead to discharge. The agreement includes a process whereby employees can seek an exemption based on medical contraindications or sincerely-held religious beliefs.
“With new variants among us, the quick spread of COVID-19 in congregate settings in Illinois and across the nation continues to harm the most vulnerable among us,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We have a safe and proven tool to end this pandemic, and vaccination remains the most effective way to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities. I’m proud to reach this agreement with these critical labor partners and applaud VR-704 for taking this critical step to combat the virus and keep all of our State residents safe.”
Last month, Governor Pritzker announced that all state workers who work in state run congregate facilities would be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, that includes employees at IDOC and DJJ, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA), subject to bargaining. Negotiations between the unions representing the rest of the workforce impacted by this mandate are ongoing.
“When staff take the life-saving vaccine, they are protecting their colleagues, individuals in custody and communities while moving the agency closer to normal operations,” said Rob Jeffreys, Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. “This commitment will help IDOC overcome the challenges associated with infection control in congregate living environments.”
To further encourage vaccinations under the agreement with VR-704, employees will receive an additional personal day. If the vaccine administration is not available during an employee’s regularly scheduled shift, the employee may be compensated at their regular pay for the time taken to receive the vaccine. In addition, vaccinated employees will receive paid “COVID time,” so that if a vaccinated employee gets COVID-19, or must quarantine due to COVID-19, they will receive a period of paid time off without using their benefit time.
The administration has taken extensive measures to make the COVID-19 vaccine equitable and accessible. The Pritzker administration established 25 mass vaccination sites. The Illinois National Guard supported more than 800 mobile vaccination clinics on top of an additional 1,705 state-supported mobile sites that focused on communities hardest hit by the pandemic, young residents, and rural communities. The COVID-19 vaccine has been available for healthcare and nursing home workers since December 15, 2020, and open to teachers since January 25, 2021.
Vaccination is the key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and returning to normal life. All Illinois residents over the age of 12 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost and proof of immigration status is not required to receive the vaccine. To find a vaccination center near you, visit vaccines.gov.
Seems like a deal that, in normal times, AFSCME should’ve been able to live with.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s deadline for some professionals to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was Sunday, Sept. 19.
This requirement is for all PK-12 grade teachers and staff, all higher education staff and students, and all hospital staff.
This mandate was announced by Gov. Pritzker in late August.
Those who do not get vaccinated will be required to do routine testing.
The mandate also applies to healthcare workers and Gov. Pritzker was asked today about if he was concerned that the teacher and healthcare worker shortage could be exacerbated by this mandate…
Of course I’m concerned about people who will refuse to get vaccinated and refuse to get tested. So we don’t want to cause any shortages, but we do want to keep everybody safe. We do have these alternatives available to people, but, again, vaccination is the safest thing that people can do for themselves, for their communities for their schools, as well as healthcare workers in their healthcare settings.
Riverside Healthcare notified what could be hundreds of employees by email on Friday that their religious exemption request regarding the COVID-19 vaccination has been denied.
In the email provided to the Daily Journal, the nonprofit organization — Kankakee County’s largest employer with more than 3,000 employees — stated, “We take all requests very seriously and respect the time you invested to submit it.”
The hospital administration further stated it could not risk having unvaccinated employees caring for patients.
The denial letter, which went to those not willing to participate in the healthcare organization’s COVID Vaccination Program Policy, sets the stage for what could be a showdown between Riverside and a significant portion of its employees.
As of the end of August, Riverside had a vaccination rate of 54 percent. The current rate was not available.
The denial form letter further stated, “Based on our review of your declination request and our COVID Vaccination Program Policy, your request has been denied. Although your religious or strongly held belief may otherwise qualify for an exemption, Riverside has decided to deny your request because you are in a patient-facing position.”
A new online calculator has been created to reportedly compute a person’s chances of contracting COVID-19 based on different circumstances.
Smithsonian Magazine reports the calculator was created by a group of friends who made a mathematical model based on the most recent research including on masks, vaccine efficacy and current COVID-19 cases in each county.
For the first time in Alabama’s known history, the state had more deaths than births in 2020 — a grim milestone that underscores the pandemic’s calamitous toll.
“Our state literally shrunk in 2020,” Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s state health officer, said at a news conference on Friday. There were 64,714 total deaths in the state last year, compared to 57,641 births, Dr. Harris said.
Such a gap had never been recorded, not even during World War I, World War II and the flu pandemic of 1918, Dr. Harris said. Going back to the earliest available records, in 1900, “We’ve never had a time when deaths exceeded births,” he said.
Illinois, Minnesota and New York were the only Great Lakes states to have recorded more births than deaths in 2019 and 2020, according to the study…
* To slow the spread of COVID-19, Illinois must decarcerate: Alongside releases, vaccination is key. Pritzker announced a vaccine mandate for state-employed correctional workers effective Oct. 4. But with less than one month until the deadline, only 44% of Illinois prison staff are vaccinated; two facilities, Lawrence and Vienna, are not yet at even double-digit staff vaccination rates.
* Doctor: Youth COVID-19 deaths less likely, but impactful in Illinois: After a Taylorville teen died after recently recovering from COVID-19, we looked into how common it is for youth to die from the virus. 17-year-old Alexia Garrison was a senior at Taylorville High School.
In addition, a mere 17 percent of respondents said they believed that neither face masks nor the coronavirus vaccine are effective.
Keep in mind that this is Illinois, which tends to poll more to the liberal side. So, you can probably safely bump up those national mitigation favorables here.
Conducted September 12-15, 2021 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,002 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a national voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf has mostly followed Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment and avoided speaking ill of his Republican opponents.
Until now.
When a relative unknown named Jesse Sullivan jumped into the race earlier this month with a nearly $11 million out-of-state-funded campaign war chest, state Sen. Darren Bailey and businessperson Gary Rabine both called him a member of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley “elite” because that’s where his business was located and where much of his campaign money came from.
The Silicon Valley angle took hold in segments of the mainstream media. Did Sullivan really live in downstate Petersburg, as he claimed, or did he live in the San Francisco area? Sullivan’s campaign pushed back hard on the out-of-state angle, insisting he was a Petersburg guy who had made lots of influential business friends in California and other states.
But Schimpf, a former state senator, actually welcomed Sullivan into the fray, saying, “another robust campaign spreading the message that J.B. Pritzker is undeserving of reelection is good news for the Illinois Republican Party.”
Schimpf was born on an Air Force base in the Metro East, graduated from Annapolis Naval Academy, then graduated from law school and served 20 years in the US Marines, serving as the chief American adviser to prosecutors in Saddam Hussein’s trial. His service, to my knowledge, has not been questioned, but his ire was raised by some of Jesse Sullivan’s campaign claims.
The neophyte Sullivan has peppered his campaign website and announcement with photos of himself in military uniform.
“I proudly served our nation in uniform doing counterinsurgency work in Helmand Afghanistan with the US Department of Defense,” Sullivan declared in his campaign announcement speech near Petersburg.
Sullivan was part of what was known as the Army’s Human Terrain System, which recruited civilians with social science backgrounds to help military commanders understand the local populations. A 2012 profile of Sullivan in the State Journal-Register mentioned that his team, “left the British military unit stationed in the area with recommendations for strengthening the local police force and reopening a school.”
When I questioned Sullivan’s campaign about this seeming rhetorical contradiction, they acknowledged that he was an Army civilian without veteran status who nevertheless “led and participated in combat patrols in Afghanistan.”
The Army’s unclassified handbook on the Human Terrain Team says its leaders were active duty or retired military officers. So, I asked, how could Sullivan have “led” combat patrols?
Sullivan’s campaign responded with a 300-word background statement which claimed Sullivan’s Army team leader never left the base. Instead, the campaign claimed, Sullivan led a small team consisting usually of “another human terrain analyst, possibly a social scientist depending on the mission, and an interpreter,” which would, “embed with a military unit.” Sullivan, “was responsible for translating military objectives into collection priorities, executing the collection mission, reporting back, and advising the military decision-making process.”
To me, the long-winded explanation looked more like Sullivan had led a small group of advisers alongside soldiers in combat areas than actually leading what most would consider “combat patrols.” That still took courage, so why embellish it?
I sent Schimpf everything I had from the Sullivan campaign along with my own self-directed research. Schimpf was initially reluctant to say anything about Sullivan, but eventually issued this response:
“Although Jesse Sullivan, who is not a veteran and has never been on active duty, should be commended for having worked in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, his claim to have led combat patrols flies in the face of Department of Defense regulations and established practices. While civilian contractors may be armed and act in defensive roles such as providing security, the use of contractors in contingency operations is specifically limited in DoD Instruction 3020.41 to support operations ‘in a non-combat role.’ If Mr. Sullivan wants to claim unprecedented combat leadership experience as a civilian contractor, he should identify the officer that he directly reported to while in theater in order to verify this extraordinary assertion. Otherwise, he should correct the misleading language on his website.”
Sullivan has managed to make a big splash in the Republican primary. He’s a young, handsome made-for-TV candidate and already has way more money than any of his opponents could ever likely hope to raise. But Sullivan should probably stop digging holes that he’ll eventually have to fill himself. It’s a really bad habit and I’ve seen it fatally backfire more than once. Like I said before, there’s no need to embellish this stuff.
And, for sure, this military combat claim needs to be cleared up right away.
After pushback from the largest state employee union, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday extended his deadline for workers in Illinois prisons and other congregate settings to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by more than a month, to Nov. 18.
When Pritzker announced the vaccination mandate for workers in prisons and other residential state facilities last month, he set an Oct. 4 deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated and called on their unions to come to the bargaining table to work out the specifics. […]
Under the governor’s latest order, those who receive either a two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine would have to get an initial dose by Oct. 14 and the second shot by Nov. 18. Those getting the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have to get it by Oct. 14.
The governor’s office said Friday that progress is being made in bargaining over the mandate, but offered no further specifics on why the original deadline could not be met. “Negotiations are ongoing and productive,” Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh wrote in an email.
* This man regularly emails state legislators, but today’s is particularly relevant considering the horrible news out of Taylorville…
…Adding… Rep. Jonathan Carroll received the email as well…
I guess we all have our own definition of what constitutes a hero. I would suggest that the front-line workers and medical professionals who continue to get overrun by those who deny the science of vaccines and masks are much bigger heroes than those seeking headlines arguing with smart people.
Taylorville High School is grieving after it was announced that a high school senior passed away last night.
Taylorville School Superintendent Doctor Chris Dougherty, in a news release sent this morning, announced that Alexia Garrison, a senior student at Taylorville High School, died last night at her home where she collapsed.
Dr. Dougherty, in the release, said there are no words to express the grief, heartbreak, and sense of loss felt by everyone in the Taylorville School District.
I was told by one area reporter that the school district pushed back against questions yesterday.
Garrison was quarantined for COVID-19, but had cleared her quarantine period and returned to school at Taylorville High School, according to a Christian County Public Health Official. […]
Students at Taylorville High School are planning to wear purple — Garrisons’s favorite color — to class on Friday to honor her memory.
Hopefully, this tragic death will prompt more people in the area to get vaccinated. Just 39 percent of Christian County’s population is vaxed, according to IDPH.
* Click the image from IDPH if you need a bigger version to see that unvaccinated kids aged 12-17 represent the highest case growth by far in Illinois right now…
…Adding… Rep. Deb Conroy…
Tragic. Which anti mask, my body my choice Republican will step up and take responsibility for the death of Alexia Garrison? She is everyone’s child and no child is safe when personal political gain is valued over human life.
*** UPDATE *** Get your shots, people…
Tragic news from Taylorville. A 17-year-old girl collapsed in her home and died after a long, drawn out bout with Covid-pneumonia. Her dad told @WCIA3 that her symptoms lasted beyond recommended quarantine, and that she was unvaccinated, per @Cole_Henke.https://t.co/gPLYohk88Y
The Sears anchor store at Woodfield Mall was such an instrumental part of the shopping center’s creation and early success that part of the mall’s name — the “Wood” is for legendary former Sears Chairman Robert E. Wood — pays tribute to the iconic retailer.
But now just a week after the suburban shopping mecca celebrated the 50th anniversary of its opening, Woodfield’s Sears store is preparing to close its doors for the last time.
Officials from Sears’s Hoffman Estates-based parent company Transformco announced Thursday it will close the Woodfield store, its last remaining location in Illinois, on Nov. 14, as part of a corporate plan to “redevelop and reinvigorate the property.”
“This is part of the company’s strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community,” the announcement states.
Governor JB Pritzker joined Boeing and community leaders to announce that the company will be investing $200 million to build a state-of-the-art facility to produce the MQ-25 Stingray, the U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The new 291,000 square-foot facility at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, scheduled to begin construction later this year, will help support nearly 300 good jobs for the Metro East region over the next three years.
“The world’s largest aerospace company is doubling down on Illinois because of our unparalleled assets in the transportation and logistics sector and the world-class talent of our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “To prepare our communities for the future, my administration is committed to making continued investments that will modernize our airports, spark new innovation and bring jobs and economic opportunities to our communities from Chicago to St. Clair and beyond. I want to thank the Boeing Company for their vote of confidence in Illinois, as well as St Clair County leadership and the MidAmerica Airport team for giving companies another reason to choose Illinois.” […]
The new production center will bring 300 jobs to the Metro East community – with initial plans to hire approximately 150 mechanics, engineers and support staff who will build the MQ-25TM StingrayTM. This project was made possible in part by an EDGE agreement from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), a tool used to support companies making large scale capital investments that lead to significant job creation. As part of its agreement with the State, Boeing has committed to an initial investment of at least $200 million over a 15-year period.
The innovative MQ-25 facility will include state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, including robotic automation and advanced assembly techniques, to improve product quality and employee ergonomics. Boeing digitally engineered the MQ-25 aircraft and its systems, resulting in high-fidelity models that drive quality and efficient production. The new facility is expected to be completed in early 2024, and aircraft production is projected to begin in the start of FY 2024.
“The team and state-of-the-art technology we’re bringing to the Navy’s MQ-25 program is unprecedented, and we’re incredibly proud to be expanding both as we build the future of autonomous systems in Illinois,” said Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We’ve received great support from MidAmerica Airport and countless dedicated employees, and we’re excited to build the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft right here in the Metro East.”
The new MQ-25 facility will be in addition to existing manufacturing operations at Boeing St. Clair, which produces components for the CH-47 Chinook, F/A-18 Super Hornet, and other defense products.
Boeing’s investments in Mascoutah are the latest in a series to prepare MidAmerica St. Louis Airport for future growth. Fueled by $57 million in Rebuild Illinois capital funds, the airport will deliver the airport will deliver taxiway and airfield enhancements surrounding the new Boeing production facility and significant upgrades to the passenger terminal facility.
Just a suggestion: Use some of that Rebuild Illinois money to open up more pay lanes to exit MidAmerica airport. There are only two now, and the unstaffed automated machines don’t always work, creating gridlock.
* Wednesday…
Governor JB Pritzker joined the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), Congresswoman Marie Newman, City of Chicago officials, and members of the community today in announcing a first of its kind aviation training facility opening in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood. With support from the State of Illinois, the new AIM campus will expand access to industry standard aviation training programs, increase the talent pipeline for Illinois’ growing aviation industry, and unlock a long-term investment of 75 permanent jobs for the community.
At 137,000 square feet, the Chicago facility will be AIM’s largest training program in the nation, and its 14th campus overall. Working with longstanding industry partners and a range of educational partners in Chicago, the new campus plans to begin enrolling for classes set to begin on September 27th.
“Our long-term economic success as a state depends on our investment in the next generation of leaders, who will soon take on the task of steering our most important industries to meet the demands of the next decades,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As governor, I’m committed to building on Illinois’s transportation leadership by working to educate and empower new talent and bring historically underrepresented populations into the field. Today, we have a new partner in that work: with the support of an EDGE agreement from the state, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, or AIM, is set to open its largest aviation training facility in Chicago. I look forward to watching the AIM campus take the talent, diversity, and strength of our workforce to new heights.”
Construction on the training facility is now complete at 3711 S. Ashland Ave. AIM converted a former warehouse into a modern training facility with a large hangar, 17 classrooms, an avionics lab, and 31 administrative offices to support students. The Chicago campus will be 30% larger than AIM’s two current largest campuses, which will allow them to bring aviation maintenance training currently lacking in the area. AIM is a leading provider of training for students pursuing certification in aviation maintenance.
“AIM is thrilled to bring our proven industry training programs to Illinois as we work to prepare the next generation for exciting roles in the aviation industry,” said Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) Executive Vice President, Dr. Joel English. “Thanks to support from the State of Illinois, City Colleges of Chicago, and numerous industry partners, we will launch our latest program in the country, with an emphasis on delivering training programs to match the needs of local employers and to increase diversity in the workforce. We look forward to launching classes this fall, partnering with Olive-Harvey College and with colleges and universities statewide to bring students access to training that will allow them to compete for well-paying jobs in this fast-growing field.”
* No law is perfect, and the new climate/energy law is far from it…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker vows Illinois will help stop — and even reverse — climate change with a new state law that outlaws coal- and gas-fired electricity by 2045.
But the law fails to address the state’s biggest source of climate-changing pollution: coal mining.
During 2020 alone, mostly out-of-state companies that burned Illinois coal released more than 57 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis based on a formula developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
By contrast, the state’s coal and gas plants emitted 46 million tons of CO2 during the year.
The result is what proponents call the “most equitable” climate bill passed to date in the United States.
Even some of the core people behind the environmental justice parts of the legislation — which include preferences for minority businesses and hiring, training opportunities for clean energy jobs and grants for community programs — seemed shocked by how much they had achieved.
“No one believed in Illinois we would actually pass legislation that can stop oil and gas facilities from running forever,” says Juliana Pino, policy director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. […]
J.C. Kibbey, Illinois clean energy advocate for Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago, says more needs to be done and will be done to address climate change.
Still, Kibbey says, “This would’ve been unimaginable even five years ago that we would completely move away from fossil fuels in the power sector. In a state like this, that we got it done, is a testament how the politics has shifted and how quickly the economics of coal has shifted.”
Parkview Christian Academy is scheduled to present its case in court later this month for a temporary restraining order against the Illinois State Board of Education over its move to revoke the school’s recognition for not acknowledging the statewide mask mandate.
Oral arguments are scheduled at 1 p.m., Sept. 29, in Kendall County Court. Plano attorney Carlo Colosimo will represent Parkview Christian Academy and Illinois Assistant Attorney General Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera will represent the Illinois State Board of Education.
A commenter noticed earlier this week that a person named Carlo Colosimo is the treasurer of the Kendall County Board of Health and wondered aloud if it was the same person, which would be really egregious.
So, I reached out to Colosimo on Facebook (of course) and asked if the commenter was right…
Yes that is me.
It’s just a microcosm of what this state is up against.
* The US Census clearly warns: “These data are experimental. Users should take caution using estimates based on subpopulations of the data – sample sizes may be small and the standard errors may be large.” So, be really careful with stories like this…
A new study is revealing some of the reasons why Illinoisans have yet to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 6.6 million or 61.1% of people 12 and older in Illinois are fully vaccinated.
Nick VinZant with QuoteWizard says there are five main reasons Illinoisans have avoided the shot.
“People are worried about side effects, they are waiting to see what’s going to happen with the vaccine, they don’t believe they need it, they don’t trust the government, or they don’t trust the vaccine specifically,” said VinZant.
Israel’s vaccination rate for those 12 and above is 78 percent. Illinois’ vaccination rate for the same age group is 63.5 percent. Israel’s population is 71.4 percent of Illinois’ population. According to NPR, 600 people are hospitalized in Israel with COVID, which is just 29 percent of the 2,082 hospitalized in Illinois. Israel’s most recent 7-day average deaths is 22, which is 54 percent of Illinois’ 41.
* IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 25,956 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 285 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, September 10, 2021. More than 80% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and almost 63%% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 67% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 52% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,590,342 cases, including 24,546 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, September 10, 2021, laboratories have reported 638,918 specimens for a total of 30,395,751. As of last night, 2,082 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 502 patients were in the ICU and 275 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 10-16, 2021 is 4.1%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from September 10-16, 2021 is 4.4%.
A total of 14,284,288 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 20,292 doses. Since reporting on Friday, September 10, 2021, 142,041 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
*All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
* A couple of relevant tweets…
I work at a thrift store and found this vaccine card from 1956. Felt weirdly timely pic.twitter.com/pjo8nhwwUL
* Some East St. Louis parents demand schools provide remote learning due to COVID cases: “One of the reasons that we’re out here is that since school has started, there have been so many outbreaks of COVID in the school,” Rice-Barnes said during the protest. “We have been reaching out to the school district asking for answers, asking for options for our children. There is no school board, no school district without our kids and our families. We are the collateral. There is no school district without parents and without children. We do not feel safe.”
Creates the Stop Social Media Censorship Act. Provides that the owner or operator of a social media website that censors or deletes a user’s religious or political speech is subject to a private right of action by certain social media website users in this State. Authorizes the recovery of actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages. Provides for the award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Prohibits a social media website from using alleged hate speech as a defense. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action on behalf of social media website users. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2021.
A social media website may not use the social media website user’s alleged hate speech as a basis for justification or defense of the social media website’s actions at trial.
So, website owners could be forced to pay damages if they deleted commenters who used the n-word? Yeah. Hard, hard, hard pass on that one, dude.
* From Hannah Meisel’s story that’s linked and referenced above…
Ralph Rivera of Illinois Right to Life Action didn’t find Cassidy’s bill very funny, though he did say he would be on board for legalizing bounties for rapists. Otherwise, he speculated some of the broader strokes in the bill might be found unconstitutional.
“We’re talking about human life,” Rivera said. “It’s not silly. Taking a serious matter and trying to be flippant…she could’ve just stated that and not filed a bill.”
* House Speaker Chris Welch busted the campaign contribution caps yesterday with a $100,001 contribution to his personal campaign fund. He is now the third legislative leader to break the state’s contribution caps. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has not yet done so, but he has in the past. From Welch campaign spokesperson Alexandra Sims…
This is another step by Speaker Welch to protect Democratic House members, as well as potential Democratic candidates, in the upcoming primary and general elections.
The caps are also off in the governor’s race, among others. [Sheesh! Another SoS mistake. I have a smooth spot on my brain about that office today.]
Greg Hart, a sitting board member from Hinsdale, will run for his party’s nomination for the chairman’s position in 2022.
On the Democratic ticket, Liz Chaplin, once the party’s sole county board member, is vying to take the seat held by Republicans for generations. First elected in 2012, Chaplin took the helm of the finance committee after Democrats won control of the board in 2020 for the first time since the Great Depression.
State Rep. Deb Conroy, a Villa Park Democrat, said she’s also considering a run for the county’s top seat. Her fifth term expires next year.
“I will decide where I can best serve DuPage County in the coming weeks,” Conroy said Thursday.
She represents the one-time seat of former Illinois House speaker and conservative stalwart Lee Daniels, another sign that the traditionally ruby red DuPage has skewed more Democratic.
The last paragraph just blows me away. That part of the world used to be at the very epicenter of Republican politics in this state.
* The second white man with union leadership credentials has said he’s running for the vacant 72nd House District…
Democrat Jeff Deppe has announced his candidacy for state Representative, Illinois House District 72.
Current state Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, is running for 36th District state Senate.
Deppe’s roots run deep in Rock Island County, and he already wears many hats in the Democratic Party: He is vice president of the Rock Island County Democratic Party and is a Rock Island County board member, representing District 9. He was appointed to the county board in 2015 and elected in 2016, currently serving as chairman of the county governance, health and administration committee.
Deppe is employed as the secretary and treasurer of Laborers Local 309 (LiUNA) and was elected Illinois vice president of the Quad-City Federation of Labor in May. He sits on the boards of directors for Arrowhead Youth and Family Services and the Bi-State Regional Commission.
Thurgood Brooks, a young Black activist who narrowly lost the Rock Island mayor’s race this year is also considering a bid.
A Freeburg, Illinois native and newcomer to state politics is making a splash with a lot of cash.
Venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan announced he would run for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor. Sullivan joins three other nominees hoping to unseat Democratic incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker.
Even though some of his competitors have an advantage with their political experience, Sullivan may use his connections and capital to light his way towards the nomination, according to John Jackson of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. […]
Jackson feels the frontrunner is U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL 13th Dist.) who hasn’t announced his candidacy yet.
” I think [Davis] has… [the] political experience and party connections that would make him the automatic frontrunner if he were to announce,” Jackson said.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Gary Rabine press release…
The Job Creators Network (JCN) is preparing a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on companies with 100 or more employees, a move Gary Rabine, a JCN Board member, endorses.
Rabine is issuing the following statement on the JCN lawsuit against the Biden Administration.
“Biden’s Administration, the Administration that Pritzker & AOC support is off their rockers! Their main goal seems to be kill jobs, kill freedom, and tax more!
As one of the founding board members of Job Creators Network, I endorse this lawsuit against Biden. We have been a strong voice against terrible regulations that kill jobs but this mandate by Biden might be the most aggressive, freedom crushing bill that we have ever seen. If we allow this, what freedom will we give up next?
Our businesses at the Rabine Group have amazing people who are like family to us, and some will choose not to take this vaccine for their own personal reasons. Some of these invaluable people will choose to leave the small businesses they call home to work for a smaller company that doesn’t fall under the mandate. Some of them will move to a state that fights for their freedom against a tyrannical federal government. How many more Illinoisans can we afford to chase out?
As Governor, I will fight for the freedom of my teammates and all employees in our state. I will fight against a Biden and Pritzker tyrannical government to maintain a state of Illinois that will honor freedom and create abundant opportunity.
I endorse Job Creators Network 100% and I call on all freedom loving business leaders to join me in protecting the freedom of employees and small business.”
That’s quite… something. I’m not sure which Republican candidate would get crushed worst in a general election at the moment.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Heh…
It’s also super weird for them to claim that somehow the ad proves DGA sees Bailey as the “top contender.” It lumped him in with four people all saying practically the same thing. The DGA ad means one thing: they’ve seen polling on Covid related issues.
* From Ald. Pat Dowell, a Democratic candidate for secretary of state…
My campaign for Illinois Secretary of State will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The pandemic has taken its toll in my community and all across Illinois. Every day, I learn of more people losing loved ones to this virus. Everyone must get vaccinated. It is the way to stop the pandemic.
I appreciate that Governor JB Pritzker and his campaign team are taking a strong stand by believing in science and trusting medical experts. I am proud to join him in this fight for the health and safety of the people of Illinois.
I’ll be asking the other campaigns for their reacts.
Your thoughts?
…Adding… Fixed my headline because I need much more coffee. Sorry! I even asked the wrong campaign person for a react earlier. Sheesh! Not sure what’s wrong with me today, but I may need a nap.
And, yes, Secretary White has mandated vaccines for employees already, but the testing opt-out is not exactly strong…
Employees who don’t show proof of vaccination by Sept. 1 will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test every other week, White said.
*** UPDATE *** Anna Valencia…
“Since the City Clerk’s office returned in June 2020, we have been providing crucial essential services since and have done everything to protect constituents doing business with the office. Much like other personnel decisions during the pandemic, we’re working with our partners in labor to ensure we implement vaccination standards in a way that makes sense for our workers and customers. As the only person in the race who has had to manage a large government entity which interacts with our most vulnerable citizens during the pandemic, I know that this policy is the very least we can do. I will also have the same policy on our campaign.”
Nurses work 18-hour shifts while administrators are pulled from their offices and outfitted with personal protective equipment to help staff the hospital’s bustling COVID-19 testing site.
Other workers scramble to clear an intensive care unit bed that’ll immediately be filled by another coronavirus patient.
For the others waiting in line for critical care — including heart attack victims, car crash survivors and others who haven’t come down with severe respiratory symptoms from the virus — they’re looking at a five-hour ambulance ride to find the nearest available ICU bed.
And that’s only if the ambulance isn’t already behind schedule from its last out-of-state run with an infected patient.
It’s not a look back to 2020. It’s a September night in southern Illinois this week, nine months after life-saving vaccines were deployed in the pandemic fight. […]
The Illinois Department of Public Health said by the end of the week, it’ll have sent more than 100 additional health care workers to the region. The state agency also helped receive federal approval to start sending civilian patients to three V.A. hospitals.
Despite increasing the number of available ICU beds to 94 yesterday, from 84 earlier in the week, the region still has none available.
