On Tuesday morning, if you want to find the owner of Snapper’s Bar and Grill, Joe Sartie, drop in on him in downtown Clinton. His door will be open.
Sartie is one of a handful of owners struggling with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to close bars and restaurants for indoor seating in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
a) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false information or report concerning the existence of any dangerously contagious or infectious disease in connection with the Department or certified local health department’s power of quarantine, isolation and closure or refuses to comply with a quarantine, isolation or closure order is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. (Section 2(k) of the Act)
b) A public health order issued by a certified local health department under this Subpart is equivalent to, shall be enforced as, and carries the same penalty as an order issued by the Department directly.
(Source: Added at 32 Ill. Reg. 3777, effective March 3, 2008)
* There was a report that someone at the March 8th Women’s March in Springfield was diagnosed positive. Londrigan spoke at that march…
Out of an abundance of caution I will be self-quarantining for the next week. Reminder that our office will be completely shut down this week but staff is available by phone and email. pic.twitter.com/bHIpjujwI2
Lisa Badger, a Springfield Park Board trustee, confirmed Sunday that she is one of the two people currently diagnosed with COVID-19 in Sangamon County. […]
“I am in isolation at home, and have primarily been, since Wednesday evening when my symptoms became concerning,” Badger said. […]
“As I have not been out of the country, or had any known contact with someone who has been out of the country, or had direct contact with someone who has tested positive, it can only be assumed that I received the COVID-19 virus through community spread,” Badger said. “That could have been in any number of ways, as I had been in the public: grocery stores, restaurants, employment, community gatherings, etc.”
One of the public events Badger attended was the Springfield Women’s March on March 8, where she spent time in close contact with two Springfield city council members: Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso and Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley.
And Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, a Democratic candidate for the 13th Congressional district who attended the march, announced she was going into self-quarantine until March 22.
Badger works for the state treasurer. I reached out earlier today for information on the treasurer’s response, but haven’t yet heard back.
*** UPDATE 2 *** This is the internal email sent to state treasurer office (STO) workers this afternoon…
STO Team –
On behalf of Treasurer Frerichs, we continue to actively monitor updates from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) concerning COVID-19 in Illinois. Treasurer’s Office (STO) policies are being monitored and periodically updated in response to recommendations from the public health experts. Please be assured that we are working with building management to ensure that all appropriate universal precautions and cleaning efforts are made in all working areas and public places.
The Treasurer’s Office has been notified by IDPH officials that an STO employee on the 4th Floor of the Monroe Building in Springfield has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee reported not having been present in the office since March 6th. State and federal laws prohibit the Treasurer’s Office from identifying anyone who has tested for, or contracted, COVID-19 and we intend to comply with these laws when and as applicable.
Effective immediately, the Treasurer’s Office has made the business decision to close our business offices beginning on Monday, March 16, 2020 and continuing through March 31, 2020 based on information presently available to us. During this temporary period, the following precautions will be taken to help protect the health and safety of our employees while also taking necessary steps to help ensure the continuity of our business operations and service to the public:
No employees will be permitted to report to work or perform services in our business offices. The only exception is for designated individuals who are identified as performing essential functions and for limited purposes. If you attempt to report to work, you will be asked to leave.
Should you need to have access to any information or personal items that may be stored in your work office, you should contact Human Resources at the contact numbers listed below to see if arrangements can be made to accommodate your needs.
Employees who have the ability and resources to perform your work activities from a remote location are requested to do so during the time you would normally be scheduled to be present in the office. If you have any questions about remote working, please speak with your direct supervisor.
During the hours you would normally be scheduled to be working, you are asked to remain at home (or at a safe remote location that allows for appropriate social distancing).
You will receive your normal compensation as if you were actively working and in return we are counting on you to be available to respond to emails, text messages, telephone calls or other forms of communication when requested by management during your normally scheduled working time.
All employees are required to keep accurate records of the time (through the ADP timekeeping system) that they perform work while at home and normally expected to be working. If an employee does not have access to the ADP timekeeping system, they should email their time to their supervisor on a daily basis or, if that is not possible, record their time on paper.
All STO employees are required to observe the advice from IDPH to engage in proper social distancing and refrain from non-essential travel.
Any employee on leave status or utilizing other paid time off benefits will continue to be eligible for those privileges during this temporary period. We also will continue to honor all reasonable accommodations for individuals who are disabled or otherwise in need of such assistance during this period.
Employees who are working remotely should check in with their supervisor at least once per workday to determine if there is a change of these terms or if any other precautions are necessary or recommended.
Depending on the nature of duties performed, some employees will receive additional instruction from their managers about work assignments and reporting obligations as a follow up to this communication.
All STO employees will continue to be paid while we get through this unprecedented situation at the rate that those employees would normally have been paid had the employee been working when scheduled (up to 37.5 hours per week for hourly/non-exempt staff).
Please remember that the Ethics Act requires that employees not engage in prohibited political activity while on compensated time or using State resources; as a reminder, compensated time includes sick time.
The State Treasurer’s Office carries out vital functions for State government. As long as the financial markets are open, receipts need to be processed, and state payments need to be made, the Treasurer’s Office needs to be open and functioning. Because of advance planning these functions should be able to be carried out almost entirely remotely.
…Adding… I asked how many people would be working from home…
We have four offices.
All employees will be working from home except for two.
Gov. Pritzker also announced that he has directed state agencies to implement plans for a temporary reduction of government functions and workforce while maintaining core functions and essential operations.
Select employees will continue to report to work; while the remaining workforce will either work remotely or be asked to remain home on call while receiving pay. All state employees will continue to be paid during this period.
Over the next several days, the Pritzker administration will finalize these plans and update state employees and the public. The Office of the Governor will remain fully operational throughout this period.
“Several days.” Hmm.
* Response…
Statement of AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch:
“State employees provide public services that are vitally important to the well-being of every Illinois resident. They protect kids, safeguard public health, help struggling families, keep prisons safe, care for veterans and people with disabilities and much more.
“Governor Pritzker is right to direct state employees wherever possible to work remotely during this outbreak. Preventing community transmission of the coronavirus is necessary to keep people healthy and prevent a surge of infections that overwhelms the health care system. The governor is modeling the behavior that every Illinois employer should follow.
“Our union’s top priority will remain protecting the safety of those state employees who continue to work on the front lines of public service in the days to come, in prisons, veterans homes, disability centers, critical human services and more. It’s vitally important that they have adequate personal protective equipment, sanitary working conditions and the other support and tools they need to do their jobs and stay healthy.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that core services are maintained while all possible measures are taken to halt the spread of this virus and protect the health of employees and those they serve.”
* You may recall Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s statement yesterday…
“In light of guidance from public health officials to practice social distancing to stem the COVID-19 outbreak, political campaigns and organizations should take immediate steps to cease in-person get-out-the-vote efforts. At this moment, we must all do everything we can to stop the spread of this virus. While I am fully aware that this is not an ideal situation for campaigns as I understand the type of in-person and close contact campaigning that is traditionally done within the final days of an election, everyone must now take responsibility for keeping our communities safe. There are plenty of organizing tactics available that don’t involve in-person contact such as phone banking, texting out the vote and other virtual communications practices.
“Those who wish to lead us in government should model good and safe behavior by stopping these activities in order to slow the spread of this virus. This is a time to put safety over politics.”
* I reached out to all four legislative caucuses yesterday to see what they were doing. Here’s Magen Ryan with the Senate Democrats…
Days ago President Harmon asked campaigns to transition to electronic communication, phonebanking, and literature drops without voter interaction
Jayme Odom at the House Republican Organization…
We’ve asked campaigns to follow CDC and IDPH guidelines, cease door-to-door activities, and take their campaigns more fully into the digital space.
This is the email sent to Senate Republican candidates…
In keeping with recommendations from The Illinois Department of Public Health, and out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging all Illinois Senate Republican candidates to suspend in-person campaigning for the foreseeable future. It is imperative we do all we can to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. You can continue utilizing other methods of reaching voters that do not require face-to-face contact.
* I’ve been trying to get a response out of Team Madigan for more than 24 hours. Here’s what they finally told me this afternoon…
Over the weekend, we sent a note to staff and others with general health precautions regarding COVID-19 that follow the direction of the governor’s office. Included in that advice was to limit their interactions with the public, stay home if they exhibit symptoms and discouraging large gatherings like fundraisers and town halls. We also advised staff that those who do not feel comfortable directly engaging with voters and the general public should not, and we’ll work to ramp up our texting and phone banking operations.
In addition, the Democratic Party of Illinois is assisting local election authorities by initiating an outreach program to Democratic voters in precincts where polling places have been relocated.
I’ve checked around with several House Democrats and no one has received any guidance other than a memo from Madigan’s chief of staff on Friday which talked about “how to work remotely and keep time,” according to one HDem.
The man is the committeeperson of the 13th Ward, the chairman of the state party, the speaker of the Illinois House who has by far the largest campaign operation of anyone in this state, and that’s all he’s got?
…Adding… Sigh…
I asked a HDEM staffer earlier what precautions were being taken for campaigns. But that person said it’s a campaign-by-campaign decision. https://t.co/2PdMqg7RFx
…Adding… I just received a text from a House Democrat who is working a polling place today telling me that he has received no guidance from his regional manager or campaign manager on this topic.
…Adding… One HDem member remembered receiving a memo from HQ a couple of days ago with election day guidance. This is the extent of the health advice…
COVID-19 ISSUES
It is important to remind volunteers and voters to practice healthy handwashing and social distancing when entering polling locations, particularly if the location is busy or located in a high-risk building. Please work with your local election authorities and election judges to ensure public health protections
are in place, such as signs directing voters to restrooms or handwashing stations, sanitizer, tissues, etc.
Compare that with “without voter interaction” (Harmon), “cease door-to-door activities” (Durkin) and “suspend in-person campaigning” (Brady).
…Adding… The House Democrats sent regional and in-district staff a memo yesterday. It included things like encouraging people to wash their hands for 20 seconds, avoid large gatherings, avoid using seniors and people with pre-existing conditions at polling places, keeping your distance at the doors and avoid shaking hands.
Again, that’s much less than the other three caucuses.
Meanwhile, this is the guidance issued to party chairs by the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association…
• Switch all door to door canvassing to phone banking. If possible, highly encourage virtual phone banking where volunteers can make calls from home.
• Limit or close access to County Party Headquarters or campaign offices.
• If you are hosting phone banking at your County Party Headquarters, please ask individuals to use their personal cell phones to make calls. If individuals are unwilling to do so, please make sure you use disinfecting wipes on the phones volunteers use.
• Make sure individuals are practicing the CDC and WHO recommended good hygiene practice of handwashing (or hand sanitizer use), particularly when they enter your space. If you are unable to close your Headquarters; please have soap and hand sanitizer available for individuals coming into your space. Please post signs encouraging people to take advantage of these resources. CDC printouts available here: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/fact-sheets.html
• Limit or cancel any Get Out The Vote rallies & Primary Election Night Parties.
• Ask all Precinct Committeepersons to contact their Election Judges before Tuesday to ensure judges still plan on serving on March 17th.
• Ask all Precinct Committeepersons to check on their polling location at 6am on Tuesday morning to ensure the polling location is open on time.
• If a polling location has been changed due to concerns about Covid-19, coronavirus, please consider doing outreach to Democratic voters in the precincts effected to make sure they know the polling location has changed. Please include all relevant information including the address of the new polling location. This can be done via social media, phonebank, robo call, or email.
CHUCK TODD: Both of you have primaries on Tuesday. You have indicated a couple of days ago, you guys will go forward. Any hesitance? Governor DeWine, you first.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE: We’re going to go ahead. But we’re telling people, again, to be careful. The good thing in Ohio is we have basically four weeks of voting. People can vote today. We’re urging them to go vote today.
CHUCK TODD: Gotcha.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE: They can vote Monday. They’ve got 13 hours on Tuesday. So that just naturally spreads it out. We’re asking them to be very, very careful.
CHUCK TODD: Governor Pritzker, any second thoughts about the primary on Tuesday?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: We’ve done the same as Ohio. We have actually lengthened our hours of early voting. We have mail balloting. We’ve had record mail balloting this year. So we’re going to go ahead with it. But we’ve been extra careful at all of our polling places. Everybody is practicing good hygiene. And we’re making sure that it’s safe for people to come and vote. The schools are closed, so many people will be voting in schools. And there won’t be big crowds.
* Press release: With growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus Jim Oberweis is calling on Gov. Pritzker to take action to allow the elderly and other at-risk individuals to use curbside voting on Election Day instead of risking exposure to the coronavirus. Illinois laws allows for curbside voting for any “voter with a temporary or permanent disability who, because of structural features of the building in which the polling place is located, is unable to access or enter the polling place, may request that 2 judges of election of opposite party affiliation deliver a ballot to him or her at the point where he or she is unable to continue forward motion toward the polling place; but, in no case, shall a ballot be delivered to the voter beyond 50 feet of the entrance to the building in which the polling place is located (10 ILCS 5/17-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-13).”
* With coronavirus, how safe will voting be this Election Day?: Potentially late changes to polling locations, new hygiene protocols and even the amount some election judges are being paid are among the ways Tuesday’s primary will be different from many voters’ memories of casting a ballot due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
* Press release: Bernie 2020 announced today that it is ramping up its remote organizing program, making calls to more than 170,000 Illinoisans in a single day since the campaign shifted its organizing capacity to remote and digital formats. The campaign in Illinois received more than 1,000 sign ups for remote volunteer shifts in response to the campaign’s move to remote organizing.
* During his press conference today (click here), Gov. JB Pritzker began by talking about the situation at O’Hare…
Customs and Border Patrol and the TSA agents are under federal jurisdiction, meaning times of heightened security and monitoring require federal leadership. Instead of being alerted by federal Customs and Border Patrol, my administration learned through Twitter about the unacceptable and frankly dangerous situation at O’Hare International Airport, one of the nation’s and the world’s busiest airports, together with Mayor Lightfoot. Senator Durbin and others. We worked through the night to demand immediate action from the White House, and as a result this morning. I received a call from Vice President Pence and another from Secretary of Homeland Security, acknowledging that mistakes were made and informing me that Customs and Border Patrol would be doubling staff at O’Hare Airport today. I continue to monitor the situation closely.
I don’t usually get heated on Twitter. And I always try to work through official channels. When possible, but when I saw hundreds of people crammed together for many hours at O’Hare in exactly the conditions that I have been warning about for days. I was furious. … If getting mad on Twitter is what it takes to get federal officials to act. Then I am absolutely going to do that.
Remember that I’m using Otter for transcription, so typos are inevitable.
* More…
As I’ve said there are no easy decisions left to make as we address this unprecedented crisis every choice that we face every choice now is hard, and it comes with real consequences for our residents. But as your governor, I cannot let the gravity of these choices prevent us from taking the actions that the science and the experts say will keep people safe.
With that said, I am ordering all bars and restaurants in the state of Illinois to close to the public, as of the close of business Monday Night March 16 through March 30.
* More…
We are working with restaurant owners and food delivery services across the state to see if restaurants can safely keep their kitchens open. So the restaurants can continue food delivery to people at their homes. Additionally, we are allowing drive thru and curbside pickup for restaurants to serve the public over this period, we are working with restaurant owners in this effort. Sam Toya from the restaurant association is here with us today, and has been an incredible help to my administration and troubleshooting this difficult issue.
My staff is working around the clock to help resolve all of the logistical concerns around an action this unprecedented. And we will have more details in the days ahead.
There’s another hard step to take. I know how difficult this will be on small businesses around the state. This is another hard step. But we must do everything that we can to safeguard the health and safety of the citizens of the state of Illinois. And that requires urgent action.
I tried earlier this week to appeal to everyone’s good judgment to stay home to avoid bars, not to congregate in crowds. It’s unfortunate that many people didn’t take that seriously. The time for persuasion and public appeals is over the time for action is here. This is not a joke. No one is immune to this, and you have an obligation to act in the best interests of all the people of this state.
* State employees…
As I announced last week starting tomorrow, the James R Thompson center will be closed to all people who do not have business with the state. My team of deputy governors is working with each of our agencies to continue to provide critical services while following IDPH guidance on risk reduction. That includes directing some employees to continue to come to the office, moving some to a work from home capacity and making other needed adjustments to work schedules. These measures will roll out over the coming days and state workers should expect communications from their agency leaders shortly. All employees will continue to be paid during this time period,
* Food and supplies…
Next, I want to take a moment to talk about something that I know is weighing on everyone’s mind food access for our schoolchildren our most vulnerable populations and all of our residents. I know the grocery stores faced a major surge of shoppers. In the last few days and pictures of barren shelves are quick to circulate on social media. I want people to know that Illinois, food supply chain is among the nation’s strongest and steadiest, and I’m committed to keeping it that way, as this situation evolves.
Already we conferred with grocers of all sizes throughout the state, and ask for their advice on what would make it easier for them to get products through their stores and to our residents, based on that feedback my staff and I have connected with initial cities throughout Illinois, including the city of Chicago, asking that they end their prohibitions on overnight grocery deliveries. We’ve also reached out to the federal level asking them to change regulations to free up the flow of merchandise from warehouses to stores, and we’re working with our own state police to do the same, wherever we can.
More on that topic…
My team at the Department of Agriculture is working around the clock to see how our rural farming communities are doing, how they’re faring during this time, and across the board the answer has been that their supply remains good. We also connected with major national and global food processors including Archer Daniels Midland based in Chicago to check in on their supply chain, and they are doing well, with no hiccups. We need the people of Illinois to help us here to please do not hoard food, buy what you need, but please be reasonable. Think of your friends and your neighbors, there is enough food to go around, but we need people to not be selfish.
* Schools…
As for school provided meals, as I mentioned, our State Board of Education has received the necessary waivers to continue to distribute two meals a day to children who qualified for free and reduced lunch statewide starting Tuesday is me has been working day and night to set up plans with districts across the state and local districts will contact students, parents and guardians directly with more information about what distribution looks like in their communities here in Chicago all school buildings will be available for grab and go pick up for breakfast and lunches to any child under 18 between the hours of 9am and 1pm. You don’t have to go to your own school. And you don’t have to be qualified for free and reduced lunch CPS is giving food to any child who needs it. No questions asked. And I want to just call for a moment for all of you to recognize the hard work that the mayor has put in with her staff and with CPS to make sure that this has happened for the children of the city of Chicago. That work is going on all across the state we have 102 counties, cities all over the entire state of Illinois, that are working this out, locally, and I’m very grateful for their cooperation, and their hard work. Additionally, I reached out to the largest food manufacturers in the state, including Kraft Heinz conagra, and PepsiCo and asked that they donate specific critical items to food banks statewide to help provide a third meal to children who get most of their meals during a regular school day. Those manufacturers conveyed a resounding willingness to help.
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health today announced 29 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across Illinois. Five additional counties are now reporting cases – Champaign, Clinton, Sangamon, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties. Other locations with cases include Chicago and Cook, Cumberland, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, St. Clair, and Woodford counties.
“We are seeing the number of COVID-19 cases increase exponentially and in more locations across Illinois,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “At this point, it is best to assume that the coronavirus is circulating in your community and you should take the same precautions when interacting with other people that you would when interacting with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This may seem like an extreme step, but this is how we reduce the number of new cases and prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.”
Currently, IDPH is reporting 93 cases in 13 counties in Illinois. Cases have occurred in all age ranges and the number of cases that do not have a clear connection to travel or a known COVID-19 case is increasing.
* Election…
Finally, I want to address concerns about the election on Tuesday. Folks, right now, every decision that I make is between a bad choice and a less bad choice.
The only thing that I know is that I can’t do. I can’t fail to make a decision at all. That is what I know, I cannot fail to make any decision.
If we delayed the election, it is unclear when we might be able to hold another one.
Many thousands of people have already voted through the mail or have early voted. Thankfully Illinois has made the ballot very accessible to our residents. In fact, we have already set a record for the number of mailing applications in Chicago that have been received. We’re working with our local county clerk’s all across the state and boards of elections, to make sure that in person voting on Tuesday is conducted safely. But remember, today, tomorrow and Tuesday, all are election days.
Democracy must continue. We have to elect leaders, even in less than ideal circumstances. None of these decisions, I come to lightly, and I work hard to consider all the benefits and consequences of each decision.
* Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged that the city would enforce the closing of restaurants and bars…
(W)e will enforce this at the city level. And let me specifically address St Patrick’s Day. Now I am very well aware of the story traditions of the city. On that day I came to this great city for the first time on St Patrick’s Day, as a college freshman. So I get it. But this year, this time is different. It must be different to save lives. I do not want to see hordes of people out in the streets, the bars will be shut. So please stay home and be safe. I asked everyone to continue practicing common sense measures that have proven to limit exposure to this virus. Continue to wash your hands, routinely practice social distancing stay home. If you are sick, or if you don’t need to be out and about, not just for your own well being, but for the well being of every single person you interact with
* Gov. Pritzker was asked why the vote by mail deadline wasn’t extended…
So, number one, we, as you know, Thursday was the last day that you could turn in an application for a mail ballot. If we had extended that deadline it wouldn’t have guaranteed to people that their ballot would have actually been returned or postmarked as of Tuesday. And that’s when it has to be postmarked by law. So what we did instead was allow people to pick up those mail ballots, those applications and the actual mail ballots themselves and mail them back in over the weekend so that they would be postmarked by Tuesday. We also implored all of the county clerks across the state. The state board of elections the city board of elections to extend the hours of early voting, so that people who might not have been able to get an ballot by mail will be able to show up in person during a day when maybe they didn’t want to show up on Tuesday, they’d like to do it early when there may be a smaller number of people at the polling place.
* Mayor Lightfoot…
We’ve also done a call for volunteers [for election day workers]… We’ve got hundreds of additional people who have responded there in the course of going through online training, and so we believe that we will have a sufficient number of election judges to staff the polling places on election day.
* Pritzker on blood donations…
Next I want to address blood donations across the state. We’ve seen an outpouring of individuals fiercely interested in supporting their neighbors as this situation evolves. I want to encourage individuals who are healthy, feeling well and are eligible to give blood or platelets to make an appointment to donate as soon as possible with the American Red Cross. A blood shortage could impact patients who need surgery, victims of car accidents and other emergencies, or patients suffering from cancer. One of the most important things that you can do to ensure that we don’t have another healthcare crisis on top of the coronavirus is to give blood. The Red Cross has procedures in place to enforce social distancing guidelines and keep donors safe as they accept blood donations. They need our help, right now.
Press conference has ended. You’ll find archived video and audio by clicking here.
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District announced Sunday a Champaign County woman in her 50s has the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease in the local community.
She is at home in isolation and recovering, and all her close contacts are being identified and contacted, according to the health district.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From yesterday…
This is the growth track of known Illinois COVID-19 cases since March 5. All cases are presumed to be higher, but are unknown because of lack of federal testing. It's roughly doubling every couple of days since March 9, but that's a pretty short timeline to be making predictions pic.twitter.com/fT8OaZWI9O
DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin is signing a disaster declaration after a resident of a long-term care facility tested positive for the coronavirus.
The woman, who is in her 60s, is a resident of the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, officals announced during a Sunday morning press conference.
The building has been locked down to outside visitors, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said when he announced DuPage County’s first case Saturday. Other residents are being carefully monitored to prevent further spread of the virus, he said.
Cumberland County officials have declared a state of emergency after a male resident in his 70s was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
All events in Cumberland County, including church services, have been canceled for the next week, as officials seek to determine who may have come into contact with the man and prevent the further spread of the virus.
“We are doing our background checks for him, his interactions and where he’s been,” said Roy Clapp, Cumberland County Board chairman.
The patient was treated at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center emergency room. The Illinois Department of Public Health notified the hospital late Friday that he had tested positive for the virus, the hospital said.
Testing for the novel coronavirus is still restricted in Sangamon County on Sunday, despite the first two confirmed cases being announced Saturday evening.
The two private hospitals in Springfield — Memorial Medical Center and HSHS St. John’s — have contracted with private companies to get test kits for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
But they have not begun using the tests, as the Illinois Department of Public Health still determines who should be tested, according to a St. John’s spokesperson.
Local public health officials and hospital leaders on Saturday said testing will be prioritized for people who have been in contact with those who have confirmed cases or those who have traveled to areas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deem high risk, including China and Italy.
“The same criteria that the Illinois Department of Public Health is applying, so are most of these labs,” said Dr. Raj Govindaiah, chief medical officer at Memorial Health Systems. “It increases the number of labs doing the test; it does not make it easier for you to get a test.”
The problem is the lack of test kits available both here and nationwide. It’s ridiculous. Mark Maxwell of WCIA TV has an informational story about how he wasn’t able to get tested. Click here.
The Trump administration has been working to relax regulations governing America’s nursing homes, including rules meant to curb deadly infections among elderly residents.
That was published yesterday.
* Good news from Rivers Casino…
Rich,
I hope you are taking care of yourself while you bust your tail on all of the pandemic coverage. We do appreciate the updates though.
I just wanted to make sure your readers know that Rivers Casino Des Plaines, which is temporarily shutting down today for two weeks, is, per Neil Bluhm, continuing to pay all 1500 employees over that time. This includes tipped employees.
I’ll keep you posted. Let me know if you need anything of me.
Some of these are site searches because the outlets don’t have their own COVID-19 pages, so you’re going to get a lot of national and international overlap. Sorry.
CHUCK TODD: Governor Pritzker, let me start with you, with happened overnight at O’Hare. And again, you weren’t the only airport, but every major international airport seemed to have a similar situation. Dr. Fauci seemed to say ‘look – that is what’s going to happen when you come back into this country.’ What do you believe should have been done that wasn’t done?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: Well, that’s not right, I mean – I have enormous respect for Dr. Fauci, but that’s just incorrect. We knew when the President gave the orders that European travel back to the United States was going to be cut off that there would be an influx of people, Americans and others, that would come before final cut off. So what should have happened, they should have increased the customs and border patrol numbers and they should have increased the number of CDC personnel on the ground doing those checks. They did neither of those. So last night as people were flooding into O’Hare Airport, they were stuck in a small area, hundreds and hundreds of people, and that’s exactly what you don’t want in this pandemic. So we have that problem. And then today, it’s going to be even worse. There are a larger number of flights with more people coming and they seem completely unprepared.
CHUCK TODD: So you have not gotten any reassurance from customs officials that they are going to have more folks on hand today?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: Well, here’s what I got. I got a call at about 11 o’clock last night, after that tweet, from a White House staffer who yelled at me about the tweet. That is what I got. Now we’ve been talking to customs and border patrol officials directly on the ground at O’Hare. I’ve been working with the mayor and our senators to make sure that we are getting the federal government to pay attention to this problem because we can’t have it happen all day today.
The Governor has made it clear he believes the federal government needs to step up and put the health and safety of our nation first. Instead of being briefed about possible challenges at our airports, the Governor and other elected officials became aware of major issues at O’Hare on Twitter. Together with the Mayor of Chicago and Senator Dick Durbin the Governor worked to get quick action from the White House.
After the Governor’s tweet and the resulting angry phone call from the White House, this morning the Vice President and the Secretary of Homeland Security each called the Governor to inform him that the Customs and Border Control is increasing staff at O’Hare today. The Governor continues to work closely with Sen. Dick Durbin to communicate our concerns to the federal government. The Governor has no interest in playing politics as we grapple with this crisis, and he will be monitoring the situation at O’Hare throughout the day.
…Adding… Durbin confirms via press release…
On a call with Vice President Mike Pence today, Durbin secured a commitment for increased resources at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the federal government during a news conference Sunday for what she called a lack of preparedness for the rush of international travelers requiring airport screenings upon returning to O’Hare International Airport over the weekend. […]
“That fail is directly the cause of last night’s unacceptable conditions at O’Hare international airport and other airports across the country,” said Lightfoot at a news conference from O’Hare’s Terminal 5, the international terminal of the busiest airport in the world. “Thousands of travelers were forced to wait in exceedingly long lines, congregating in concourses, and putting themselves and their loved ones at greater risk of exposure of COVID-19.”
Pictures circulated on social media depicted dense crowds of international travelers at O’Hare, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommending “social distancing” protocols to help mitigate the spread of the highly contagious virus.
“Then we had 3,000 plus people in the concourses, cheek to jowel, which obviously violates CDC guidance which talks about social distancing,” Lightfoot said.
Due to concerns of St. Patrick’s Day festivities continuing through St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, the City today issued new precautionary measures and guidelines to enforce large gatherings at bars and liquor establishments throughout Chicago. As part of the City’s efforts to keep residents safe and healthy, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) and the Chicago Police Department (CPD) are enforcing all business establishments that sell liquor to have less than half of their regular max capacity. Additionally, any establishments that sell liquor will have a max capacity of 100 persons.
As part of these measures to limit large gatherings, the City is also requiring business owners to discontinue lining patrons up who are waiting for entry outside of establishments and on the public way. BACP and CPD are working with local entrepreneurs and business owners to ensure they’re monitoring the new requirements, and the Departments will issue citations to owners if any establishment fails to enforce the new capacity limits.
Last week, City announced new guidance on large gatherings, mandating that events exceeding 1,000 individuals be cancelled and recommending that community events of 250 people or more should be cancelled or postponed. Additionally, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is reminding people of health guidance on large gatherings and social distancing, and reiterating that everyone has a role to play in helping contain the spread of COVID-19.
For those planning to attend a large gathering or event, CDPH recommends common sense health and safety tips, and social distancing:
Do not attend any events or gatherings if you are sick. If you are sick, just stay home.
Vulnerable populations, including older individuals and those with underlying health conditions, should limit travel and should not attend large gatherings.
If you do attend an event, use common sense about your interactions and practice social distancing techniques.
For events that aren’t cancelled, CDPH strongly encourages that event organizers provide additional hand sanitizer and hand washing stations, and conduct additional cleaning, including for high touch surface areas like counter tops and handrails.
The best way for all Chicagoans to reduce their risk of getting sick, as with seasonal colds or the flu, still applies to prevent COVID-19. Stay home if you are sick, wash your hands, and cover your cough or sneeze! Stay tuned for the latest news on the City’s efforts to combat COVID-19 by visiting Chicago.gov/coronavirus
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this morning, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said despite shutting down the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parades and calling off the river dyeing, “many young people who think they’re impervious to this went out and celebrated. And I had my 2:30 briefing yesterday, called out the problem of people on the street, and unfortunately we haven’t seen a lot of movement.”
“People aren’t understanding that, even if you’re healthy, even if you’re young, that you may be a carrier. And you’re going to hand it over to somebody else. COVID-19 is spreading because even healthy people can be walking around, giving it to other people. So we need to go on lockdown,” he said. “Nowhere in the United States really has there been a lockdown on bars and restaurants, but it’s something that we’re seriously looking at.”
Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder is urging city residents to act cautiously but not panic following the disclosure of two Sangamon County residents testing positive for COVID-19. […]
The mayor also acknowledged partaking in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in downtown Springfield earlier Saturday, joining revelers at the Alamo and Frankie’s Brewhaus, where he sang a song.
“So if you want to take precautionary measures, you would stay home like my wife did,” Langfelder said. “If you want to go out and show confidence, things of that nature, you have to use common sense. I did go out. I did use hand sanitizer, tired to avoid shaking people’s hands, things of that nature.”
Ward 6 Kristin DiCenso says she’s been exposed to the virus and so have other council members. Blasts the mayor in a message to Langfelder, calling him to act responsibly and declare an emergency. See below for text.
Mayor,
In reading this article (in the SJR about Langfelder going to bars), I’m not only shocked but extremely disappointed. The situation calls for more than caution.
Last night, I was informed that I had been exposed to COVID-19.
know others on the Council received the same call. Equally disappointing was the County’s response to “go about my daily life”. This is how community spread happens. Luckily, Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell understands the need to self quarantine and told me to stay home.
It’s time for the City to get serious about this situation and stop taking a passive role. A State of Emergency needs to be declared and regular daily life needs to change for awhile. This is not panic, it’s common sense.
I hope you do the right thing sooner rather than later.
We’re all here to help you, even if it is from home. Please, for the sake of our City, take the appropriate action.
We can have a massive positive effect on bending the transmission curve, thereby saving lives. If people will take this seriously. We have seen positive results in countries that took aggressive action, and we have seen tragic outcomes in countries that did not.
If you are young and healthy, listen up. We need you to follow social distancing guidelines, too.
You may only have mild symptoms for a few days and may think that you’re just fine. But you can have the unintended tragic effect of spreading COVID-19 to others who may be more vulnerable. Please, please, do the right thing for your community for your friends, and for your family.
So once again, no matter how healthy you feel if you can stay home. If you are able to telework do so. If you don’t have to travel, don’t. This isn’t forever. This is a sacrifice in the short term, to help our hospitals our healthcare workers, our testing labs and are vulnerable and elderly residents. Every action that we take to control the spread of this virus and prevent our medical infrastructure from dealing with too many cases at once, is an action that saves lives.
Remember that I’m using Otter for transcription, so blame obvious typos on the app, not the speakers.
* Pritzker on the national emergency declaration…
I’m doing everything that I can to help our working families through these unprecedented challenges with the federal government’s newly declared state of emergency. Under the Stafford Act, my administration is filing a request for a federal waiver to allow our Medicaid program to more freely respond to the mid 19 crisis. By expanding medical services during this crisis, my administration is working to ensure that those who fear that they may be getting sick, will have access to the testing and treatment that they need without being saddled with costly medical bills for their care. When the federal waiver is approved, we’ll be able to expand Medicaid services to fight this epidemic through the addition of new medical providers, increased access across the state, and ramped up services to many of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
*** UPDATE *** Oh, man…
I want to provide an update finally on the number of cases here in Illinois.
Yesterday we announced a total case count of 46, including individuals who have made a full recovery.
Today, we have an additional 18 cases, bringing our total count to 64. While the majority of our cases remain concentrated in Cook County. Our patients now span eight counties of Illinois, including central and southern Illinois. In addition to Cook, Kane, McHenry and Lake, Cumberland, DuPage, St. Clair and Woodford counties.
* Uh-oh…
One of these cases is a woman in her 60s who resides at a private long term care facility in DuPage County.
I want to assure the public that members of my administration, including an infectious disease team from the Illinois Department of Public Health are on the ground working with area officials. The facility has been locked down to outside visitors and internally. And we are monitoring every residents health carefully with a heightened vigilance to minimize any further spread. As a reminder to our elderly residents and to their loved ones we’ve issued strict guidelines around restricting visitors at long term care facilities that we control, and we continue to collaborate with the various statewide associations to ensure that they are following our efforts with similarly strict guidelines across other facilities.
The IDPH director said some of these cases could be the result of community spread.
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health today announced the first cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in central and southern Illinois. A Woodford County resident in his 70s and a Cumberland County resident in his 70s both tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, two St. Clair County residents have tested positive – a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 70s. Possible exposures and travel histories for the two individuals are still being investigated and public health officials are working to identify and contact all individuals who are close contacts for these two cases. […]
The total number of cases in Illinois now stands at 64. In addition to cases in Cumberland, DuPage, St. Clair, and Woodford counties, there are seven new cases in Chicago, four in suburban Cook, one in Kane, and one in Lake counties.
* The governor was told by a reporter that he saw long lines of people waiting to get into taverns on his way to the press conference. Pritzker’s response…
I want to ask you for your help in this … You heard me just moments ago talk about that exact problem. I see those same people on the street.
The fact is that people need to act properly at this time people and others should be talking to those people about acting properly.
I have, you know, made it very clear that gathering in crowds is not a good idea. And of course we’ve mandated very large crowds, you know not gather. So we’re doing the best we can, but it is very helpful if members of the media will repeat this message for us. I think that there are young people who hear that, well it’s not affecting as many young people as it is older people or it’s not as impactful and young people and they think well it’s okay to just go on about their business the way they were before, that’s just not true. You could be a carrier yourself. So when you go out in public, whether you’re 20 years old 30 years old, when you go out in public you are potentially giving somebody else COVID-19. So, please, go home. Please gather in smaller groups. […]
Look, we don’t want to put people out of business, but we do want people to act properly in this moment to keep the public safe and healthy.
* Prizker was asked why pre-schools weren’t shut down. He pointed to the guidance barring crowds of 250 or more…
There are preschools that are in those K-12 facilities. Those are shut down. too. But the independent childcare, and daycare and preschools, the ones that operate separate from K-12, typically are much smaller.
And so we’re, because of that 250 rule and because we’re looking at least at this moment and again we can evolve our guidance here, but at this moment, it does not look like we need to shut those down or ask people to close.
And I think, you know, it would additionally be a hardship, given the schools are closed. So, those are remaining open and again they’re smaller groups. You have to remember, we operate today on the scientific evidence that exists, which is somewhat limited because of the limit on the tests. You’ve heard me talk about this every day. I won’t go on about it today but we have a limit to the number of tests that we have currently. And so we have to operate a little bit on the basis of statisticians and mathematicians, working with the scientists to determine what size crowds are okay and what size crowds are probably not okay. And those are estimates, we’re operating on those estimates, those are again made by experts, but that’s why you see a number like 250, and not 200 or 150 or 50. Right now that guidance is 250 and we’re following that.
* Sigh…
French officials just now announced a complete shout down of bars, restaurants, public spaces. Is that next for Illinois, governor is asked. "Not at this time," he says."
During the administration’s daily press briefing on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Governor JB Pritzker announced that his administration will file a federal waiver to expand Medicaid coverage as COVID-19 continues to spread and affect the daily lives people across the nation.
“With the federal government’s newly declared state of emergency, under the Stafford Act my administration is filing a request for a federal waiver to allow our Medicaid program to more freely respond to the COVID-19 crisis by expanding medical services,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “During this crisis my administration is working to ensure that those who fear that they may be getting sick have access to the testing and treatment that they need without being saddled with costly medical bills for their care.”
Building on the state’s earlier measures to help working families through the expansion of unemployment insurance and calls for utilities to halt shut-offs and late payment fees, the Pritzker administration started working on the waiver application as soon as the federal government declared a national emergency and activated the Stafford Act.
If the federal waiver is approved, the state will be able to expand Medicaid services through the addition of new medical providers, increased access across the state and ramped up services to many of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
The press conference has ended. -30-
*** UPDATE 2 *** Oy…
BREAKING a patient at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield has tested positive forCOVID-19. #WCIApic.twitter.com/sHCKKljcay
* This was just issued to agency directors. Still nothing yet on employee telecommuting. Talks reportedly continue with AFSCME. Click the pics for a larger version…
Notice this is silent on parents with school-age kids who are going to be at home for two weeks because of the governor’s Friday order shutting down the system.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has broad powers at times like these. It could issue an order if the AFSCME talks aren’t fruitful. Just sayin… If you’re gonna close schools, shut down casinos, etc., then state workers who don’t absolutely have to be in the office or in the field should be telecommuting.
I know there are also DoIT issues here, but that agency needs to be working ’round the clock to address these challenges.
The health, safety, and well-being of state employees and the general public are among the highest priorities of the Administration. With the heightened concerns raised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding COVID-19, we must continue to be diligent in practicing preventative safety measures to keep Illinoisans healthy.
To that end, all forms of travel that are not mission essential to the operations of the agency are to be canceled immediately and until further notice. This includes in state travel, as well as out of state travel, both domestic and international. Guidance regarding the types of travel restrictions are as follows:
1. Out of state travel – International
All current pending and upcoming international travel is canceled.
2. Out of state travel- Domestic
All current pending and upcoming domestic travel that is not mission essential to performing job functions or agency operations is canceled.
3. In state travel
All in state travel that is not mission essential to performing job functions or to agency operations is canceled. Agencies are encouraged to use remote options such as audio and video conferencing.
Agency leadership should also inform their staff that are currently on travel status to return home as soon as possible.
Examples of allowable travel that are mission essential to agency operations are as follows:
• Department of Children and Family Services investigations, follow-up on youth in care.
• Testifying in a court case or replying to a subpoena.
• Mandated training for public safety or health related job functions.
• Police and emergency services personnel on duty, including medical transport.
Examples of non missions essential travel are as follows:
• Conferences for professional organizations or professional development.
• Making sure that Illinois is recognized for the good work it is doing in any particular field.
• Required training, such as grant compliance. While training is important to many positions,
during this time an alternative should be determined, such as if the training can be done on- line. Agencies should consider alternate options such as rescheduling for a later date, online options, utilizing audio and video conferencing.
GOMB will be sending out a blanket waiver memo that extends until April 30, 2020 stating that costs incurred for state related travel that was canceled due to the developing COVID-19 situation shall be reimbursable without the need to file an exception with the Travel Control Board.
All out of state travel requests currently pending with GOMB will be put on hold and sent back to the agency. Only essential out of state travel should be submitted for consideration. If you have any questions regarding out of state travel requests please reach out to the GOMB travel coordinator.
Please communicate these travel restrictions to your agency staff.
A patient at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center has tested positive for the disease from coronavirus, according to hospital spokeswoman Patty Peterson.
The patient was treated in the SBLHC emergency room and the Illinois Department of Public Health notified the hospital late Friday that the person was positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, Peterson said.
She said the patient resides in the SBLHC 10-county service area but couldn’t say more about the person’s residence or identity because of patient confidentiality requirements.
Asked if this was the first Downstate case, the governor’s press secretary said today “Yes we have our first cases downstate.” So, there’s more than one.
On March 14th, our ABC affiliates, HOI in Peoria say they spoke with officials at Unity Point Methodist Clinic that confirms the first COVID-19 case in Central Illinois.
A patient at the clinic was tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, March 13th.
* Meanwhile, the President of the United States has declared a national emergency, but a central Illinois public health director says meh…
Live your life as you normally would.
That is the message from the Director of the DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Director as the response to the coronavirus intensifies across the country. Dave Remmert points out there are no cases of coronavirus in DeWitt or Piatt County, nor are there any cases in this region.
Concerns about the COVID-19 virus are causing major challenges for election officials in Chicago and Cook County.
With the Illinois Primary just 4 days away, hundreds of elections judges have quit and polling places are opting out.
“Our problems occur on two fronts, one is that 50 polling places have closed to date that number seems to be growing,” said Edmund Michalowski, Deputy clerk of elections for Cook County.
The county is moving many of those polling places that have opted out to courthouses which will house multiple precincts.
They have also lost more than 800 election judges, 10 percent of what they will need.
Chief Judge Evans postpones most cases for 30 days due to coronavirus
Released On 03/13/2020
Many criminal and civil cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County will be postponed for a 30-day period starting Tuesday (March 17) due to the spread of the coronavirus, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
* Croke’s top opponent, appointed Rep. Yoni Pizer (D-Chicago) has suspended all in-person campaigning…
.@Croke4Illinois campaign tells me in-person door-to-door canvassing has been suspended, though there will still be limited in-person GOTV efforts at early voting sites. https://t.co/hCayJiYoJX
Mayor Lightfoot is a Pizer supporter, but it’s still probably good advice…
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot issued the following statement on Saturday, urging candidates in Tuesday’s primary election to cease in-person get-out-the-vote operations in light of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus:
“In light of guidance from public health officials to practice social distancing to stem the COVID-19 outbreak, political campaigns and organizations should take immediate steps to cease in-person get-out-the-vote efforts. At this moment, we must all do everything we can to stop the spread of this virus. While I am fully aware that this is not an ideal situation for campaigns as I understand the type of in-person and close contact campaigning that is traditionally done within the final days of an election, everyone must now take responsibility for keeping our communities safe. There are plenty of organizing tactics available that don’t involve in-person contact such as phone banking, texting out the vote and other virtual communications practices.
“Those who wish to lead us in government should model good and safe behavior by stopping these activities in order to slow the spread of this virus. This is a time to put safety over politics.”
* This is a good idea because the city has left hundreds of millions of dollars a year on the table because it hasn’t opted in…
With conventions and concerts cancelling, professional sports leagues on hiatus and more and more employees working from home, city revenues are dropping like a rock.
A budget based on a bunch of shaky assumptions even before the crisis will now hemorrhage revenue from taxes on everything from amusements, retail sales, hotel rooms and restaurant meals to parking and gasoline — not to mention lost congestion fees. CTA fares are also certain to take a hit.
At the risk of re-opening an old wound, Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), the mayor’s floor leader, suggested a possible life raft.
“Video gaming,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“Video gaming,” he repeated. “If you look across the state, it’s generating a ton of money. And we haven’t been involved. I think there’s an opportunity to capture some revenue there.”
* I mean, what did they expect? They should’ve read their sweeping and even draconian ordinance before passing it…
At a meeting Friday morning, the Champaign City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that gives the mayor and city manager certain emergency powers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. […]
The expansive powers in the ordinance spread quickly online, with the clause allowing a restriction on firearm sales leading the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association to issue a “National Alert.”
Later in the day, the city tried to clean up, issuing a statement that it doesn’t plan to take anyone’s guns.
“To be clear, there is currently no firearm ban and no intent to seize property or close businesses,” the city’s statement said. “Additionally, there are no restrictions on the sale of alcohol or gas or the ability to enter or leave Champaign.”
* From a Marie Newman supporter…
Hi Rich,
Just wanted to make sure you saw that Rep Dan Lipinski held a coronavirus virtual town hall and put out coronavirus messaging on twitter and then sat out on the vote to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The explanation…
He was in the district. The congressman was prepared to fly back to DC to vote for the package but after conferring with House leadership they told him they had reached a bipartisan deal and his vote wasn’t necessary. I believe 25 other reps did not vote. He definitely would have been a yes vote. This morning he held a tele-town hall on the coronavirus for Third District constituents featuring a panel of experts from Northwestern, U of C, Cook County Department of Public Health and the State. He went over the details of the package passed last night and the healthcare experts answered questions and provided information about steps the public can take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
* Roundup…
* Can our hospitals handle the coronavirus outbreak? - A spokesman for the Illinois Hospital Association is urging calm as public health officials figure out the magnitude of the virus locally. But one expert warns “this is going to be a fairly tremendous strain on our health system.”
The Illinois Gaming Board (“IGB”) has communicated to the State’s 10 casinos that their facilities must suspend gambling operations for 14 days beginning Monday March 16, 2020. The public health of patrons, casino employees, IGB staff, and others is of paramount importance. The Board is continuously monitoring developments and will update licensees and the public as frequently as possible.
* Meanwhile…
In response to Governor JB Pritzker’s call for a moratorium on water, natural gas and electric service disconnections, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has been in contact with investor-owned regulated utilities urging them to take immediate steps to cease disconnections for non-payment, and to suspend the imposition of late payment fees or penalties, until May 1, 2020.
“The ICC is prepared to do everything possible within our authority to ensure consumers’ essential water, natural gas, and electric services remain intact for all Illinois citizens. We have already reached out to the utilities seeking confirmation that they have plans in place to prevent service disruptions, and to request that they stop disconnections and suspend late payment fees or penalties, until May 1, 2020,” said Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) Chairman Carrie Zalewski.
In addition to phone calls by ICC senior staff to the regulated utilities, a letter sent by the ICC on Friday (see attached), said that it is likely that the disconnection of services for non-payment may disproportionately affect the elderly and persons with medical conditions, and other vulnerable persons.
“Families coping with the illness or uncertainty about COVID-19, or a loss of income as a result of this public health emergency shouldn’t have to worry about disruptions in critical utility services or being hit with hefty late fees. The ICC is in the process of determining what formal steps need to be taken regarding the termination of utility service to customers and will react expeditiously as allowed under the law,” said Zalewski.
* And…
In an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in the region, the Illinois Tollway will temporarily implement all-electronic tolling as a precaution to limit the potential spread of coronavirus to customers, as well as Tollway employees.
“We are closely monitoring reports and advisories provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health and are fully focused on protecting the health and safety of the public,” said Executive Director José Alvarez. “At all points on our system, all customers should be advised to keep moving and not stop at toll plazas.”
All Illinois Tollway roadways will remain open to traffic; however, over the next 24 hours toll booths at mainline toll plazas will be taken offline, and automatic toll payment machines at ramp and mainline toll plazas will be deactivated. The Tollway’s maintenance staff, incident management personnel and HELP truck drivers will remain on duty.
During this time, grace period tolling will be extended and violations will be held through the duration of these toll plaza service interruptions. Toll collection will be entirely handled via I-PASS, E-ZPass and through the Tollway’s online payment portal. I-PASS and E-ZPass customers will see no impact to their day-to-day travel.
Customers without I-PASS are encouraged to do the following:
Visit www.illinoistollway.com to calculate missed tolls and pay online within seven days or use the search by plate feature after seven days.
Visit a Jewel-Osco store to obtain an I-PASS transponder and activate the transponder online.
* Mayor Lightfoot began her press conference with praise for Gov. Pritzker…
As you all know, the governor mandated that all schools across the state will be closed until March 31. I’ve been working hand in glove with the governor and his team throughout this process. We have a great partnership and an open line of communication that will continue. Because that’s in the best interests of our residents.
The governor has the entire state to consider. As always, I am focused on what is in the best interests of Chicago. And while our circumstances are different from other parts of the state. The governor was of course aware of these challenges, and has been working tirelessly to be a great support for the city of Chicago. And I’m confident that that will continue.
* She continued…
For now let me say something to the CPS community in our entire city, in light of this order. The best place for our students to be is at home.
COVID-19 is posing a significant threat to the well being of our city country and world. We all have a role to play in stopping the spread of this virus. That is why I’m asking residents affected by this decision to remain in your homes. Of course I know that’s not possible for everyone. CPS serves thousands of children who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Many of our students parents are low income and undocumented workers who may not have access to pay sick leave, or be late, or maybe living paycheck to paycheck.
That is why I’m also appealing to Chicago’s business community, to go overboard to accommodate these workers who are CPS parents. We will continue having conversations with company leaders, but we need them to review their employee policies. Now, and be as accommodating as possible. It goes without saying that these are not ordinary times, and we need employers to be in partnership with their employees.
This post will be updated. And, remember, Otter is doing the transcription, so expect some typos.
* CPS CEO Janice Jackson…
All of our CPS locations will be food distribution centers. Beginning on Tuesday March 17 at 9am until 1pm every single day throughout the closure families will be able to pick up three days worth of food at any given time for each child that lives in their household.
* Mayor Lightfoot was asked if she opposed school closings…
What I did is had a series of conversations with the governor starting this morning, but the governor and I are in lockstep. He’s our partner. He’s been supporting us. There’s no gray between the governor and as I said, what we are focused on is not the why, but the how, the how we implement this order in a way that is supportive of our families, knowing that we’ve got a lot of different families under different circumstances. We’re placing great emphasis on making sure that we get food to our young people are placing great emphasis on making sure that we’re thinking about the, the parents who are healthcare workers so we provide support to them, so they can continue to do their job and support the health care system, we’re making sure that we’re providing opportunities for those parents who can’t afford to take work off that they have a place to take their children, that is safe and nurturing, so we’re focused on the road ahead. That’s what we continue to focus on. That’s the obligation that we have to our parents, our residents, the governor understand that I understand that. And we are locked arms and making sure that we’re supporting our families.
* Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was not at the governor’s press conference today when he announced the closure of all Illinois K-12 schools, public and private. She’s having her own press conference tonight at 6 (link is here). I will be doing a post about that. The governor will also be having press conferences this weekend at 2:30 each day. I will likely post updates on those. Comments, however, will remain closed, unless something truly big happens.
I posted this on Twitter today, and it seems a fitting way to close out the week. Stay well…
"In Siena, the city to which I am very attached, you stay at home but you sing together as if you were on the street. I was moved" https://t.co/PUu6JKoG31
Gov. J.B. Pritzker told school superintendents statewide on a call Friday that we he will order schools to close from Tuesday, with classes set to resume March 30, a source familiar with the call told the Chicago Tribune.
This came a day after Pritzker ordered the cancellation of public events in Illinois with more than 1,000 people to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Archdiocese of Chicago canceled public masses and closed all Chicago-area Catholic schools. Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union issued a demand Friday morning for all Chicago public schools to be closed.
The governor is about to begin a press conference, so this post will be updated. Click here to watch.
The decision, to be announced Friday afternoon, comes after days of steadfast resistance from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to close Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third largest public school district, serving more than 350,000 students. […]
The moves follows other states and cities — including Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco — that announced widespread school closures this week.
…Adding… The governor on the president’s national emergency announcement…
This is an important step and we will work to bring every resource available to us into the state. But make no mistake, we have long since passed the moment when we thought we could count on the federal government to lead in the face of this unprecedented situation
Remember, I’m using Otter for transcription, so typos will happen.
* On the school closures…
Here in Illinois, we are doing everything we can to keep transmission rates as low as possible to flatten the curve for our healthcare workers and our first responders, for our most vulnerable populations and our older citizens. And we’re working with other states and with federal officials to ensure that our national mindset reflects those same priorities. It’s with that in mind, that I have determined that we will close all k-12 schools, public and private statewide starting Tuesday, March 17 through March 30.
This is the timeline that we are laying out today. Let me be clear, I understand the gravity of this action, and what it means for every community in our state, as well as the families and caretakers of the 2 million students that gather in large groups every day in school classrooms and assemblies. None of the choices that we have had to make over the last week have been easy or simple. All of these choices have cascading effects for citizens and vulnerable populations. When it comes to food access and safety childcare and social services. It’s my job to weigh the benefits and risks of any one particular course of action, and to come to the best possible conclusion.
* Food insecurity…
I want to address the first consequence that will come to mind for so many: food access. Our State Board of Education has received the necessary waivers to continue to distribute two meals a day to children who qualify for free and reduced lunch, through a combination of delivery and parent pickup meal options. ISBE is working with local school districts across the state to develop guidelines on how to best distribute meals across the community in a safe and healthy manner. We’re also working directly with the eight major food banks across the state, as well as food manufacturers to ramp up capacity to serve our most vulnerable children.
* Why schools?…
I know a lot of people are wondering why schools when we know that children seem to be less susceptible to CORVID-19 than other populations. But this is a critical part of our larger social distancing efforts. In addition to kids with immunocompromised conditions. We have teachers and administrators, parents, and the larger population to consider. I’m speaking in the very literal sense when I say that having the general public stay home one day at a time, will have a massive effect on bending this curve. And that means lives saved.
We have seen positive results in countries that took aggressive action. And we have seen the tragic outcomes in countries that did not.
* The governor asks people to stay home this weekend…
So please, this weekend, if you can, stay home. If you’re able to telework, do so. If you don’t have to travel, don’t. This isn’t forever. This is a sacrifice in the short term, to help our hospitals our healthcare workers, our testing laboratories, and our vulnerable and elderly residents. We all have a duty to each of them.
* Mayor Lightfoot, who opposed the school closings and is not at the governor’s press conference, will hold her own briefing with CPS at 6 tonight.
* Illinois Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala…
We have asked that at least one administrator stay on site during regular school hours. In case children whose parents cannot be home, or children experiencing homelessness need a safe place to go. This is a scary time, but please know that we are here to do anything and everything we can to help our schools and our students get through this crisis.
* Ayala on if teachers will be paid…
These days would be classified as Act of God days. And so, attendance really isn’t impacted. It’s like a normal working day. And so the preliminary information that we’re looking at is that school personnel would continue to be paid during the Act of God days in the emergency days
*** UPDATE *** IDPH director…
Today we are announcing an additional 14 cases. All but one are in the Chicago Cook County area.
* Illinois Federations of Teachers President Dan Montgomery…
We support Governor Pritzker’s decision to close Illinois schools to prevent further spread of COVID-19. This is an historic and difficult decision, but it is the responsible action to ensure the health of our students, faculty, staff, and communities.
* Pritzker was asked why the mayor isn’t at the presser…
I’ve been in consultation all day, they’re quite busy also figuring out all of the things that will need to be doing as well.
* Why Tuesday?…
One of the things that school districts are concerned about is if you’re sending kids home, will they have lesson plans, will they have elearning, some schools have elearning some kids have available to them internet others don’t. And so we wanted to make sure that the teachers were able to get lesson plans, put together over the weekend, whether they’re online or offline and get together with their kids to explain to them the work that they could do over the next two weeks when they’re not in session together, that they might do either online or just on paper.
* Why just two weeks?…
We’ll be making this decision frankly every day through the two weeks if we could go back into school earlier we’ll choose to do that. But as we approach the end of this two week period, we’ll make a decision, but I think that two weeks is the right time. […]
Look, this is unprecedented so it’s very difficult to give guidance about something in the future that you’re asking about. I don’t think that I would tell parents to prepare unnecessarily for a very lengthy time period, out of school, on the other hand I would say to parents, they should be monitoring this every day they should go to the IDPH website. they should be listening in on these broadcasts. They should be listening, mostly to our health care professionals. And we’ll be making decisions as we go but as of now we think this is the right period of time.
* Again, what changed overnight?…
Over the course of the evening and overnight and this morning, and contemplating as well, having made the decisions that we made already about limiting gatherings, I started to think about the kids who will go to school and who may in fact, end up going home and bringing it home to their parents or grandparents, and I really came to the conclusion that you know we’re telling adults essentially don’t gather in large groups. But we’re telling kids, you know that you can bump up against each other in a hallway, even if you might not have an assembly.
I also was reading a lot of the new information coming out of Italy. And I’m very concerned I’m very concerned about flattening this curve. And I think this is the right thing to do. We’re all focused on getting past this situation this circumstance, and I think this is a short term measure that will help us. Also, alleviate the burden on our healthcare workers in our hospitals, because we’re going to see more cases.
* Daycare and mass transit…
There’s no new consideration right now around mass transit, but I will tell you about daycare centers that number one we’re working on expanding childcare availability. We’re also giving guidance to those childcare facilities, again those are very small groups typically in childcare centers. But we are giving guidance and we’re importantly, trying to expand unemployment benefits for people who say ‘listen I need to be home with my child.’ And so we’re working hard at the federal government level, you know that there’s a piece of legislation that’s working its way through this afternoon. Hopefully it may have passed while we’re standing here but but hopefully by the end of the evening, it will that will help us with our unemployment benefit challenge so we can offer that to everybody we are going to offer benefits, but the federal government has a bill that will expand those benefits and open up health care for a lot of people who might otherwise not get it.
* Test availability and the federal government…
I have been asking that question every single day of the federal government. I’m not going to stop asking it. We don’t know. And it’s because they didn’t plan well enough. Here’s what I will tell you though. I met with many of the hospital leaders in the state of Illinois. Many of those hospitals or research centers are developing or have already developed their own test, and they’re going through rapid FDA approval processes that now the federal government is allowing, So we will be able to expand the tests. Their homegrown, meaning that we made them here in Illinois, but these are some of the greatest medical institutions in the country, and they’ve developed tests that work. And so we’ll have at least more that are available, but still not enough the federal government needs to step up.
Press conference is over.
…Adding… Press release…
The Illinois Education Association (IEA) President Kathi Griffin released the following statement after Gov. JB Pritzker announced Illinois schools will be shut down beginning on Tues., March 17:
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we applaud the Governor for taking action to keep our students, our schools and our communities safe. Thank you for hearing our voices and recognizing our concerns. We especially appreciate efforts to make sure students will continue to receive two meals each day and that funding will not be interrupted. We realize closing schools across the state is a decision that comes with enormous responsibility. There is no replacement for the one-to-one connection between our educators and our students, but health and safety take precedence. We will get through this. We must continue to stand together.”
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is declaring the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, as Washington struggles with providing Americans with relief and officials race to slow the spread of the outbreak.
Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency.” He said the emergency would open up $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak.
Trump said he was also giving Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar emergency authorities to waive federal regulations and laws to give doctors and hospitals “flexibility” in treating patients.
Trump spoke as negotiations continue between the White House and Congress on an aid package, but there was no announcement of a breakthrough, as House Democrats prepare to vote on their own measure Friday.
The City of Champaign approved an ordinance Friday morning putting the city under a local emergency.
The reason is to prepare for a possible coronavirus spread. Mayor Deb Feinen said she declared the local emergency to set up a process for the City to continue to run if the pandemic gets worse.
The city council unanimously approved the ordinance at their special meeting. The local emergency will be in effect for 28 days. City officials said the regulations used in the ordinance come from City code.
The city manager said there are some regulations in there that will become immediately useful. However, there are some like the suspension of liquor licenses and closing of businesses that won’t be necessary unless the situation gets worse in Champaign. Mayor Feinen said she hopes it won’t get there. “Making sure that we are prepared and ready for any eventuality. I hope all of this is for naught and that none of the emergency measures we’ve put into place are necessary,” said Feinen.
After the declaration of an emergency, the Mayor may in the interest of public safety and welfare make any or all of the following orders and provide the following direction:
So what they did was copy and paste language into the new ordinance from an ordinance adopted back in August of 2006, which was an amendment to existing language which probably looked quite similar. It’s all based on this state law…
The corporate authorities of each municipality may by ordinance grant to the mayor the extraordinary power and authority to exercise, by executive order, during a state of emergency, such of the powers of the corporate authorities as may be reasonably necessary to respond to the emergency.
The City of Champaign, IL. will hold an Emergency Meeting this morning to pass an Ordinance related to the “Emergency Created by the Impact of the COVID-19 Virus” – better known as the “Coronavirus” or the “Wuhan Virus.”
The City proposes to grant extraordinary powers to the Mayor, which include (starting on page 8 of the below pdf):
Violating parts of the Open Meetings Act
Ban sale of firearms and ammunition
Ban sale of any alcohol
Closing of all bars, taverns, liquor stores, etc
Ban sale or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank permanently fixed to a motor vehicle
Direct the shutoff of power, water, gas, etc
Take possession of private property and obtain full title to same
Prohibit or restrict ingress and egress to and from the City
One thing noticeably absent? The Mayor will not have the power to prohibit the sale of marijuana.
Cannabis wasn’t legal in 2006 when the city ordinance was approved, so there was nothing to cut and paste today. Also, Wuhan Virus? C’mon.
After the declaration of an emergency, the Mayor may in the interest of public safety and welfare make any or all of the following orders and provide the following direction:
(1) Issue such other orders as are imminently necessary for the protection of life and property.
(2) Order a general curfew applicable to such geographical areas of the City or to the City as a whole, as the Mayor deems advisable, and applicable during such hours of the day or night as the Mayor deems necessary in the interest of public safety and welfare.
(3) Order the closing of all retail liquor stores, including taverns and private clubs or portions thereof wherein the consumption of intoxicating liquor and beer is permitted;
(4) Order the discontinuance of the sale of alcoholic liquor by any wholesaler or retailer;
(5) Order the discontinuance of selling, distributing, or giving away gasoline or other
liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank properly affixed to a motor vehicle;
(6) Order the discontinuance of selling, distributing, dispensing or giving away of explosives or explosive agents, firearms or ammunition of any character whatsoever;
(7) Order the control, restriction and regulation within the City by rationing, issuing quotas, fixing or freezing prices, allocating the use, sale or distribution of food, fuel, clothing and other commodities, materials, goods or services or the necessities of life;
(8) (a) Order City employees or agents, on behalf of the City, to take possession of any real or personal property of any person, or to acquire full title or such lesser interest as may be necessary to deal with a disaster or emergency, and to take possession of and for a limited time, occupy and use any real estate to accomplish alleviation of the disaster, or the effects thereof;
(b) In the event any real or personal property is utilized by the City, the City shall be liable to the owner thereof for the reasonable value of the use or for just compensation as the case may be.
(9) Order restrictions on ingress or egress to parts of the City to limit the occupancy of any premises;
(10) To make provision for the availability and use of temporary emergency housing;
(11) Temporarily suspend, limit, cancel, convene, reschedule, postpone, continue, or
relocate all meetings of the City Council, and any City committee, commission, board, authority, or other City body as deemed appropriate by the Mayor.
(12) Require closing of business establishments.
(13) Prohibit the sale or distribution within the City of any products which could be
employed in a manner which would constitute a danger to public safety.
(14) Temporarily close any and all streets, alleys, sidewalks, bike paths, public parks or public ways.
(15) Temporarily suspend or modify, for not more than sixty (60) days, any regulation or ordinance of the City, including, but not limited to, those regarding health, safety, and zoning. This period may be extended upon approval of the City Council.
(16) Suspend or limit the use of the water resources or other infrastructure.
(17) Control, restrict, allocate, or regulate the use, sale, production, or distribution of
food, water, fuel, clothing, and/or other commodities, materials, goods, services and resources.
(18) Suspend or limit burning of any items or property with the City limits and up to two (2) miles outside the corporate limits.
(19) Direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened areas within the City if the mayor deems this action is necessary for the preservation of life, property, or other disaster or emergency mitigation, response or recovery and to prescribe routes, modes of transportation and destination in connection with an evacuation.
(21) Approve application for local, state, or federal assistance.
(22) Establish and control routes of transportation, ingress or egress.
(23) Control ingress and egress from any designated disaster or emergency area or home,
building or structures located therein.
(24) Approve the transfer the direction, personnel, or functions of City departments and agencies for the purpose of performing or facilitating emergency or disaster services.
(25) Accept services, gifts, grants, loans, equipment, supplies, and/or materials whether from private, nonprofit, or governmental sources.
(26) Require the continuation, termination, disconnection, or suspension of natural gas, electrical power, water, sewer, communication or other public utilities or infrastructure. (27) Close or cancel the use of any municipally owned or operated building or other public facility.
(28) Declare, issue, enforce, modify and terminate orders for quarantine and isolation of persons or animals posing a threat to the public, not conflicting with the directions of the Health Officer of the community.
(29) Exercise such powers and functions in light of the exigencies of emergency or disaster including the waiving of compliance with any time consuming procedures and formalities, including notices, as may be prescribed by law.
(30) Issue any and all such other orders or undertake such other functions and activities as the Mayor reasonably believes is required to protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons or property within the City or otherwise preserve the public peace or abate, clean up, or mitigate the effects of any emergency or disaster.
Whew.
*** UPDATE *** The city was stung hard on social media and has responded…
* One of the wealthiest people in the state just sent out a mass email to Illinois legislators, several of whom forwarded it to me…
From: Liz Uihlein
Date: March 13, 2020 at 12:22:09 PM CDT
Subject: The Media is Overblowing COVID-19
Dear Members of the Illinois Legislature:
There were 1,701 cases in the U.S. of which there were 41 deaths; whereas an overwhelming number of people have been infected with and died from the flu this season.
While you may think the government enforced closing of events, schools, etc. is helping prevent the spread of this infection, you are impacting local, state and national economies and adding unnecessary panic and fear in the American people.
What happens in 2 weeks? Are you willing to indefinitely close institutions? At what point do we go back to our normal lives? This has been a huge disruption.
Sincerely,
Liz Uihlein
President, Uline
Ma’am, we go back to our “normal lives” when this virus is under control. Sorry for the disruption.
* Rep. Jonathan Carroll sent me his response…
Liz,
I guess the professional sports leagues, Broadway Musicals and other gatherings being cancelled or postponed is our fault too? President Trump is about to declare a state of emergency. Is he overreacting?
…Adding… Will Jeanne Ives be getting an angry email soon?…
Given the recent reports about the spread of COVID-19, the campaign has made the decision to keep our Election Night celebration small out of an abundance of caution.
Legislative leaders participated in briefings and conference calls with representatives from the governor’s office and Department of Public Health, among others.
Steve Brown, spokesperson for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said the situation is “unique.”
“I can’t think of any comparable situation, and managing the Legislature is a different breed of activity than managing a business, a newspaper, what have you,” he said. “We have citizens that come from all over the state to talk about issues they’re concerned about, and you’ve got to balance all of that alongside the public health, public safety, concerns.”
Madigan, Brown added, is handling the status of coronavirus in Illinois on a “day-by-day, step-by-step basis.”
A day after President Donald Trump assured Americans that testing for the coronavirus is “expanding rapidly, day by day,” administration officials admitted Thursday that testing in the United States is lagging badly behind other nations, and they could not say when it will improve.
For Illinois, that means health officials will continue to test only the most seriously ill, or those who have come into contact with those diagnosed with the sometimes fatal disease.
“Here’s what’s happening. We’re not getting enough tests. We’re not getting enough test kits,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday, hours before Trump’s televised address to the nation.
Despite insistent promises from the Trump administration, coronavirus testing in the United States appears to be proceeding with a marked lack of urgency. An examination of state and federal records by Yahoo News finds that American states are, on average, testing fewer than 100 people per day — while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tested fewer than 100 people total in the first two days of this week.
President Donald Trump plans to declare a national emergency on Friday over the coronavirus outbreak, invoking the Stafford Act to open the door to more federal aid for states and municipalities, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A USA TODAY analysis shows that if the nation sees a major spike, there could be almost six seriously ill patients for every existing hospital bed.
That analysis, based on data from the American Hospital Association, U.S. Census, CDC and World Health Organization, is conservative. For example, it assumes all 790,000 beds will be empty.
Since two thirds are not, the reality could be far worse: about 17 people competing for each open bed.
Emphasis added.
* A buddy texted me earlier that Sacred Heart Griffin, a private Catholic school in Springfield, held an all-school pep rally today “for a basketball game that won’t be played.” SHG had advanced to the state finals, but the IHSA canceled the tournament yesterday. I called the school and confirmed that the rally went on as scheduled.
That’s about 600 kids the day after this was decreed in Sangamon County…
The Sangamon County Department of Public Health has issued orders restricting large gatherings in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The restrictions will limit indoor events to 250 people or less and outdoor events to 500 people or less starting Saturday. They will be in effect until at least April 14.
If that isn’t peak Springfield, I do not know what is.
…Adding… Oh, so now they’re worried…
Dear SHG Parents/Guardians,
Sacred Heart-Griffin High School is continuing to monitor developments with COVID-19. At the time of this email message there are over 205,000 students in Illinois alone who are out of school as a precautionary measure from various school districts. The situation is escalating at an alarming rate so we will be informing students at SHG today that they need to take home textbooks and any other learning materials they may need in the event that the school would close. As of this moment, we are planning to be open on Monday, March 16, but we want our students prepared in the event that we have to close our doors.
…Adding… And they’re closing…
As a preventative measure, all Catholic schools under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will be closed the week of March 16. This includes the cancellation of all extra-curricular activities, social events and other school-related gatherings. We’ll offer an update by the end of next week.
Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the city’s budget could be impacted by “decreased revenue tied to immediate losses from things like decreased tourism and decreased public transportation ridership.”
“The budgetary impact may go well beyond 2020 as there may be long-term economic consequences from COVID-19,” Kass said. “How big an impact this has on the budget and how many years are impacted depends on how long the public health measures and warnings are in place — the longer it goes on, the greater financial impact.”
Chicago’s pension funds also could see strain, she said, as they rely heavily on investments as a source of assets.
“An economic downturn likely means a decrease in assets, causing an increase in the unfunded liabilities,” Kass said. “The economic impact of COVID-19 may cause a sharp decline in the pension systems’ finances (as happened with the 2008 financial crisis), which would in-turn cause a significant increase in the City’s required pension systems for the police and fire funds immediately.”
* More like this, please. From Rep. Mark Batinick’s Facebook page…
My office is starting a coronavirus helping hands programs. We need volunteers! While the coronavirus does not affect the majority of the population the elderly and those with underlying health conditions are at serious risk. We are strongly encouraging those groups to stay home. If you need to go out for any reason, please contact us to see if we can have one of our interns or volunteers do that for you. We can run to the store, library, etc. Our district is basically far west Will County and Eastern Kendall County. If for some reason we can’t help you we will try to get someone who can. Private message me if you need help or want to volunteer. Our office phone number is 815-254-0000. Thanks All!!!
Chicago public health officials told students from Vaughn Occupational High School that were showing coronavirus-like symptoms they could get tested in a tent outside the school, but a series of missteps left at least one student in limbo for several days. […]
The first problem arose because the student was not on the list of Vaughn students. School district officials have admitted this was an error on their part.
That prevented the student’s mother, who asked not to be identified out of fear of being stigmatized, from being contacted by city officials for days. When she reached out on her own, she said she was not given clear information on where to be tested. Her daughter is 18 years old and has an intellectual disability. She began showing symptoms over the weekend.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that the mother got the message that she could take her daughter to Vaughn to get tested. When she got there Thursday, the onsite testing center was gone. The Chicago Department of Public Health halted its site testing at Vaughn sometime earlier this week.
* We’re going to see lots more of these announcements, like it or not…
In the best interest of our members and the communities they serve, the American Case Management Association is canceling the ACMA 2020 National Case Management and Transitions of Care Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago, scheduled for April 6-9.
All previous media and press invitations have been canceled for this event.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a ban on all large gatherings of 1,000 people or more in Illinois as the number of coronavirus cases in the state continues to rise. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot echoed, saying, “All community events of more than 1,000 people are banned for the next 30 days in the city.” After 30 days, the mayor said the city will “reassess.”
ACMA members consist of nurses, social workers, physicians and other health care professionals affiliated with case management and transitions of care, many of which will be working diligently to support their organizations during the COVID-19 event. ACMA will continue to provide our members with virtual education and advocacy efforts which do not require mass gatherings.
Jon Vickers
Marketing and Communications Manager
American Case Management Association
Vickers said more than 1,500 attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and speakers were expected.
There are 44 million Americans without health insurance and another 38 million with inadequate coverage. The COVID-19 test can cost anywhere from $900 to $3,000. This only covers the test, this does not include the cost of being treated if you test positive for the virus.
A memo circulated by Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential campaign said campaign staffers would be working from home and that voter outreach would be limited to phone-banking, texting and “virtual” events like a video town hall Biden has set for Illinois supporters on Friday.
The more traditional style of campaigning by going door to door to solicit voter support — dubbed parochially as a “precinct captain” kind of campaign — appeared to no longer be in the Biden campaign playbook in Illinois because of worries over COVID-19.
Biden’s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, took similar steps Thursday, vowing an end to door-to-door canvassing.
The epidemic is also affecting institutions close to Pritzker’s own life. A Pritzker spokeswoman said “at least one” of the governor’s two children attends Francis W. Parker School, a private school in Chicago that WBEZ reported is closing its doors for two weeks. The governor was asked what his message is to parents who might not want to have their kids go to school.
“Well you’ve got to make decisions for your own family. There’s no doubt about that, but I would say that remember the guidance that’s been given by experts is large gatherings should be prohibited,” Pritzker said. “And so we’ve done that. We’ve suggested to schools all across the state. We’ve told them not to have major assemblies of their students. It’s OK to be in a classroom.”
Shedd Aquarium, one of Chicago’s leading attractions, will close for at least two weeks beginning Friday afternoon “in support of city and statewide preventative measures to limit the additional spread and transmission of the novel coronavirus,” the institution announced Friday morning. […]
Evanston-Skokie District 65 buildings are closing effective Monday, while Oak Park District 65 was closed Friday and moving to online instruction started Monday. Evanston Township High School students were scheduled to be in the school Friday, with a day off Monday and online instruction starting Tuesday, according to the district. Many south suburban public schools were restricting student activities because of coronavirus concerns, while Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, which serves more than 13 communities in the North Shore and northwest suburbs, has closed and is offering online classes. […]
Lincoln Park Zoo is closing its doors temporarily, and halting all events and programs taking place there until April 10, amid concerns about the coronavirus, according to the zoo.
The new measures will drastically alter Chicagoans’ social and cultural lives at the very moment they could most use some distractions. Most major sporting events, concerts and rallies shut down just as spring arrives. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he has asked professional sports teams “to cancel all of their games or play without spectators until May 1,” and they’ve agreed.
* Southern Illinois schools weigh options amid COVID-19 pandemic: “This is like snow days on steroids,” Donkin said. He said it’s not just a question of how much of summer break this could eat into, but also a question of childcare. Donkin said the decision to cancel school, even for one snow day, isn’t always easy because he knows the impact it can have on families. Not everyone has the fortune of having paid sick leave, and the decision to stay home with a child who doesn’t have school could lead to financial hardship.
* Treasurer Pappas closes office at noon today to safeguard health of taxpayers and employees: “We have not had a case of the coronavirus in our office and I want to keep it that way,” Pappas said. “While it is of surpassing importance to protect our employees and visitors to the building from this virus, it is important to continue serving taxpayers.”
Good evening! I was handing out some literature in front of Glenview Townhall (Northern suburban Cook County) and I had the pleasure of standing semi-near this guy.
He’s a paid worker for Epstein that has been harassing other Democratic candidates, lying about endorsements, trashing the party, harassing voters, getting really belligerent with me and other volunteers. He ignored multiple calls from the Election Judges to stay on the right side of the line, and stop harassing people on their way in. Real class act.
I took these photos, and you have permission to use them if you like. Thought you might be interested.
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
Daniel Epstein is a Democratic candidate for Illinois Supreme Court.
* I edited out the person’s face…
* Epstein campaign manager Bobby Burns…
Thanks for sharing. We’re handling it. We work hard to make sure everyone on this campaign follows the rules and this won’t be an exception.
All’s well that ends well, I suppose.
…Adding… Heh…
ELECTION DAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers to poll pass on Election Day –
Tuesday, March 17!
Volunteers on the ground have made a difference during early voting and we need to continue the momentum on Tuesday. Click here to sign up for a shift.
*If you have the day off, we are especially in need of people who can sign up for a full day/multiple shifts!*
Thank you for being in this with us until the end.
- Team Epstein
I’m hearing that the price of election day poll workers has doubled for campaigns.
Friday, Mar 13, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
In addition to supporting the state’s economy with more than 246,000 jobs across Illinois, biopharmaceutical innovators support policies to help ensure Illinoisans can afford and access their medicines. Our companies are committed to being part of the solution and support commonsense measures to lower what patients are paying at the pharmacy counter. We also want to serve as a resource for people who may be struggling by providing resources they can use now while legislators work toward addressing growing health care costs.
PhRMA’s Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) is a free online platform that connects eligible patients and caregivers with information about 900+ public and private assistance programs designed to help them afford their medicines. Visit mat.org to see what help might be available.
Based on everything that you have seen, read or heard about Coronavirus, how concerned are you about contracting Coronavirus?
Very 28
Somewhat 40
Unsure 10
Somewhat not concerned 14.5
Not concerned 7
Now, this may not mean much or anything at all, but of those Democrats who said they were very concerned, 71 percent said they were voting for Joe Biden next Tuesday. And of that same group of very concerned folks, 61 percent said Biden had the better health care policy.
Due to the prevalence of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the greater Chicago area, the Archdiocese of Chicago is announcing a system-wide closure of Catholic schools, effective Monday, March 16. This decision applies to all Catholic schools in Cook and Lake Counties operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Catholic schools not operated by the archdiocese, such as those governed by religious orders, will make decisions individually.
This decision extends to all regular operations of our Catholic schools, including all extra-curricular activities, social events and other school-related gatherings.
At this time, we have not determined how long this closure will last. We are in close communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and other agencies managing the public health response to the COVID-19 epidemic. We will make an announcement when we have determined a date to reopen.
We will perform extra cleaning of our facilities while school is not in session.
During this closure period, Catholic school students will be asked to complete academic work through electronic learning (“e-learning”) or alternative learning. You should expect communication from your school’s principal on how e-learning or alternative learning will take place.
I encourage you to continue to pray for God’s grace throughout this time of uncertainty. Let us pray for the health and wellbeing of our Catholic school community and all our brothers and sisters affected by the epidemic.
Yours in Christ,
Jim Rigg, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Archdiocese of Chicago
Catholic churches in the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese will stop holding masses starting this weekend and is closing its schools as a precaution to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Cardinal Blase Cupich announced that mass will be suspended in all churches starting Saturday evening, but the churches will remain open for those seeking private prayer. Cupich encouraged parishes with the capability to broadcast their mass online to do so.
Bond prices and stock prices have moved together, not in opposite directions as they usually do. On a day when major economic disruptions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic appeared to become likelier — which might be expected to make typical market safe havens more popular — many of them fell instead Wednesday. That included bonds of all sorts and gold.
And there were reports from trading desks that many assets that are normally liquid — easy to buy and sell — were freezing up, with securities not trading widely. This was true of the bonds issued by municipalities and major corporations but, more curiously, also of Treasury bonds, normally the bedrock of the global financial system.
People, it is fair to say, are worried about bond market liquidity.
Any one of these moves on its own wouldn’t really matter. Markets can move for all kinds of reasons, most of which affect only the investors and traders involved. But these types of swings give experienced financial market watchers a sinking feeling, the kind last felt widely during the global financial crisis when all kinds of obscure financial markets went haywire.
Municipal bond market participants are calling the COVID-19-led sell-off worse for the market than the aftermath of September 11th and the 2008 financial crisis combined.
The sell-off continued in the municipal market Thursday, with AAA benchmarks down by more than a half percentage point. The primary market was held at a standstill. Lipper reported more than $1.76 billion of outflows Thursday.
What is transpiring has career-long veterans of the space saying the muni market has been put in a position they’ve never seen before.
Participants don’t have room to breathe in this rapidly changing landscape and investment grade munis are suffering, being dragged down by the overall panicking in the market, with several noting that this is a liquidity-driven crisis.
“There is forced selling, impossible hedging and a pandemic,” said one Southern trader. “Uncertainty is breeding uncertainty and as usual, the bond market solution to these problems is much higher yields. This is the craziest market that I have seen — way different and way worse than 2008.”
First of all there are extremely good reasons why public authorities are resisting closing schools. The most obvious is simply disrupting kids’ educations. In a city like New York there is a substantial population of students who rely on the schools for meals and other social services. Particularly for younger children numerous parents have no way to cope with school closures other than not going to work when they cannot afford even very short periods not making an income. Besides the individual impact, this has immediate and intense knock on effects through the economy when big chunks of the workforce are removed from the economy. Then there is the fact that many health care workers have young children. New York and any locality now is desperately in need of all health care workers being on the job.
One final point that is a key issue now in New York City is that many children don’t have the resources (computers and internet connectivity) to do remote learning, even if you deal with all those other issues.
Across the board the most acute impacts are on the working class, the poor and the most marginalized. The reasons for not closing the schools are immense. But we are in the midst of a global epidemic with immense potential for loss of life.
Let me make one thing clear. I’m not worried about my children in this or really anyone else’s children, other than children with chronic illnesses who have particular vulnerabilities. Kids themselves seem to face very little threat from this. But they are vectors of contagion. That seems pretty clear at this point (there’s a lot of science now that kids do get infected they just suffer mild versions of the disease). I say this because I don’t think I’m being overly driven by any parents normal concern about their children’s welfare. I’m worried about the impact on the whole city. And this applies the same for every other part of the country. It’s not really the kids. It’s who they infect. […]
With all this, though, having watched the [New York City] government closely, both as a journalist and a resident, I increasingly think they are approaching the question in the wrong way: focusing on the immense costs of a shutdown as that fixed point and not focusing nearly enough on schools as key vectors of disease spread. These have to be balanced. I’m not sure they are to an adequate degree.
[Houston Independent School District] officials announced Thursday that classes will be canceled through March 30, while nearly all of the Houston area’s largest school districts declared they are closing through at least next week, amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.
Ohio, Maryland and the large urban school districts of Seattle and San Francisco are shutting down all K-12 schools as part of a sweeping attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The actions are the first wave of widespread school closures in the U.S., and they stand to upend school and family routines for millions of children.
The Sacramento City Unified School District will be temporarily closing all schools from Monday through Wednesday to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The schools will be closed to thoroughly disinfect all classrooms, district officials said Thursday.
All schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District will close for three weeks beginning Monday out of concerns about coronavirus, Superintendent Matthew Duffy announced Thursday.
While Contra Costa County Health Services officials say there are no confirmed cases of students or staff testing positive for the virus at any of the district’s schools, several students and district employees have had contact with people who potentially contracted the disease, according to a district news release.
The coronavirus hit the region with its hardest punch yet Thursday, as Montgomery County schools were ordered to shut down for two weeks, and a cascade of closures took out venues such as the Wells Fargo Center and the Kimmel Center, canceling events from Philadelphia Orchestra concerts to 76ers and Flyers games.
The action in Montgomery County, which advised residents to avoid non-essential travel and not report to work, had the unintended effect of forcing the closure Friday of 63 of Philadelphia’s 200-plus schools. Many Philadelphia schoolteachers live in Montgomery County and won’t be able to go to work, the School District announced late Thursday night.
All New Mexico Public schools will be closed for three weeks, starting Monday, March 16 amid growing concerns about the coronavirus, according to Public Education Department.
The L.A. teachers union is calling on the nation’s second-largest school district to close all its schools as quickly as possible to combat the coronavirus outbreak. […]
The school system has resisted shutting down campuses so far but is preparing for that step. No case of the virus has been linked to an L.A. public school at this time.
There’s lots more. The point is that Illinois has 32 confirmed cases. What should we do?
*** UPDATE *** The governor and the mayor need to start listening…
We are calling on Chicago's mayor and Chicago Public Schools to follow the leadership of the governor and school districts across the country and immediately close all traditional public, charter and contract schools in the city of Chicago. #COVID19#coronavirus
