* My mom’s birthday was earlier this week, as was my niece Rosalee’s. My niece Tonya’s birthday was last month. My niece Reagan was profiled by her college newspaper a couple of days ago. My niece Isabel is graduating from SIUC’s school of journalism tomorrow and is heading to Medill in the fall. And, of course, Sunday is Mother’s Day.
To these wonderful women: I love all of you and, despite your exceptional brilliance, I’m sorry that you have to put up with stuff like this…
We get it dude
We’ve already heard enough from you
And on that note, I’m outta here. No work this weekend after 62 days. Woohoo!
* After a quick update on where testing stands, the governor took questions from reporters.
Please remember to pardon all transcription errors.
Obviously the mayor had her news conference a short time ago and a couple of differences in the timetables. Hers talks about 14 day timetables across all of the important metrics. You have 28 days on hospital admissions. Can you explain the difference? Are you considering making revisions to 14 days as well?…
No, but I think if you look at the mayor’s plan, and of course the mayor and I have spoken about this plan before, and indeed earlier today. It really is within the parameters of the plan that we put forward.
In other words, it is likely that, because they have some more stringent parts of their plan that when you put all of the pieces of it together from a timing perspective, it will fit I think nicely into the framework that we put forward.
And I think you know other local governments should be considering doing the same thing, thinking about how they can fit their timetables for opening businesses that are particular to their area of the state within the timetables that we’ve laid out, because those are the kind of the safety guidance and guidelines that we’ve set out, but the local governments, like the city of Chicago, are allowed to be more stringent than the state.
* This is the fourth day in a row of 100 plus fatalities. I believe that’s the first time we hit four days of triple digits. What does this suggest in terms of where we are and what the trend says?…
Dr. Ezike: Again, I think people who studied statistics know that you can’t go by a couple of days. It’s the average and where we’re going.
So I think if you look at our averages per week, we definitely have hit a peak of deaths in two weeks, maybe a week ago, so I don’t think overall this is one of our heaviest weights, even though there may have been a cluster of deaths that were reported that seemed high in four days in a row. But if you maybe take the aggregate and look at weeks I don’t think this week has been worse than last week so again, looking day to day or even looking at several days is a little bit harder. I think when you stand back and maybe take a week at a time, we can get bigger trends and to get a more more balanced view and I think, overall, I think we’re going in the right direction I think definitely this week.
Is that as important of a metric as positivity for hospital admissions?…
Well they’re related, they’re all related. So you could imagine that the deaths might be proportional to people being hospitalized, people being hospitalized will be proportional to the number of people who got infected. So I think it’s a continuum. If you think of how the disease would happen first, there would be the virus, somebody would get infected, somebody might get sick, somebody might get hospitalized, might get into the ICU, so there is a continuum there. So all of these statistics and these metrics actually do relate to one another.
Dr. Ezike then said that the Kawasaki type illness seen in young children lately will be made a “reportable illness” by IDPH.
* Restaurants, they are desperately asking that they can reopen in phase three perhaps at 25% capacity. This is an industry that’s used to being regulated they’re great at compliance, they’re professionals. What are the experts telling you that the scientist and they have to be knowledgeable about why 25% capacity in phase three can’t happen according to your plan?…
This is now secondhand information that maybe Dr. Ezike has something to add to because she’s been in many of those conversations too. But first of all, I mean I want as much as anyone to make sure that small businesses are able to open and so many restaurants and bars out there so people who risk their capital and their time and effort and energy to start those businesses and I know they are devastated and it’s why I support you know Sam Toia who’s the head of the Illinois Restaurant Association, has advocated for and he’s right that there ought to be support for the restaurant industry that comes out of the supports the cares act type supports that come out of Washington DC.
In terms of why the epidemiologists have seen restaurants as more difficult to open than let’s say other kinds of small shops. My understanding of it is that, because it’s very difficult to socially distance as between a server and the food, the server, the food and delivery of the food to the table. It’s also difficult even to seat people at tables the way they’re normally configured in a six foot distance for everybody that’s sitting at a table. So that’s my understanding of why you know as between I think you probably add to that the dishwasher. And the person who’s the chef in the back, the bartender and so on. Just the number of people who kind of come in contact with the thing that you’re ultimately getting delivered to you, and they can’t be delivered in a socially distance way is the reason.
Are you on the phone with Senator Durbin, with other congressional representatives regarding a federal bailout or relief package specific to restaurants because they’re as you indicated they’re really calling for that?…
Yeah, so I’ve been on the phone, I have been in contact with the restaurant association with many of the people in the industry, about that and certainly as I discuss the broader issue of support for state and local governments and small businesses with our federal representatives. I try always to bring in the different industries that I think they particularly a particular day, Illinois. And this is a good example, because we have so many restaurants and so many great restaurants in Illinois that attract people from around the world. So yeah, I try to bring up the industries that are most affected by COVID-19.
Is the restaurants, the [same as] how you went to bat for the hospitals for instance?…
And I do and I just to be clear, I just didn’t want to overstate I mean I do there are other industries that I also talked about I didn’t want to overstate how I talk about restaurants, but I do believe that Sam Toia and the industry is correct, that they deserve support so many small businesses and so many people depend upon those jobs as entry level jobs as well as permanent positions.
[This was followed by very detailed questions about IDES. I’m going to skip them for now because I’m behind.]
* Amy Jacobson from WIND asking you if Chicago sports teams can’t play in front of fans later this summer or fall, do you support the idea of letting them play in neighboring states?…
Well, I would listen we’re gonna work very hard to have a play here. I have spoken with the commissioners of the various major league teams. And they all are looking for ways to do it safely. They want to protect their players. They, none of them have suggested to me, short of getting to stage five really, that they would have fans or many fans in the stands. They are looking for television, the ability to broadcast a game. And so, as far as neighboring states, well we have all the facilities here for them to do it. We would want to see their plan. I’ve suggested that they are putting a plan together, where they already have put a plan together and they intend to submit it to have it reviewed by our medical experts and by me and to make sure that it fits with the stages and considerations that we’ve made for businesses. But look I’m the first person, I want to see sports play and I think it’s good for everybody. I think they can do it here in Illinois, and especially if you look at the timetable, there’s a high likelihood that they could do it within a timetable that we’re hoping that we’ll be able to reopen many businesses.
[Gotta hand it to her. That was a pretty good zinger.]
* Jordan: [A reporter] has a question that we are going to amend so we can get multiple questions out of the way. Governor, are you aware of the back to business plan made by representative Wilhour and Bailey in an effort to reopen Central Illinois regions, is this something you’ll consider? There are also many questions about XYZ plan from various places around the state. So let’s answer that all at once…
I am aware of multiple plans from multiple places around the state of Illinois. I think this demonstrates why there ought to have been a federal plan that was put forward. Because, now what you’ve got is a patchwork of states doing different things, some of us creating pacts in various regions of the country. And now you see counties want to put together their own plans, cities and counties, you know, cities want to work with other cities, mayor’s talking to each other, submitting plans. Everybody’s got a different plan. The truth is, this is why you need leadership. This is why you need to make sure that we’ve got a plan that works for the regions, that allows regions to move forward or backward if they’re meeting or not meeting the requirements for health. ButI have read many of these plans that have been put forward and I’ve included many of those ideas in our [plan].
* Should parents assume that summer camps will be canceled this year?…
I mean I suppose it depends upon the timing. I wouldn’t assume anything and I would look very intently for whether treatments are being developed. That will be appropriate for us to change the playbook because that’s what I’m really hoping we’ll be able to do. And of course in phase four we’ll be able to have 50 person gatherings and that is something that would work with summer programs. Maybe not overnight camps but there certainly could be camps of 50 people together.
* You said the other day that you don’t think the public will want to go to restaurants too soon, has the industry’s response to your reopening plan changed your thinking at all? Also Why doesn’t your plan require a decrease in cases like Mayor Lightfoot?…
I think if you look at other states that have simply flung the doors open on their restaurants you’ve seen that there are you know the expectation was very high that people go rushing back to restaurants they haven’t. And so that’s why I made the comment that I did I did make.
[On the Lightfoot part of the question] That’s a different approach that they’ve taken. That is absolutely something that we considered, but I just want to say that for those who think that we ought to be opening more quickly, I would say that our plan is makes it more likely that one could open at the end of May, than some other plans. And so you know I just say that requiring a decrease as opposed to a stability, when we have hospital availability if you meet all the other criteria then you know making sure you have positivity rates at a certain level hospital availability at a certain level and so on. Those things all work in tandem with one another, to get us you know healthy reopening. So I think the mayor’s plan is a is a good one for Chicago I haven’t looked at details, at least, you know, in the last day. If any changes were made, but it’s a good plan, it fits within the plans that we have for the state.
* Hundreds of thousands of people use public transit in Illinois every day during normal times. When the Northeast Region eventually reaches phase four, where gatherings of 50 or fewer are permitted, what direction will you give the RTA? Will there be limits on the number of people in train cars or buses, will large downtown companies who have a lot of employees coming into the Loop be required to participate in some sort of agreement of staggered work from home days to get ridership down?…
We will certainly be working on staggered work hours with major businesses, and all across the state honestly that are reliant upon mass transit. But that’ll obviously be much, much more concentrated in the collar counties and Cook County.
It is very important that we have our mass transit clean, and make sure that it is COVID free and that we protect all the people who are riding on mass transit. That’s something that I’ve expressed to the mayor and to many of the surrounding county leaders because we just have to make sure that people can use mass transit in a reopening society, on a regular basis. Otherwise, we won’t be able to reopen safely.
* Lori Lightfoot said today she’s determined to open schools this fall. Do you have a response to that statement and whether you’re considering this for the state?…
I think we’re all determined, want very badly for schools to open and that is my hope and desire. I think that’s what she is expressing as well, and planning I think you’ve got to do planning for reopening in the fall. So I, none of us knows what the future exactly holds but I think we have a great hope that and desire for reopening schools.
* Congressman LaHood joined two state lawmakers for a press conference in Quincy today. They say you should visit Quincy to see your impact to the order is having downstate. Will you leave Chicago?…
Yeah, and you know that I have regular contact with people in Quincy/ I certainly understand, read the newspapers, understand the challenges that all the areas of the state are undergoing. I think that someone who lives in Quincy can understand what’s going on in Cook County in the collar counties just as easily as somebody who may be standing in the cook and the collar counties can understand by reading what’s going on in their area. But I look forward to traveling around the state, and to, you know, speaking with elected officials and people about the challenges that people are having.
And, most importantly, I think, rather than traveling is just addressing those challenges which is what we’ve been doing for two months now. You know, this is my 61st day straight on the job, not just standing in front of a microphone, but working for the people of Illinois on this coronavirus crisis. And I’m not going to stop until we overcome it. I’m not going to stop until we revive the economy. It’s our obligation, we’ve got to get things moving again safely for our families.
* A restaurant owner in Southern Illinois reopened his restaurant this morning with plans to space people out, to practice social distancing. He says the local health department called and threatened to revoke his food permit. Now he plans to sue. Why isn’t the state’s criteria to reopen based on an individual business’s ability to practice social distancing?…
Because this virus isn’t limited to the four walls of that one business. That’s why.
* Exelon had its quarterly earnings call today and said it wants Springfield to deliver a subsidy package for its struggling nuclear plants by the end of May, or possibly the summer. Is that a priority for you right now, and how big of a problem is it for Exelon to advance any kind of agenda at the Capitol with all of the investigations into its lobbying activities still unresolved?…
Yeah, I’ve said that, you know, we’re gonna make sure that we work on an energy package for the state and we don’t need the high paid lobbyists to be guiding that for us. I think the legislature has been working on this for some time. I have been working on it for some time. And I can’t tell you exactly when something will get passed on it. My hope is that the legislature has been continuing its work in the working groups that have been created for it, as it has on so many other topics, and I look forward to the legislature getting together again to address so many challenges that we have. But is it true that that there are higher priorities right now? Yes there are higher priorities right now, and that’s reviving our economy.
* The city of Bloomington has canceled the Fourth of July fireworks display. Do you recommend more cities and towns do this considering it’s a gathering of more than 50 people?…
Again, I think people can read for themselves what the health consequences are of not following the rules that we put in place for each phase. So I think those are decisions that will have to be made at the local level. And again, you know I’m hoping that by July there will be some areas that we’ll be able to have gatherings of 50 or less, but there’s no guarantee of that and we’re watching it for the data, the science to determine whether and when these things can take place.
* Massachusetts and Illinois both reached 1000 cases within two days of each other. Massachusetts started contact tracing in April and they now have 1600 investigators. Why is Illinois so far behind Massachusetts?…
Actually we’ve been contact tracing since the very beginning and I think Dr Ezike was suggesting that earlier. Remember we have local county public health departments, they have health workers, neighborhood health workers. So does the city of Chicago, Cook County and other counties.
So there’s it’s not that there’s no contact tracing going on. What we’re spinning up in Illinois is a much more robust contact tracing effort, and it is like the one in Massachusetts. And indeed, you know we are following the model of Massachusetts taking a lot of advice from Massachusetts and we are working hard to spin that up but remember that much of what Massachusetts has is what much of what Illinois will be starting with which is all of the existing contact tracing that’s already going on and then we’ll be adding on workers and volunteers on top of that
[My question was why the state is lagging behind the state of Massachusetts and he did not answer it. I’ll ask again next week, I suppose.]
* Black and Latino people have disproportionately lost their jobs due to this pandemic, according to today’s jobs report. What will the state do to help workers of color who have been impacted by this?…
Yeah, well you know that’s what we’re trying to do as we reopen the economy, is to make sure we’re providing supports for families, as they get their jobs back or as they go seek a new job. It’s very important to me, in particular that we, those communities have been left out and left behind for decades, are the ones who are the first ones that are affected when we’ve got a downturn. And this downturn, which is caused by this invisible enemy, has so badly affected communities of color. So we’ve got to make sure that we’re focused on providing supports for communities. And by the way that also includes everybody else in the state that has been so badly affected. So those supports though in the communities that are poorest are the communities that are most hard hit are vitally important, so that’s part of what we’ll do. And then of course you know trying to revitalize the industries that employ many people across the state in particular communities of color is part of the plan going forward. I’m not, the plan that we put forward for restoring and reopening the state is just a beginning, you know, economic development, encouraging the creation of or the rebuilding of small businesses has got to be a vital part of what we do to build up the economy of the state in the aftermath or at least as we’re trying to deal with COVID-19 in a phase three, phase four and phase five world and that’s one of the reasons that I’ve gone back to Washington DC, to the people in Washington DC to ask them for support for the state so that we can do the work on the ground that a broad federal program can’t do, and that’s helping put back these jobs that have been lost.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were distributed by the federal government to municipalities across the country but in Illinois, local governments have yet to see those dollars because Governor JB Pritzker has not released them.
Congressman Rodney Davis wants to know why those dollars are not going to communities in Illinois when many are already planning on struggles once the coronavirus has been defeated. Congressman Davis says programs like the PPP helped small businesses and their employees, it is time to help local governments.
The Congressman from Taylorville says it is too soon to start talking about more stimulus bills before we know what the economy looks like as Americans begin getting back to work. He says there is still stimulus money to be distributed, and those dollars need to get out before they disperse more.
* I asked the governor’s press secretary about the alleged holdup. Jordan Abudayyeh’s reply…
Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, Will County, and Kane County all received direct funding from the federal government under the CARES Act.
That leaves 97 counties and approximately 1200 cities outside the collars without funding. We have been working with the IML for several weeks on a plan to allocate the remaining portion of local money not claimed by Chicago and the collar counties, approximately $800 million, to those municipalities. In order to do this, the administration has proposed creating a grant program through DCEO.
This requires legislation and we have presented this plan to all four caucuses of the General Assembly for their consideration. We look forward to Congressman Davis supporting that plan when the General Assembly returns to Springfield.
Congressman Davis should’ve probably read the bill he voted for.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,887 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 130 additional deaths.
Boone County: 1 female 90
Cook County: 1 female 30s, 2 females 40s, 2 males 40s, 2 males 50s, 2 females 60s, 16 males 60s, 6 females 70s, 15 males 70s, 1 unknown 70s, 14 females 80s, 10 males 80s, 9 females 90s, 8 males 90s, 1 unknown 90
DuPage County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
Grundy County: 1 male 70s
Jasper County: 1 male 90s
Kane County: 1 male 40s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 females 70s
Kankakee County: 1 male 70s
Lake County: 1 female 30s, 1 male 40s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 80
LaSalle County: 1 female 40s
Macon County: 1 female 50s
Madison County: 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
McHenry County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Sangamon County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
St. Clair County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 70s
Will County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Williamson County: 1 male 60s
Pope County is now reporting a case of COVID-19. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 73,760 cases, including 3,241 deaths, in 98 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have processed 20,671 specimens for a total of 399,714.
All employees at Rantoul Foods will begin undergoing COVID-19 testing today, according to Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde.
An outbreak there grew to 52 positive cases among employees Thursday, with the addition of three more.
Pryde said the Champaign occupational health practice SafeWorks Illinois would begin doing testing at the plant today, with hundreds of employees still remaining to be tested.
“I believe only about 200 of the 700 employees have been tested,” she said in a Thursday afternoon media briefing.
Southern Illinois lawmakers in an online news conference Thursday called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to allow the Amateur Trapshooting Association to host its annual championship at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta this summer.
State Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, and State Rep. Nathan Reitz, D-Steeleville, spoke Thursday about the impact of the Grand American not just on Randolph County, but also on the region.
Schimpf reminded meeting attendees that the ATA is in a contract with the state of Illinois to host its yearly Grand American World Trapshooting Championship at the Sparta World Shooting and Recreational Complex. 2020 would be the 15th year for the competition in Sparta. It is currently scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 15.
However, with limitations on gatherings put in place by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to curb the spread of the sometimes deadly COVID-19 respiratory virus, the ATA’s ability to hold the contest this year has been put in doubt. Schimpf said the ATA has penned two letters to Pritzker’s office asking for a definitive yes or no to hold the event by June 15. Schimpf said the group has yet to hear a reply.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s battle against the coronavirus faces a new religious challenge in federal court, this time from churches in Chicago and Niles opposing his Restore Illinois plan and insisting on the right to worship with extensive social distancing guidelines in place.
Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago and Logos Baptist Ministries in Niles asked for a temporary restraining order Friday. Just last week, a church west of Rockford launched a similar but unsuccessful challenge that has moved on to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
But the latest lawsuit points to Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan — unveiled just this week — and the two churches laid out proposed social distancing guidelines they would implement if allowed to move forward.
Governor Pritzker, D-Illinois, announced on Wednesday that the state fairs likely won’t be happening.
Besides being a week of fun for Illinois residents, the state fair drives tourism in Springfield over the summer. The hospitality industry has already been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s no substitute for consumer demand,” said Todd Maisch, the president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “If you take one of the biggest sources for consumer demand out of the Springfield economy. There’s just no replacing that.”
Local restaurants and businesses also would lose out on tourism dollars they usually see in the summer
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US unemployment hits 14.7%, highest rate since Great Depression
Smaller Illinois businesses are landing loans in round two of the federal PPP, but doubts remain about reopening
Two local churches challenge governor’s coronavirus rules, arguing for right to worship
Chicago’s Poetry Foundation is sitting on millions — a petition asks it to do more in response to the pandemic
Mayor’s office closes Cook County Forest Preserve golf courses within city limits for the remainder of May
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Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, alongside the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), today announced the “Protecting Chicago” framework that the City will be using to guide Chicago’s reopening process amid COVID-19. The framework – organized into five phases in alignment with the State of Illinois’ “Restore Illinois” plan – will advise Chicagoans on how to safely exit from shelter-in-place while continuing to prioritize the health of our most vulnerable residents.
“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we have been committed to basing our decisions on the science and data related to this disease and communicating our actions to the public in an open and transparent way,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Though we still have a way to go before we can begin reopening our city, when the time comes, that reopening will follow our thoughtful, data-driven process aimed at ensuring all our residents and businesses are informed and supported every step of the way.”
The framework lays out how the City is thinking about reopening, and the details for each phase are being informed by economic and health data, and a combination of input from industry working groups, health experts and the public. As part of the reopening strategy, the City is soliciting public input to gauge sentiment on shelter-in-place and ensure the reopening is phased in a way that eases concerns that residents may have. To provide feedback, residents can visit https://www.chicago.gov/coronavirus/reopeningsurvey to complete a short survey.
The “Protecting Chicago” framework comprises five phases, and Chicago has already transitioned from phase one (Strict Stay-at-Home) to phase two (Stay-at-Home):
PHASE ONE: STRICT STAY-AT-HOME – Limit the amount of contact with others; goal is to limit interactions to rapidly slow the spread of COVID-19
• Essential workers go to work; everyone else works from home
• Stay at home and limit going out to essential activities only
• Physically distance from anyone you do not live with, especially vulnerable friends and family
PHASE TWO: STAY-AT-HOME – Guard against unsafe interactions with others; goal is to continue flattening the curve while safely being outside
• Essential workers go to work; everyone else works from home
• Stay at home as much as possible
• Wear a face covering while outside your home
• Physically distance from anyone you do not live with, especially vulnerable friends and family
PHASE THREE: CAUTIOUSLY REOPEN – Strict physical distancing with some businesses opening; goal is to thoughtfully begin to reopen Chicago safely
• Non-essential workers begin to return to work in a phased way
• Select businesses, non-profits, city entities open with demonstrated, appropriate protections for workers and customers
• When meeting others, physically distance and wear a face covering
• Non-business, social gatherings limited to <10 persons
• Phased, limited public amenities begin to open
• Stay at home if you feel ill or have come into contact with someone with COVID-19
• Continue to physically distance from vulnerable populations
• Get tested if you have symptoms
PHASE FOUR: GRADUALLY RESUME – Continued staggered reopening into a new normal; goal is to further reopen Chicago while ensuring the safety of residents
• Additional business and capacity restrictions are lifted with appropriate safeguards
• Additional public amenities open
• Continue to wear face covering and physically distance
• Continue to distance and allow vulnerable residents to shelter
• Get tested if you have symptoms or think you have had COVID-19
PHASE FIVE: PROTECT – Continue to protect vulnerable populations; goal is to continue to maintain safety until COVID-19 is contained
• All businesses open
• Non-vulnerable individuals can resume working
• Most activities resume with health safety in place
• Some events can resume
• Set up screenings and tests at work or with your family
• Sign up for a vaccine on the COVID Coach web portal
The epidemiological criteria for transitioning between phases are rooted in public health guidance and will be reviewed and revisited on an ongoing basis. Health-based metrics are one of the many considerations that the City is weighing to determine the details of the City’s reopening approach and sequencing. Foremost, Chicago is monitoring answers to these four questions in order to help determine when and how the transition between phases takes place:
1. Is the rate of disease spread across the city and surrounding counties decreasing?
2. Does the city have the testing and contact-tracing capacity to track the disease and limit spread?
3. Are there enough support systems in place for vulnerable residents?
4. Can the healthcare system handle a potential future surge (including beds,
ventilators and PPE)?
“While our goal is to get as many people back to work as quickly and safely as possible, we will keep data and science as the north stars of this work, as we have throughout the COVID- 19 pandemic,” said Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Allison Arwady, M.D. “We also recognize that some populations and families are suffering more than others in this crisis, and we are taking that into consideration as we prepare for reopening as well.”
A set of epidemiological factors has been established to guide the next transition from phase two (Stay-at-Home) to phase three (Cautiously Reopen), including:
• COVID-19 Case Rate (over 14 days, as a rolling average):
o Declining rate of new cases, based on incidence and/or percent positivity
• Severe Outcome Rate (over 14 days, as a rolling average):
o Stable or declining rates of cases resulting in hospitalization, ICU admission, and/or death
• Hospital Capacity Citywide (over 14 days, as a rolling average):
o Hospital beds: <1800 COVID patients o ICU beds: <600 COVID patients
o Ventilators: <450 COVID patients
• Testing Capacity:
o Test at least 5% of Chicago residents per month
• Testing Percent Positivity Rates (over 14 days, as a rolling average):
o Congregate: <30% positive tests
o Community: <15% positive tests
• Syndromic Surveillance (over 14 days, as a rolling average):
o Declining emergency department visits for influenza-like illness and/or
COVID-like illness
• Case Investigation & Contact Tracing:
o Expanded system in place for congregate and community investigations and contact tracing
The specific health criteria for transition between the latter phases will be established and released over the coming weeks to ensure the City is open and responsive to new data and information as it arises. In addition to determining the health-based metrics to move from one phase to the next, the City is actively determining the appropriate sequencing of reopening businesses and public services – taking into consideration both economic enablers such as transportation and childcare concerns, as well as keeping an eye towards economically disadvantaged populations.
Those guidelines for moving forward are different than the governor’s plan. Should be interesting to hear what he says at his own presser today.
…Adding… From the presser…
"distance even as we gradually open up and come back together? How do we take care of and safeguard our most vulnerable residents?"
Friday, May 8, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
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The increase in patients means a greater need for dialysis services, and some of those affected may need assistance getting to their appointments. During the commute, patients and transportation providers should take all necessary precautions – washing hands, wearing masks and sanitizing commonly used surfaces, including car seats and door handles. Individuals should also maintain and practice social distancing as much as possible during these rides.
IKCA urges dialysis patients to stay safe during these unprecedented times. To learn more about the Coalition, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or visit our website.
Across all of these states, most of the decline in these economic indicators occurred before official closure orders.
Even states that never put in a statewide stay-at-home order, like Iowa, South Dakota and Utah, saw significant drops in consumer spending and employment, as well as in the share of small businesses open.
This basic pattern is visible in other corners of the economy: Well before shutdown orders, restaurant reservations were plummeting. Electricity usage, which falls when office buildings and factories empty out, was dropping, too. Public transit in many cities was in free fall. So was the number of air travel passengers passing through T.S.A. checkpoints.
Such data, combined with opinion polling today, suggests that Americans who were turning off the economy on their own may not readily reopen it soon — even if officials say it’s OK to.
* Related…
* Trump administration pushed use of remdesivir, but unequal rollout angers doctors - Introduction of the first coronavirus treatment is marked by lack of transparency and incomplete medical data, physicians say
But Harmon defended his letter [to the Illinois delegation] pointing out the request for pension relief was only a part of the aid he was asking for. He said Illinois state tax revenues will be much reduced as a result of the economic slowdown caused by efforts to control the pandemic and the federal government is best positioned to help.
“Whenever there is an economic crisis in this country Congress is quick on the draw to dole millions of dollars out to Wall Street and big corporate interests,” Harmon said. “I am not at all bashful about speaking up for the state of Illinois, for our first responders, for our public employees, for our retirees, and for the people that we serve. The letter was a broad request to Congress for relief from the profound economic consequences of the pandemic.” […]
“State governments and local governments are going to need help from the federal government, the only government that can successfully deficit finance an episode like this,” Harmon said.
Harmon said his request for pension relief was taken out of the context.
“The request I made for support for pension funding was not in any way a bail out,” Harmon said. “It’s a recognition that our revenues are going to be squeezed. . . I asked for many things. I asked for block grant funding to help us patch the general hole in our revenue stream. I asked for support for the unemployment trust fund that could easily run dry with all the claims for unemployment.”
A judge on Thursday sided against an Illinois organization that claimed restrictions implemented to combat the novel coronavirus made it impossible to gather the necessary signatures to place a constitutional amendment on November’s general election ballot.
The official order was expected to be released sometime Thursday, a court clerk said.
The Committee for the Illinois Democracy Amendment is advocating for a constitutional change that would obligate the General Assembly to take roll call votes on bills proposing “stronger ethical standards for Illinois public officials.”
It would also allow residents to propose related bills by submitting a petition with at least 100,000 signatures.
The committee’s attorneys argued in a court document that social distancing and stay-at-home restrictions “forced” voters to weigh their health against their First Amendment rights.
Read the rest and you’ll see that former Gov. Pat Quinn is one of the attorneys in the case.
*** UPDATE *** Local 150 of the Operating Engineers has filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago to have the state constitution’s revision provisions declared unconstitutional, enjoined and/or modified. The union is pushing a state constitutional amendment that would outlaw “right to work” laws…
This is an action to declare unconstitutional, enjoin and/or modify the requirement contained in Article XIV, Section 2, of the Illinois Constitution which requires that proposed amendments to the Illinois Constitution be passed by the legislature at least six months prior to the next general election. This case is an emergency in light of the current public health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, which resulted in the Governor’s emergency orders effectively shutting down the State. Consequently, the General Assembly cancelled sessions in both the House and the Senate from March 18, 2020, through at least May 3, 2020.
Governor, I know you’ve said the regional breakdowns for your reopening plan are based on EMS regions. But why are counties like Grundy, Kankakee and Kendall being grouped with Cook County, which will be the last county in the state to be able to open? If the numbers are vastly different for those counties compared to Cook, could their businesses be able to reopen quicker?
So first I would say that there’s probably no way to draw these lines that would satisfy everybody.
But I’d also say that people who live in counties that are within a region where people feel like ‘Well, hey nobody in my village or my town or my city has gotten it, or I don’t know anybody who has,’ remember that many of the people in outlying counties around Cook County, around the collar counties travel in and out frequently sometimes for their job to those locations. And so that is one of the reasons why those counties are where they are. It has in part to do with the radius from from the collar counties, which have significant numbers of cases.
Not to mention that people in Cook County might very well venture forth into Kankakee, Grundy and Kendall counties.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is taking “under serious consideration” a request to leave Kankakee County and surrounding areas out of the Chicago region in his plan to reopen the state, Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst said Thursday.
Parkhurst, a Republican representative of the 79th District, said Pritzker called her Wednesday evening in response to a letter she wrote explaining her disagreements with the plan.
She said the plan “blindsided” legislators, as they were not consulted regarding their regions.
Parkhurst argued in her letter that Kankakee and Grundy counties and Peotone in southeastern Will County represent significantly fewer COVID-19 cases (less than 1 percent of the state’s total) than Chicago and its surrounding suburbs (92 percent of the state’s total).
* Some suburban mayors are also arguing that they shouldn’t be in the same region as Chicago and Cook County…
Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said by combining the city of Chicago and Cook County with the collar counties, Pritzker’s plan will prevent DuPage towns from advancing to phases with fewer restrictions.
“We can follow the plan and be successful, but we will still have to wait for Chicago and Cook County,” where the majority of coronavirus cases in Illinois have been reported, Grasso said. “He has taken our hope away.”
* Not everyone is unhappy with their regions, though…
Sangamon County falls in the central region with counties like Macon and Champaign counties.
“I know the administrators were all dealing with our own issues but also talking about the re-opening and what’s going on in our region. Those conversations have just started,” said Gail O’Neill, the Director of the Sangamon County Health Department.
Looking at data from the Illinois Department of Public Health from May 1-6, the central region had an average of 47% ICU bed availability and a COVID-19 positivity rate under the 20% threshold.
Barring a major uptick, Springfield is moving to the next phase on May 29.
* The president says states should decide when to reopen. In some states, counties that want to reopen even faster say they should decide. In some counties, mayors who that want to reopen faster say they should decide and not counties or states. And in some towns, individuals who think they should be allowed to reopen are doing so in defiance of their city, county and state. Here’s Phil Luciano…
A Peoria businessman is suing Gov. JB Prtizker, alleging the state’s stay-at-home order is unconstitutional and therefore does not apply to his business.
Further, Adam White, owner of RC Outfitters (formerly Running Central) is requesting a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the order at his business. Meanwhile, in defiance of the stay-at-home order, White has reopened the store, 311 SW Water St. […]
The Attorney General’s Office is requesting a change of venue from Peoria County to Sangamon County, the seat of which is Springfield. Its claim: because the governor’s office is in Springfield, the case should be heard there.
White’s attorney, Drew Cassidy of Peoria, counters the case should proceed in Peoria, where White’s business has suffered financial harm because of the order.
Mayor Jim Edwards says Goodfield is open for business.
Edwards on Thursday announced guidelines “to be followed by any business either when a business decides to open or when the governor’s shelter-in-place order is lifted.”
The village, which has about 860 residents, is in Woodford County.
“Look on this as a fragile opportunity and treat it as such, because nothing could be worse than to see a dramatic surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths,” Edwards said. “None of us are bullet-proof, so let’s all be cautious out there.”
Restaurants can open starting May 15 to 50 percent of the posted building capacity. They can open June 1 at 75 percent capacity.
Clark County, in southeastern Illinois, is about to implement the same sort of plan. Click here.
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has called for his community to reopen faster than is outlined as part of Governor JB Pritzker’s plan.
He says it just can’t wait. […]
Mayor Pekau posted video on social media Thursday. The village said that it may lose $2.7 million this year in sales tax revenue because of COVID-19 restrictions, so it has laid out its own plan to reopen businesses at a faster pace.
East Peoria appears to be bucking the Illinois governor in allowing some businesses to reopen before statewide coronavirus-inspired restrictions are lifted.
For now, at least, it appears Peoria won’t be joining its eastern neighbor.
City legal representatives suggest municipal officials can’t override Gov. JB Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said earlier this week.
“Even though the community has done a good job and our hospital capacity is in a decent place, we want to be respectful of the governor,” Ardis said. “He’s the governor, right?
“In a nutshell, that’s why we haven’t done anything. We don’t see we have the authority to do that.”
* And it’s being fueled in part by the behavior of surrounding states. For instance, this is from the Quad City Times…
Friday marks the reopening of parts of the economy in Scott and Muscatine counties. It doubles as a sign of hope for business owners in the Iowa Quad-Cities.
“Finally there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re not through it completely, but there’s some hope to get back to a new sense of normal,” said Amy DeFauw, owner of Katsch Boutique.
DeFauw is reopening her Davenport boutique store, 5619 Utica Ridge, at 10 a.m. Friday, while the Geneseo location remains closed for the time being. Eight stores at North Park Mall, such as Von Maur, also plan to reopen to in-store customers Friday.
Scott County is right across the river from Rock Island County. Whether or not you agree with them, it’s gotta be hugely tough for Illinois business owners to see that happening just a bridge away.
[Edgar] told the governor that, from his own experience in responding to the first days and weeks of a crisis, “what you’ve been through is kind of the easy part. Now’s the tough part — you know you’ve got to decide how to open up. If you do it too soon, you’ll kill people. If you do it too long, people go broke and they’re all going to get to grumbling, and that’s just going to happen anyway.” […]
“Listen to scientists, you’ve got to listen to the experts — and you may have to realize you might have to take a few chances,” Edgar told The Spin, noting that some of the states that are now opening up their economies will be a good barometer of how to proceed.
“When I was governor, one of the things I always said was, ‘I never wanted to be first on anything other than on election night,’” he said with a laugh. He said it underscored his approach in the office: When solving a problem or planning a new initiative, look at how other states handled something similar.
“But you know in the end you have to do what’s right, but you’ve got to … have public support to make it work, too,” Edgar said. “My definition of leadership is convincing folks to go where they don’t want to go. You can’t sit around and wait for polls — you’ve got to act but you’ve got to make sure you’re bringing the folks along with you as you do this.”
The head of a Chicago not-for-profit organization fraudulently converted or misappropriated at least $200,000 in State of Illinois grants intended to develop suburban commercial properties and fund a job training program, according to a 15-count federal indictment.
YESSE YEHUDAH operated the not-for-profit organization Fulfilling Our Responsibilities Unto Mankind, also known as FORUM. From 2013 to 2016, Yehudah, on behalf of FORUM, applied for and received three grants totaling approximately $575,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Two of the grants were intended to develop commercial properties in south suburban Dolton, while the third was meant for FORUM to operate a weatherization jobs training program. The indictment alleges that Yehudah fraudulently converted substantial quantities of the grant funds by making materially false statements and submitting false documents to the DCEO. The indictment describes several of the alleged false statements, including when Yehudah represented to the DCEO that FORUM had spent almost all of a $100,000 grant on construction work, when, in fact, no actual construction work had begun. […]
In addition to the alleged fraud in obtaining the DCEO grants, the indictment accuses Yehudah of scheming to defraud a bank. After FORUM received similar development grants from the DCEO and other federal and local agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, Yehudah issued checks from FORUM and another entity he controlled to various subcontractors, the indictment states. Yehudah then forged the subcontractors’ signatures – without their knowledge – to endorse the checks over to himself, the indictment alleges.
The indictment is here. It’s the first political-related indictment since the pandemic kicked into high gear.
In 2002, Yehudah was named in a lawsuit filed by then-Attorney General Jim Ryan after the Chicago Sun-Times reported accusations of misspent agency funds that also involved Yehudah’s FORUM charity. The lawsuit accused Yehudah and David Noffs of improperly spending charity money on an alleged kickback scheme. Noffs was a friend of then-Illinois First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan.
Reached by telephone on Thursday, Yehudah acknowledged that the FBI had questioned him about FORUM’s Dolton projects but said he didn’t know anything about any misappropriated funds.
He declined further comment, saying he was unaware that criminal charges had been filed and had yet to retain an attorney.
As the leader of FORUM, Yehudah has long had ties to South Side politicians and legislators in Springfield, using his connections to win taxpayer-funded grants for everything from youth violence prevention to computer-literacy programs.
Just about everybody who is anybody on the South Side knows Yehudah. We’ll see if this goes anywhere else.
Under Pritzker’s order, “The earliest we’d be able to open is on June 26,” Illinois Restaurant Assn. President Sam Toia said. Those restaurants initially shut in early March. “I don’t know any business that can go 16 weeks with 80 percent or more reduce income and stay viable.”
Toia urged Pritzker to move restaurants from phase four to phase three, which sets lesser standards for testing, et al. Restaurants should have to require staff to wear masks and other personal protective gear and at least initially limit capacity, as has happened in some other states, Toia said. But moving restaurants to phase three would allow some to reopen by Memorial Day weekend.
* Toia, who came to the table and bargained with the governor over his minimum wage plan and then did not stand in the proposal’s way, has kept up the public pressure on this topic…
Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said the announcement caught him, and other industry leaders, flatfooted.
“The state did not really collaborate with us,” Toia said, “and we’re the largest private-sector employer in the state of Illinois. We’re having some communication now, but the plans are already out there.” […]
“Even if it’s slowly,” he said. “Let restaurants open June 1 at 25 percent capacity, then 50 percent by June 28. Some states are already open — Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee. So we’re going to see in another 10 days if there’s a spike in cases. If there is, OK, but if not, why can’t we look at June 1?”
“And when he’s saying the earliest date is the 26th, he’s not saying which region this is,” Toia said. (Pritzker’s plan divides the state into four regions.) “Is it the South? Does that mean Northeast (which includes Chicago) waits even longer?”
The Illinois Restaurant Association is hoping to persuade Pritzker to follow models in other states, where restaurants are allowed to partially reopen at a quarter or half of their capacity.
“We’re not opening till June 26 and we’re not even sure what the occupancy will be at that time,” Toia said. “We know that it’s 50 people or less. But a restaurant with 3,000 square feet is different than a restaurant with 30,000 square feet.”
It’s something he said Illinois restaurants would be willing to try, he said.
“Chicago is an independent restaurant town,” Toia said. “That’s what makes it such a great restaurant city. But independents need cash flow, and the governments want their taxes paid. But if something doesn’t change, we’ll lose at least 25% of our businesses, some say it could be 50%. And then what?”
Then Chicago will look like DeKalb, or Bloomington, or most any other Midwest town off the interstate: with a Walgreens on one corner, a Chili’s on the next, and don’t forget that Asian crunch salad at Applebee’s, or is that TGI Fridays?
Stay tuned. Mayor Lightfoot is set to unveil the city’s “reopening framework” today at 1:30. She abruptly canceled the unveiling yesterday, claiming a scheduling conflict. Should be interesting to see if Toia is there today.
*** UPDATE *** The mayor just told the city council that Toia will be at her event.
Circuit Court Judge Ken Deihl gave a groom the signal to kiss the bride in a wedding on Friday. Days later, she tested positive for COVID-19.
Macoupin County Public Health Director Christy Blank said her staff interviewed the woman after the lab results showed she had tested positive. Blank would not confirm the identity of the infected patient, and declined to comment when asked about the wedding ceremony.
In the process of contact tracing, public health staff reviewed video footage at the courthouse that revealed the infected patient had come into close contact with several people while on the premises.
Health officials abruptly closed the courthouse to the public in order to conduct a deep cleaning on Thursday. Anxious staff who were on site for the ceremony are now undergoing testing. In lieu of a honeymoon, the newlyweds were ordered into a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
“Three employees at the Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville were exposed to and came in close contact with a person who has since tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19),” the county public health department confirmed in a press release on Thursday afternoon. Those three employees have not tested positive at this time, but are also now under a 14-day quarantine.
Deihl is a Democrat and I’m told is generally respected. But this was a really stupid thing to do…
There was some confusion/disagreement at the local level over whether marriages were allowed. Apparently, the 7th Circuit allows each county to pass its own administrative rules. While every other county put weddings off, Macoupin rules allow weddings with a two-guest limit. pic.twitter.com/EPoNbusupZ
Is the nation’s largest shopping mall owner, Simon Property Group, planning to open malls soon regardless of government orders that most stores stay shut? Emphatically not, Simon said late Thursday, shooting down media reports.
The Indianapolis-based company said it had publicly posted instructions to tenants about preparing for a possible reopening. Spokeswoman Ali Slocum said those instructions were interpreted as announcing mall reopenings. They have been pulled from Simon’s website.
Orland Park Patch carried a story that said Simon’s Chicago-area malls would be back in business May 31. No such decision has been made, Slocum said. “Simon will comply with all state and local orders and only reopen properties when permitted to do so,” she said.
The Patch story linked to company announcements that have been taken down. Similarly, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News in upstate New York said Simon had announced, then retracted, plans of reopenings. It was all a “kerfuffle,” Slocum said.
[This post’s time stamp has been altered for Friday visibility.]
* The governor focused today on unemployment insurance claims. We’ve covered most of this already. Click here and scroll down to the update about how IDES has processed 1,006,925 initial unemployment claims from March 1 through May 2. And click here for some of the upgrades done by the administration.
That’s over 1 million claims in just the first nine weeks of this crisis. Compare that to the first nine weeks of the Great Recession of 2008, when there were 180,000 claims in Illinois.
This historic number of claims has also lead to historic levels of benefits being paid out in the first four months of 2020, Illinois has paid out over $2 billion in claims. That’s $500 million more than what was paid out in all 12 months of 2019.
Remember to pardon all transcription errors.
* On to questions for the governor. Some business owners are wondering who is going to be making the final decision on when regions may move through the five phase plan. Is it county board chairpersons, mayors, teams of leaders or your office?…
Actually it’s a healthcare determination. As you saw each of the criterion for meeting the regional reopening is a healthcare measure, so it will be done by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
* Whenever you are asked about enforcing executive orders, you slough it off to the locals. You make it sound as if your orders are merely suggestions. What gives?…
Well first of all, that is how laws are enforced across the state of Illinois, by local law enforcement. We have state police, but there are 2000 State Police, and there are many many 10s of thousands of police officers all across the state that work for local and county governments, as well as sheriffs. And so it is true that laws are enforced at the local level. We expect that they will be enforced. That’s the responsibility of law enforcement officers of State’s attorneys and others at the local level.
* We hear of large businesses seeing outbreaks of COVID and reporting that information in numerous counties. In Champaign and Sangamon counties the health departments will release the names of businesses, stores where confirmed cases are at, but the Macon County Health Department refuses to provide that information, saying it is IDPH guidelines. [The rest was garbled, but it was essentially what the governor made of this.]…
I think that it is important for the people who work at those locations, and people who patronize those locations to know if there’s been an outbreak so I think it’s a responsibility to local public health department to make that known. […]
There is a mandated reporting to IDPH regarding outbreaks. And so, I think people are reporting that information to us, we are capturing the information, all the information you have regarding outbreaks is what has been reported obviously from the locals. Regarding putting out information regarding manufacturing. I don’t know if we have specific guidance related to that. So I think people are using their discretion to do what they think is appropriate in their accounts.
* A growing number of police and state’s attorneys say they will not enforce your order even if complaints are made. Have you considered utilizing state police and state licensing agencies to hold people accountable?…
Yes, and I’ve talked about that before
* The NFL is announcing its 2020 schedule this evening. If Chicago is not at phase five will even a reduced number of fans be allowed to attend games at Soldier Field?…
Well, again, we want to make sure that everybody’s safe all across the country. If the nation isn’t in a state where we can have 10s of thousands of people together in a stadium, then I don’t think you’re going to see football opening up to having fans in the stands. However, you may know that many of the leagues and teams, and I have spoken with many of them, are considering opening their seasons, or continuing their seasons without fans in the stands, so that people can enjoy sports online on TV.
* A valet for President Trump has COVID-19. Given the President’s reluctance to wear a mask, do you believe he should quarantine for 14 days and can you outline when you and your staff wear masks at the office? What’s the status of your staffer who had covid?…
Yeah I think as a leader you should set a good example for people, you should follow the rules. You can get tested after you’ve been exposed to somebody to determine whether you have COVID-19 and I would hope that the President of the United States has been tested after finding out that he’s been exposed to somebody with COVID-19. But I think that wearing face coverings in public and in offices where you can’t keep social distance, and where it may be required by the IDPH in its guidance is appropriate and we do wear face coverings in the office, it’s something that we began doing not that long ago but a number of, maybe two weeks ago, where we when we have meetings or anything else everybody is encouraged to and asked to wear a face cover.
* How does the general election fit into the new phase plan?…
Well I think you’ve heard me say this, many, many times. We need to have a mail balloting for everybody in the state of Illinois, so that we can make it much, much easier for people to vote, who otherwise may not be able to leave their homes. It’s especially true for those most vulnerable populations.
So it’s very important that we pass up a law, the legislature when they get together to make sure that we have the ability to do that in the state. Obviously, there will be in person voting as well. And so, you know how we implement that will be important, but I think that’ll be again with a lot of guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
* Was everyone given the phase three green light on May, 1, or will historical data be used for some of the regions to push forward towards reopening, is historical data back to march 20 being used at all?…
Not for the purpose of the Restore Illinois plan.
* Would you respond to complaints from the convention industry that putting them in phase five will just force them to meet in another state?…
First I would tell you that, once again, just like we were talking about large gatherings for sporting events. This is all dependent upon where we are at the time if we have a very effective treatment. And, or we have a vaccine available. Then I can’t wait to welcome people back to large gatherings to conventions and so on. I’m the first person that wants to bring business to the state of Illinois and put people back to work. So I’m looking at that, I mean in terms of when we will get to stage five, I don’t know. And, you know, we’ll be evaluating that as we go. I think, you know, again we’ve talked about the treatments that may become available before a vaccine. And I think we’ll all be watching very closely.
* You explained that your Restore regions are in part about hospital availability. Are you also looking at available beds in neighboring states that people are most likely to utilize like in Southern Illinois that includes the Paducah, St Louis, Evansville?…
Dr. Ezike: No, that’s a very good question and a very astute point that we have many different communities, both in the Quad City area in East St. Louis, other areas that border other places. We of course, know that as well as the fact that there are people who could travel into another state. There are also individuals from the other state that could come into our state so you potentially could say that that’s a wash in terms of trying to figure out what extra amount of beds, you could either add or take away based on the added population of neighboring states versus our people going to that. So they were not outside of our Illinois, all the lines were drawn within the state borders, and we did not add beds from neighboring states.
[I don’t that’s true of the area north of Paducah, however.]
* Running Central, a clothing and running store in Peoria, has filed a lawsuit against the governor for the extended stay at home order and is seeking an exemption. How do you respond?…
Once again, everybody has a right to take your case to court to file a lawsuit. But the fact is that the goal here is to keep everybody healthy and safe in every community, even in that community. And I certainly would encourage the people who might patronize, who might be patrons of that store, not to do so, and the local officials to enforce the executive order that’s in place. And again, the goal here is for us to keep everybody safe and healthy and to reopen the economy in phases. So the opportunity for that store to open may arise just in three weeks or so.
* When will the state start reporting COVID-19 recovery numbers?…
Dr. Ezike: So, I have been trying to do that on a regular basis once weekly here from the podium, and we will work to get that on the website that’s not a problem to give our percentages.
* A new study from Harvard shows Illinois among the 41 states that fall short of benchmarks for adequate testing. Is it realistic that Illinois will be able to reach the suggested target of 64,000 tests a day, what specific steps are you taking to get there?…
Every state in the country, let’s be clear, is trying to ramp up testing. We’re doing it better than most indeed, we’re, you know, number two among the top 10 most populous states in the nation. Even now, and we continue to ramp up our testing. So all I can say is that with a worldwide shortage of all of the supplies that has existed for so many weeks and with the challenge of not having any coordination of testing from the federal government or ability to gather supplies only recently, some swabs from the federal government I’m grateful for. But yeah, I mean we’re all trying to get to the you know a sense of adequacy. I don’t think 64,000 is adequate for the state of Illinois. I think we’re going to need many more tests than that. We want people to be safe when they go to work, we want to be people to be safe when they go to school. We want people to be safe in all their activities and they want to know that others have been tested around them, so that you know nobody is is without an opportunity to get a test.
* I talked with former governor Jim Edgar who said he spoke by phone with Governor Pritzker this week. Governor Edgar said they talked about the stay at home order, plan to reopen the economy and about the criticism that will inevitably come as a pandemic wears on people are out of work and or have cabin fever. He said he also shared that in crisis he learned that doing the right thing supersedes politics and praised governor Pritzker for doing that. What was your takeaway from that conversation, any advice governor Edgar had that turned up and your plan to reopen Illinois?…
I have reached out to Governor Edgar on a number of occasions since becoming governor, indeed before that. He’s someone who has demonstrated terrific leadership capabilities. I reach out to people who I think have important things to offer me as advice in difficult circumstances and I would just say that Governor Edgar, you heard some of what he did say to me, and I think the most important thing that he said, which I already knew but it’s important to hear it over and over again which is doing the right thing is always the right answer.
* Have you determined any new guidelines for hair stylists and barbers to follow for example requiring salons to use disposable capes or dividers between stations?…
We are working with industry leaders and workers in industries even now to make sure that IDPH has all the information that industries would want to see considered as they open and that they are issued guidelines for each industry, so that they are safe and, and that includes our stylists and barber shops.
* The new call center that you had mentioned, is that just for the 1099 workers in those claims? Can you describe that for me?…
It’s not just for that purpose. Although, as you can imagine there will be a new set of claims coming in and so expanding the workforce, and the capability to answer phone lines is important.
* Why was it necessary to hire 50 call center workers from a Texas company to handle 1099 Unemployment Claims beginning next week, and are all those 200 call center employees trained and ready for Monday’s launch?…
Every one of the people that is hired in that call center is from Illinois, and everyone that will be hired will be from Illinois.
And they are all trained and ready to go … I just want to be clear that the training that’s required to take a full intake form is training that’s mandated by the federal government and takes quite a long time. So some of what’s happening in that call center is answering questions, making sure that people have the right information so that they know how to fill it out when they go online when they have trouble online, they can get advice about how to get it right. So that’s some of what goes on with those folks in the new call center which which is designed to take difficult technical questions but not personal information.
* Will high school sports be determined by local school districts, or by you? Say Central Illinois region moves to the next phase, but our region up here does not. How does that happen, do they have extracurricular sports but these regions up here don’t?…
These are certainly issues that need to be worked out. Over the next few months, and it will be done together with the Illinois State Board of Education, the local authorities as well as IDPH.
* And professional teams, you touched on this a little bit but in some other states they’re kind of starting to open this stuff up, not necessarily fans but just the sports in general, what does that mean here for Illinois?…
Well, again, I’ve had conversations with league commissioners and I you know I’m absolutely I’m listen I want to get sports up and go I think people need this as an outlet. No it won’t be in person. At least not in the next month or two. But, but I think it’s very important for everybody psyche. I think, you know, we’d have some terrific sports fans all across the state of Illinois that want to see this up and running and so there’s a desire to have it work. I think they’ve got to come up with a set of plans that there’s a, you know, when you’re talking I think they’re incentivized by the way the league’s are to do the right thing, partly they’re incentivized because they have players that are worth millions of dollars to them that are going to be on the field. So, you know, I think they want to protect their for lack of better term assets. And, you know, their people. So, I am looking forward to seeing the plans that the various teams are putting together.
You haven’t seen any of those plans, no one’s come forward yet?…
No one’s come forward yet. Not to me.
* What about places like Great America Six Flags a large waterpark, do they wait for phase five to reopen or possibly phase four?…
Well, again,under the current guidance that’s been provided and that’s again with a lot of input a significant amount of input from epidemiologists and doctors, as you saw at phase four, we would only have gatherings of 50 people or less, and that was the recommendation of the experts. So obviously, that would be difficult for a waterpark or, carnival or, they’re kind of a large venue. But again I’ve said this before that the hope I think we all have is that an effective treatment I know everybody sees a vaccine is happening. Who knows when, you know, but an effective treatment I think is potentially on the horizon and that will change everything. This plan can evolve I’ve said that, we’re going to change the playbook if we need to. Because things will change as we go forward. So I’m somewhat hopeful that we’ll be able to address things, think large venues like that.
* Fox 32 wants to know about malls and specifically places like Orland Park the tax revenue comes from the mall area of town, about those kind of things…
Again, indoor venues with hundreds and hundreds of people who will be walking together,that’s an extraordinarily difficult circumstance under the epidemiological recommendations here. So, that’s something that will have to happen over the course of months and not in the immediate next phase.
* The Northwest Bible Baptist Church in Elgin, apparently your office has received a letter informing you that starting on May 17 they will resume in person services, while instituting a long list of safety and social distancing measures. Can you respond to this and what do you say to local law enforcement about making arrests?…
Well, I haven’t seen that letter and you know that I have discouraged local law enforcement from arresting people. I have not discouraged them from reminding them what their obligations are to each other and I would think that a house of worship, and a pastor would know better, and not encourage their parishioners to put themselves and their families in danger. […]
And I think that if people can just hang on a little bit longer as we bend the curve down. Yes, the curve has bent, but it has bent too flat. And as you may see in the Restore Illinois plan that we put together, we actually made it easier than the President the White House plan for regions to open up, because we essentially said as long as your hospital beds are flat or net new admissions aren’t going up over the course of this period of time and as long as your positivity rate is stable and under 20 and that there is a capacity availability, that you can open up. And I actually think that’s going to turn out to mean that some areas of the state will open earlier than the President’s plan would have suggested they could.
Is that because you think we’re going to be on this plateau for a long period of time?…
I don’t know, but I certainly am concerned that we’re going to be on a plateau for a long period of time because we all wanted,I think we saw the curves from very early on, but said you peak and then you’d head down the other side. I think I have said many times from this podium though that we don’t know. You don’t know until you see it in the rearview mirror whether you peaked. And so we could plateau, and then go up again after that, and so what I’ve said is if you can maintain a plateau for a period of time, and there is still hospital bed availability that that’s good enough, and that’s what the recommendations were, that’s the decision that I made, but I made it based on the science and data and recommendations were made to me by the experts.
* Dr. Ezike, what do you see when you look at this data, we’ve plateaued it appears. How many days have we plateaued and what do you see looking at all this?…
Dr. Ezike: I think we so successfully flattened the curve but it stayed flat for some time now and so where do we go from here is critical and effectively. May 1 did signal a change. I know in coming to work it seems like there’s quite a bit more traffic, it seems when I look about there’s a lot more people out again I’m just talking about this area and we’ve heard what’s happening in some other regions. So, the baseline has changed and so it’s very important that we look very critically at what effect that has on number of cases and number of hospitalizations so whenever we had two weeks ago, again was a result of people staying home pretty consistently. We now need to see what will happen with the new attitudes that are prevailing and the new behaviors that are prevailing and if it stays the same. That’s great, we’ll quickly move through the phases, but we have to be realistic. The more people are out, the more infections, there will be the more infections, there will be the more hospitalizations, there will be the more hospitalizations some fraction of those will go on to have severe complications and potentially die. […]
[Regarding how long we’ve plateaued] It depends on where you are. There are some places where, and again it depends on which geographic distinction you’re using, whether you’re dividing it up by counties, or by cities or by you know 11 EMS regions or but now the for Restore regions. There are places that they are still increasing the number of cases, but slowly, but they are increasing and then there are other places where it has been flat so it’s it’s different. It’s not uniform across the state, and we understand that and so that’s why we’ve looked, we’re looking very closely, every day multiple times a day just to figure out where we’re at and figure out who’s going up in what dimension who’s going down in the other dimension, at what rate, all of that and again if something, a game changer happens like a very promising cure comes out and it looks like it actually heals people not just decreases the amount of time that you’re in the hospital, they, we reset and we have to sit back down and figure out, okay, what can we lift up.
Everybody wants us to get back to normal, we want to get back to normal. I think we are sending some of the frustration towards the wrong entities. You should be sending it towards the virus and then we should all see how we can support ways to find cures if people have had the virus and want to try to donate antibodies, tried to donate their plasma we can see if there’s a potential cure there. We’re hoping that scientists can come up with a pharmacological cure. So that’s where we’re trying to go. We are following the numbers closely, we’re trying to see the trends and we want to make sure that we don’t put the citizens of Illinois in a precarious situation where if there’s a surge, if we open up that we don’t just end up where we could have been. And we’re scared to be, you know, six weeks ago.
* Sometimes there’s discrepancies in what you say. For example, the number of deaths reported. I believe the site today says 137. You said 138. Is data changing that rapidly, are there other reasons?…
Dr. Ezike: It could be that somebody has found already an additional number that needed to be added or taken away. Again it is very fluid. We’re trying to put information really faster than I’m comfortable with. But in an aggressive attempt to make sure we put everything out there, we will see that there are things that need to be corrected and adjusted but we are putting it out.
We are also the stewards of all the cancer data. So when we put out all the cases of cancer and we have a world renowned cancer registry here at IDPH. When we put out the information about cancers that occurred for a year, it can sometimes can take eight months into the next year or longer to get that information out. It takes that long to deal with this much data. And so I beg people’s indulgence. No one’s trying to hide information. It’s just to get it right, it actually takes some time and we’re not being afforded that time.
* With projections showing lower state revenue in the coming year, will you consider reductions to LGDF or the school funding formula? If so, what will that mean for local property taxes?…
There’s no doubt we have a serious budget challenge for the coming year. And so we’re looking at virtually everything that’s in the budget. But with an eye toward protecting, particularly the services that are offered to people the support that people need in this very difficult time, children included.
So, you know, we’re considering, there’s almost nothing that I would say is off the table I mean, DCFS, just give us one example. I mean people asked me about, you know what, why aren’t you just cutting the budget in some massive way? And the answer is because I want DCFS, think about it. Think about the agencies that are now front and centerm the most important agencies right now in this pandemic right. The IDPH. Think aboutthe agencies that have been underfunded for many many years. IEMA is another good example. And then add to that, like I said, DCFS and others. It’s very difficult to say that that now in this circumstance, well, now’s a good time for us to cut DCFS or now’s a good time IDES. I told you how much smaller IDES is over the last 10 years and yet now everybody’s, you know, needs it to operate at peak efficiency and, and in a way that it’s never operated before and yet it’s 500 people, fewer than it was 10 years ago. So IDPH is just another amazing example, these folks are working night and day. Each person is doing the job of three people. And so anyway, these are the difficulties of looking at how we’re going to deal with a budget going forward.
* You said on Face the Nation that you hope there aren’t too many strings attached to federal funding for Illinois. Senator Durbin said today, he thinks it’s fair that federal funding be associated specifically with the pandemic, not for pension debt. Considering the toll the virus took on state tax revenues, can you make the argument that COVID-19 blew a hole in our ability to pay pension debt, and that the feds should fill at least part of that hole?…
That is not what I’m asking the federal government to do and I don’t know that there’s any governor in the nation attesting that. What I am asking for is help replacing the lost revenues that came because of this virus. Everybody’s experienced this, you can go to the most republican state the most democratic state. You know I like the term that Mark is using blowing a hole, it really blew a hole, and you know we had a balanced budget for this year this fiscal year, and we were on our way to having a mild surplus for the year. First time I think in quite some time. And we would have used it to pay down the existing bill backlog by some amount. And now all bets are off and all bets are off indeed for the plans for having a surplus for next year, as well, unless the federal government steps up to the plate. And I think Senator Durbin has it right, that these funds should not be used for something that has nothing to do with coronavirus COVID-19 and instead should be a replacement for the revenues that we lost.
Please be advised that the session days scheduled for next week (Tuesday May 12 – Friday May 15) are cancelled. The deadline for House Bills out of Committees, which had previously been rescheduled for May 15, will be extended to Friday, May 22.
The Orland Square Mall, which has been closed since March 18 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, is slated to reopen on May 31. The Simon Property Group that owns the mall announced this week their plan to open all their Illinois mall properties on that date.
Other Simon shopping centers scheduled to reopen on May 31 include Chicago Premium Outlets, Gurnee Mills, White Oaks Mall in Springfield and Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. […]
In its reopening announcement, Simon outlined safety protocols it is taking with each mall reopening, including preemptive employee screening for coronavirus, requirements that all employees wear masks and frequently wash their hands. Employees that fail health screenings will be sent home. […]
Malls will implement occupancy limits and use “traffic measuring technologies” to ensure that occupancy does not exceed one person per 50 square feet of space, Simon said, adding, “As needed, we will restrict the number of open entrances to the property while complying with local fire code requirements, and have queuing protocols in place to manage traffic. Each tenant will be responsible for managing to targets set by state or local authorities for their leased spaces.”
It looks like they’re interpreting the EO to apply to individual stores, not the mall itself.
* The governor was asked about the mall in Orland Park today…
Again, indoor venues with hundreds and hundreds of people who will be walking together,that’s an extraordinarily difficult circumstance under the epidemiological recommendations here. So, that’s something that will have to happen over the course of months and not in the immediate next phase.
To date we have run a total of 379,043 tests for COVID-19 with 17,783 tests being resulted in the last 24 hours. Of those 17-plus thousand tests, 2641 tests were positive. That’s a 15% of positivity rate, and that brings our total number of positive cases to 70,873.
Most sadly, we report that we have exceeded 3000 deaths related to COVID for the state of Illinois. With the additional 138 lives reported as lost over the last 24 hours we now have a total of 3111 fatalities.
Regarding inpatient admissions related to COVID, 4862 individuals as of midnight were in the hospital with COVID, and of those 1253 patients are in the ICU, of those ICU patients 766 patients were on ventilators.
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,641 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 138 additional deaths.
- Clinton County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 male 30s, 2 males 40s, 2 females 50s, 5 males 50s, 1 unknown 50s, 6 females 60s, 12 males 60s, 1 unknown 60s, 9 females 70s, 19 males 70s, 10 females 80s, 14 males 80s, 17 females 90s, 6 males 90s, 1 female 100+
- DuPage County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 males 70s, 4 females 90s
- Jackson County: 1 male 60s
- Kane County: 2 females 80s, 1 female 90s
- Kankakee County: 1 female 80s
- Lake County: 2 males 60s, 1 female 80s
- Macon County: 1 female 70s
- McHenry County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Peoria County: 1 female 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 70s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 80s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 2 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 70,873 cases, including 3,111 deaths, in 97 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have processed 17,783 specimens for a total of 379,043.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported have changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted.
Today marks, our 60th daily update in a row. To the delight of many reporters who have been working these long days with us, beginning this weekend we will no longer hold weekend in person briefings. But instead, we’ll release daily medical statistics on Saturday and on Sunday.
* The city’s vital convention business is edging toward a major disaster…
Pritzker’s plan, announced Tuesday, has put the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies in an impossible situation, said President and CEO Jim Pittas.
The group’s annual PACK Expo is scheduled for Nov. 8-11 at McCormick Place, and last year drew about 71,000 people. Pittas said he doubts a vaccine will be available by then, and is unsure what would constitute a readily available treatment option.
Pittas said he is worried that canceling without a specific mandate from the city or state might make it harder to file an insurance claim. “Right now, we can’t plan for a show and we can’t cancel it. We’re right in between with no clear direction,” he said. “We’re in no man’s land right now.”
Between July and December, McCormick Place is scheduled to host 67 events with an expected attendance of 781,168 people, said spokeswoman Cynthia McCafferty. Those meetings and conventions translate to 585,199 nights in hotel rooms and generate $922.7 million in economic impact, including spending on food and entertainment.
If the conventions are canceled, they’ll probably move to an “open” state like Florida and might never come back. But if Illinois allows hundreds of thousands of people from all over creation to attend conventions, the region risks a series of major and potentially disastrous outbreaks.
* Gov. Pritzker said the other day that he didn’t think we’d see a meat shortage. Welp…
“Where’s the beef?” has been a marketing slogan associated with Wendy’s for more than three decades, but customers have literally been asking the question in recent days as the Dublin, Ohio-based fast food chain fights COVID-19-related meat shortages.
Just over 1,000 Wendy’s restaurants — or nearly 20% — had no beef items available on their online menus Monday night, according to an analysis by Stephens Inc., an investment bank.
In a statement, the company said it was continuing to supply hamburgers to its restaurants, but that “some of our menu items may be in short supply from time to time at some restaurants in this current environment.”
The chain’s three Springfield stores are limiting customers to single-patty burgers to deal with the supply crunch, according to employees at those locations.
One key requirement for moving to a less restrictive phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s economic restoration plan is 14 consecutive days of no more than 20% of COVID-19 tests being positive.
That countdown did not start on Wednesday, when the infection rate was 22.8% in the region that includes Chicago and the suburbs, according to a Daily Herald analysis of Illinois Department of Public Health infection and testing records. […]
Statewide, the infection rate Wednesday was 15.2%. The rate has declined significantly in the past two weeks as more testing has become available.
Illinois State Representative Terri Bryant has sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker to express her disapproval of the state’s reopening plan when it comes to religious gatherings.
The 5-phase plan Gov. Pritzker revealed on Tuesday does not allow for gathering of more than 50 people until the requirements of Phase 5 have been met.
In a letter to the governor, Rep. Bryant said this part of the plan goes against allowing people to freely worship.
“That, to me, is completely unacceptable. If my church calls for a regular in-person worship service prior to the state reaching Phase 5, I can guarantee that I will be one of the first parishioners through the doors,” wrote Bryant. “Quite simply, when it comes to your plan for how I am ‘allowed’ to worship, I will not comply.”
Illinois congressional delegation seeks extension of 2,000 National Guard troops to assist with pandemic through June
Chicago Park District summer camp season will be abbreviated
Chicago doctors — mostly moms — join together to advise officials and the public. ‘We can’t not say something.’
Field Museum to host blood drives
Lightfoot cancels news conference to outline Chicago’s plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions
Harborside golf course forced to close Thursday by city
COVID-19 in Illinois, the US and the world: Timeline of the outbreak
Wave of infections from New York travelers swept through US before city began social distancing measures, research shows
Chicago can’t reopen without decrease in the number of coronavirus cases, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says
Latino communities in Illinois see uptick in COVID-19 confirmed cases: “Physical distancing is a privilege”
The high-rise office you left in March may not resemble the one you’re going back to. Here’s what workplaces may look like after the coronavirus shutdown.
Extremists and conspiracy theorists often use protests or rallies to spread their beliefs, but the pervasiveness and extensive media coverage of lockdown protests – which actually represent a minority opinion – has created an irresistible public platform.
There is ample evidence of extremists using these rallies to broadcast their beliefs. Members of the Three Percenters, a wing of the anti-government movement, attended events in Michigan, Oregon, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and California
A wing of the militia movement that arose as part of a resurgence of the militia movement in 2009. The term “Three Percenter” refers to the erroneous belief that only 3% of colonists fought against the British during the Revolutionary War—but achieved liberty for everybody. Three Percenters view themselves as modern day versions of those revolutionaries, fighting against a tyrannical U.S. government rather than the British. With anyone able to declare themselves a Three Percenter, the concept allowed many people to join who were not suited, physically or by inclination, to engage in paramilitary activities. The Three Percenter logo—the Roman numeral III—has become very popular among anti-government extremists.
* So I asked the ADL what evidence they had that those folks were at an Illinois rally. They referred me to this tweet. Check out the Roman numeral III on the rally sponsor’s sign…
Every politician who spoke at the rally stood in front of that sign, including Kendall County GOP Chair James Marter, Rep. Dan Caulkins and Rep. Darren Bailey.
* Orphans of the American Dream has a podcast and a Facebook site. Here’s its logo…
The Reopen Illinois rally was organized on Facebook by Orphans of the American Dream. Participants want their voices heard as Governor JB Pritzker extends the stay-at-home order on May 1. Pritzker announced changes coming to his executive order during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve honestly been watching the press conferences from President Trump and Governor JB Pritzker and just been getting more and more infuriated every time we watch them,” said Matthew Walder who organized the rally. Walder was happy with the turnout, despite the rain. “I can’t even imagine if it was nice out, how many people would be here.” A similar protest took place at the Capitol on April 19 as part of the national Operation Gridlock.
Walder hosts a podcast for Orphans of the American Dream, but he says this isn’t a partisan issue. “I think this is medical tyranny and our economy is about to crash, let’s be frank. That’s what we’re worried about. There are businesses that are probably closed off now that probably won’t open again, and that’s a travesty,” Walder said.
I’ve reached out to the group via Facebook. I’ll let you know what they say.
…Adding… From comments…
I’m one of the hosts of that podcast you speak of. We are not actually associated with any militia groups whatsoever. We are a news podcast and social media page. Just 3 guys who like to talk about politics. Listen to our show and you will find the facts. Thank you
* Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) proposed his own re-opening plan today. You can click here to read it. It’s probably not the worst idea in the world, but it’s not great. His mask mandate applies only to employees, not customers, for instance. But, hey, at least he has a plan, which is more than I can say for others (like the Tribune).
The totally predictable and hilarious part, however, is the reaction from his online legion of fans. Lots ain’t happy…
SERIOUSLY? Who, what or when did Bailey get bought out by???
Holy cow! Way too much nanny state guidelines still here. To take temperature every day in each phase and sometimes twice a day.
Churches & restaurants, & small businesses just need to get open NOW
Take the STUPID non life saving, life hindering mask out of the equation. I want my immune system to stay in tack!
So to put it in simple terms, we’re screwed till Nov.7. No pay no constitutional rights and no help. Good thing we pay these guys.
With some of these restrictions some of these businesses might as well not even open.
There should be no mandatory face masks or mandatory vaccination
Way to much stuff to worry about! Wash hands and stay home when sick.
Why are we still playing this game?
So even in phase 3- Public venues like community centers can’t even open?
You have got to be kidding !!! way to many guidelines !
I’m not a fan of this plan.
WOW. I thought you were fighting
This is still bu*****t
To be fair, there are several supportive comments. And, again, kudos to Bailey for doing more than just throwing rocks. But I wonder how long he stands by this proposal, or if he’ll quietly disown it like the White House has done with its plan.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture instructed 26 inspectors in the Weights and Measures division to return to work on Monday, the same day Governor J.B. Pritzker warned private businesses who reopen too soon that they could “be taking on liability.”
State law requires the Department of Agriculture to inspect gas pumps, small scales, fuel trucks, propane trucks, large scales, grain elevators, warehouse receipts and other measures as a form of consumer protection and safety. Only the gas pump inspectors have been called back to work.
“We’re grabbing a nozzle four times after thousands of people grabbed it days before, and then we go to the next pump to do the same thing,” 15-year veteran inspector Scott Miller said in a phone call on Tuesday.
“If the station has one gas pump with the virus on it, by the time I get done, all pumps have the virus on it,” Miller said. “Even wearing wearing rubber gloves, it’s still on the gloves. So it’s not getting me, but I could be spreading it all across the station. So then, everybody who pulls up at that station has the possibility of getting the virus.”
According to emails obtained by WCIA, Miller is one of several concerned inspectors who fear that without the proper personal protective equipment and training, they could unintentionally act as state-sanctioned super spreaders of COVID-19.
“They gave us no training at all,” he said. “They gave us some CDC guidelines and some YouTube videos.”
* The Illinois Federation of Teachers represents the workers, so I reached out to the union…
“The Illinois Federation of Teachers has been in communication and is working closely with the DOA to make sure all employees are safe and that training is available so that they can execute their job safely - with proper PPE and practices in place that inhibit the spread of COVID-19 when they return,” said Monica Trevino, IFT’s Director of Communications. ”Additionally, the Products and Standards employees have not returned to active status in the field and are still in remote work status.”
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* Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, speaking yesterday…
I think it’s pretty clear if we had something that would decrease the rate of fatalities, if we could decrease the rate of people ending up in the hospital, you know, something that maybe can shorten the severity such that people don’t end up hospitalized, don’t end up in the ICU, anything like that would be a complete game changer in terms of people could say, well, maybe I could go out because it’s less likely that I’ll end up hospitalized, it’s less likely that I’ll end up in the ICU, it’s less likely that I’ll die. Maybe it’s something that would cause a situation where elderly people weren’t so disproportionately hit and so if you interacted with Grandma, you think that there’s a treatment should she get the virus, there’s a treatment that she wouldn’t die. So it’s pretty clear like if we have something that is effective, that we know can actually decrease either hospitalization rate or fatality, that would be a completely different story than what we have now.
The governor has talked about his “three Ts” for a while now: Testing, Tracing and Treatment.
Testing has finally gotten to a point where we are significantly above the national average. Tracing, which has been done so far by counties and community health agencies, will be ramped up statewide later this month. And that beginning will allow regions to check a box that’ll allow them to move to the next phase.
Treatment appears to be on the horizon. Until then, what’s the point of going back out into the world and running up the infection rate while not having any treatment available for people who will most definitely get sick?
After nearly seven weeks of battling COVID-19 while enduring economic and emotional hardship, it’s reasonable for Illinoisans to ask whether the goals of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order are being met. Or, to put it in terms every anxious resident feels: When can the state reopen and life begin to resemble normal?
People are dying of the coronavirus, but many lives are being saved. That’s because everyday activities have been suspended or curtailed, and people are taking this pandemic seriously while practicing social distancing. The rate of infection has slowed enough to allow hospitals here to manage caseloads. That’s what success was supposed to look like. Illinois is, indeed, bending the curve on an escalating health pandemic we feared could overwhelm hospital resources. […]
Pritzker’s latest plan extends the benchmarks for victory from bending the infection curve to defeating the virus altogether. Schools would not reopen and restaurants and gyms would not be able to open with capacity limits (that’s Phase 4) until testing and contact tracing are in full use and there has been no overall increase in hospital admissions for 28 days.
His 28-day yardstick exceeds the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention benchmark that calls for opening up a state or region after seeing a downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period.
1) Does the editorial board read its own editorials? Those last two paragraphs are contradictory. It’s actually easier and very likely quicker to meet Pritzker’s 28-day goal of no increases in hospitalizations than it is to meet a 14-day goal of consistently declining cases. No region could meet that White House goal.
2) The Chicago Tribune is deemed an essential business. Editorial board members are free to go back to the office today. So, let me know when every member of that editorial board is meeting together in person, including any with health problems like diabetes. Maybe bring in groups of legislators (who are also deemed essential workers) to talk in person about their own plans to reopen. In other words, you first, Tribune.
3) The editorial takes no position on when the state should “return to normal.” Indiana’s governor put hard and fast dates into his reopening, but it’s getting bigtime pushback, even from churches…
Holcomb said churches would serve as “a test or control group” because he thought they would be the most responsible body to let fully reopen.
Most mainstream sects didn’t buy in, and one Gary Baptist preacher was insulted being called a “control group.”
Leaders from Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist churches urged congregations to continue with online, not in-person services.
During a private call on Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott admitted that “every scientific and medical report shows” state reopenings “ipso facto” lead to an increase in novel coronavirus cases, even as he publicly announced plans that same week to end an executive stay-at-home order in the state.
“How do we know reopening businesses won’t result in faster spread of more cases of COVID-19?” Abbott asked during a Friday afternoon phone call with members of the state legislature and Congress. “Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening—whether you want to call it a reopening of businesses or of just a reopening of society—in the aftermath of something like this, it actually will lead to an increase and spread. It’s almost ipso facto.”
He’s right. So if the goal is, as the Tribune points out and even supports, to keep the curve below a level that doesn’t overwhelm the healthcare industry, how does a much more robust reopening accomplish that goal?
Pritzker didn’t move the goalposts, the Tribune did.
State Supt. of Education Carmen Ayala in a Facebook live interview with State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch this week laid out a number of possibilities for how school might look in the fall, including a return at “full force” — but said it will all depend on how controlled the pandemic is statewide in the coming months.
She specifically referred to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 5-point plan for reopening the state that he revealed Tuesday, which said schools could potentially be a part of Phase 4, requiring the region in which a district is located to have seen a “continued decline” in virus infection rates and hospitalizations.
“How soon we start the school year, that will all depend on the phase we are in, come August, come September,” she told Welch, a Democrat from Westchester. “We will have to see where we are with the coronavirus to determine how much we can gather, if it’s going to be 10, if it’s going to be 50, what that might look like.”
What’s certain, she said, is summer school will be held remotely. After that, she wants districts and schools to prepare for various possibilities and come up with a “plan A, plan B and plan C.”
There could be remote learning in the fall, or “we may see a combination where some children are allowed to come to school on certain days, or we take the upper grades and we are able to spread them out in the school building with social distancing norms,” she said.
* We’ve talked a bit about the IDPH guidelines for the General Assembly when legislators return to session. But I thought you might want to see the entire document, so here it is…
Mission and Purpose:
This document provides guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to the members of the General Assembly and legislative staff in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Illinois. These recommendations will ensure the public health and safety of legislators, legislative staff and other support personnel.
Travel and Stay in Springfield:
• Members who either share a residence or a hotel room in Springfield, use individual hotel rooms in order to continue the practice of safe social distancing.
• Public transportation and ridesharing should be used for essential travel only. When possible, drive yourself.
Upon entry to the Illinois State Capitol:
• IDPH recommends that the Secretary of State (“SOS”) should have the Capitol Police screen all those entering the capitol for a temperature of 100F degrees or greater and/or other symptoms.
• SOS should have a robust sanitizing practice in the Capitol multiple times a day, with special attention to door handles, elevator buttons, and other frequently touched surfaces.
• SOS should maintain limiting the number of people into the State Capitol (only state employees directly supporting session, which means excluding lobbyist and the public).
• If a member is feeling ill, they should NOT travel to Springfield for session. While in Springfield if a legislator becomes ill or symptomatic, they should call their doctor, a nurse hotline, any telehealth hotline set up specifically for COVID-19 or an urgent care center. If they are experiencing symptoms, they should return home and follow the guidelines provided by their physician.
• If a member has a serious underlying medical condition they should NOT travel to Springfield for session.
• IDPH advises that members 65 years of age or older should consider NOT traveling to Springfield for session.
• The common areas that include the Rotunda, and the House and Senate galleries should remain closed to the public.
• Signs should be displayed around the state capitol reminding staff and legislators to wash their hands and practice social distancing (i.e. coughing or sneezing into elbow, and using hand sanitizer)
In- Person Floor Debates and Voting:
• IDPH recommends only requiring necessary staff in the chamber. Those would include the following: Chair, parliamentarian, clerk, member presenting the bill and one appointee from each caucus to ask questions, essential doormen and sergeant at arms, and essential staff support for substantive items.
• Only necessary members should be on the floor and voting, per the leader’s agreement in advance and only enough to meet the minimum quorum requirements. Members should be arranged so they are six feet away from the next member. This may require having members occupy the gallery space.
In- Person Committee Hearings and Voting:
• IDPH recommends all meetings, such as committee pre-meetings, caucuses, and negotiation sessions for bills, should be conducted via phone or video conferencing system in advance.
• If committees are held, bills should be agreed upon prior to committee, to avoid unnecessary debate.
• Only necessary staff should be present.
• Consider only the minimum number of legislators necessary to establish a quorum (i.e. Chairman, Vice Chairman, Minority Spokesperson and limited designated members).
• If debate must take place, agree to vote the bill on a partisan roll call so that Chair and Minority Spokesperson of each committee can perform the business of their caucus.
• Only two larger committee rooms should be used so that members can be arranged six feet away from the next member.
• Only legislators should be there, witnesses who want to testify must do so by providing written testimony that can be read into the record (rather than in person).
• Members of the public can still engage with the democratic process by live steaming, engaging with their legislator by means of communication that include emails, telephone, and by filing an electronic witness slip.
• Capitol staff should stay in their workspaces as much as possible or continue to work remotely if possible. If Capitol staff need to report to work, staff’s workspaces should be six feet away from each other.
Upon adjournment:
• IDPH recommends social distancing and isolation for at least seven days post legislative session.
Frontline nursing home workers who were poised to start a historic strike on Friday have reached a tentative agreement with nursing home owners for a two-year contract with significant wins that will help safeguard both workers and residents through the current pandemic and beyond.
The agreement impacts over 10,000 members of SEIU Healthcare who provide care to residents at the 100+ nursing homes of the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities. The contract gains are a testament to the courage and commitment of workers who were poised to strike at 64 facilities in order to protect themselves and the residents for which they care during this time of unprecedented vulnerability and risk.
The workers won significant contract gains, including:
• Higher baseline wages bringing all workers above $15 an hour and establishing greater parity in wages across geographic areas
• Hazard pay for all workers for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis
• Additional fully paid sick days for COVID-19 related testing, illness or quarantine for duration of the crisis
• Provisions ensuring that employees are not required to work without adequate PPE as determined by regulatory agencies for the duration of the crisis
All of the major contract gains will help safeguard the health and safety of workers and the residents for which they care—at a time when both are vulnerable to the risks associated with COVID-19. While residents are at increased risk of the virus due to age and compromised health, workers face increased negative impacts from coronavirus due to their history of poverty wages, lack of paid time off, and the underlying health conditions that often accompany poverty. Additionally, a majority of workers are African-American, and a disproportionate number of African-American lives have been claimed by COVID-19.
Significantly, the agreement continues to build on the progress made by nursing home workers in recent years to lift wage standards for the industry.
The tentative agreement was overwhelmingly supported by members of the bargaining committee, but must be ratified by the larger group of members who will be impacted by its terms.
*** UPDATE *** Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities…
The Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities is proud that is has negotiated the largest wage hike in our history for our employees. With base pay raises up to 24%, the IAHCF has achieved the Fight for $15 ahead of the city and state for our dedicated employees on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. This two-year contract includes $2 per hour COVID bonus pay for all 10,000 employees during the duration of the stay-at-home order and beyond, as well as expanded paid sick leave. While negotiations have ended, this insidious virus has not. We are grateful a walkout was avoided, and that our heroic staff members will continue caring for our vulnerable seniors as we fight this battle together.
Thursday, May 7, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Democrats, who have a supermajority in both legislative chambers, were assumed to control the 2021 remap. However, a move by the Census Bureau could delay population data being sent to the states until July 31, 2021 putting that control in jeopardy.
If census officials win a delay, the Illinois Constitution outlines a process that calls for the appointment of an eight-member commission, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, to draw maps. If they cannot agree, a ninth member – either Democrat or Republican – is randomly chosen, allowing either party the opportunity to gerrymander to their partisan advantage.
Our democracy is too important to be left to a game of chance.
We need an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission to determine maps that are fair and equitable for all communities across Illinois.
Let’s end partisan gerrymandering and create a process that gives power back to the people.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 74,476 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 27 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]
During the week of April 20, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates 81,245 new unemployment claims were filed in Illinois.
During the week of April 20, there were 3,169,000 new claims filed across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 102,736 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 13 in Illinois
*** UPDATE *** Yikes…
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) today released new statewide data showing the department processed 74,476 new initial unemployment claims for the week ending May 2, and with upward revisions from weeks past, has now processed 1,006,925 initial unemployment claims from March 1 through May 2. This nearly 12 times the number of claims the department processed over the same period last year, when IDES processed just 78,100 initial unemployment claims.
Statewide unemployment claims data, which reflects activity for the week prior, will be available on the IDES website every Thursday afternoon. Previous initial claims data has undergone an upward revision to properly account for a number of successfully processed claims. While the number of initial claims has slightly declined over the last two weeks, IDES may experience an increase when the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program becomes available on Monday, May 11, 2020.
Workers who believe they may be eligible for new federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, must first apply for regular unemployment insurance before applying for benefits under PUA when a new application portal opens on Monday via the IDES website.
Claimants who receive an eligibility determination of $0 can then appeal that decision by providing verification of wages earned or they can submit a claim for PUA benefits. Claimants who have already applied for and been denied regular unemployment benefits can submit a claim through the new PUA portal when it opens. Receiving a denial for regular unemployment benefits is a mandatory first step in determining eligibility for PUA.
PUA provides 100% federally-funded unemployment benefits for individuals who are unemployed for specified COVID-19-related reasons and are not eligible for the state’s regular unemployment insurance program, the extended benefit (EB) program under Illinois law, or the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (PEUC), including independent contractors and sole-proprietors. Up to 39 weeks’ worth of benefits are potentially available under the program for COVID-19-related unemployment claims.
IDES is contracting with Deloitte to implement and maintain the web-based PUA program. While a program of this magnitude would normally take up to a year to design and implement, the department worked swiftly to get the program up and running within 4 weeks.
PUA claims will be backdated to the individuals’ first week of unemployment, but no earlier than February 2, 2020, and will continue for as long as the individual remains unemployed as a result of COVID-19, but no later than the week ending December 26, 2020. The program is similar to the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance program which provides unemployment benefits in response to local disasters.
