* Illinois State Board of Elections…
Independent and new party candidates seeking placement on the Nov. 3 ballot will be required to submit only 10 percent of the normal number of nominating signatures and will file petitions six weeks later than originally scheduled under a court order issued Thursday by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.
The order was in response to a lawsuit by the Libertarian Party of Illinois, the Illinois Green Party and several independent candidates alleging that concerns over COVID-19, including a statewide order limiting social contact, impaired their ability to gather sufficient signatures and meet the June 22 filing deadline for new party and independent candidates. Under the order, new party and independent candidates will file nominating petitions with the State Board of Elections from July 31-Aug. 7.
In addition to reducing the number of signatures required by candidates, the order allows the Libertarian and Green parties to place candidates on the November ballot without filing nominating petitions for any offices in which those parties fielded candidates in either the 2016 or 2018 general elections. This means both parties can place candidates for president and U.S. Senate on the November ballot. The Green Party also can name candidates to the ballot in the 5th and 12th congressional races.
Other independent and new party candidates will be required to submit 10 percent of the statutory signature requirements for offices on the November ballot. This reduces the original 25,000 signature requirement for presidential, U.S. Senate, Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court candidates to 2,500 signatures. Signature requirements for other offices on the November ballot vary by office, and the original requirements are listed in the 2020 Candidates Guide, which is attached to this release.
The order also drops the requirement that signatures on nominating petitions be original, physical signatures. A physical “wet” signature would still be permitted but not required on the candidate’s petition. Petition signers may physically sign a copy of a candidate’s petition, or they may electronically sign their handwritten signatures to the petition using a finger or a device such as a computer mouse or stylus. Photocopies of signatures also will be permitted.
The order is here. I’m kinda wondering if the folks behind Sam McCann’s Conservative Party might try to take advantage of this. I asked earlier today, but haven’t yet heard back.
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House cancels next week’s session
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Jessica Basham…
Good afternoon, members and staff –
First, please note that the session days scheduled for next week (Tuesday, April 28 through Thursday, April 30) are cancelled. The deadline for House Bills out of Committees, which had previously been rescheduled for April 30, will be extended to Thursday, May 7. The 3rd Reading deadline for House Bills, which had previously been rescheduled for May 8, will be extended to Friday, May 15.
Attached you’ll find a summary of yesterday’s call hosted by the White House, as well as some recent guidance from FEMA concerning the use of PPE in non-healthcare settings. I think essential businesses that are not healthcare-related will find this instructive.
Summer of White House call is here. FEMA guidance is here.
Any guesses when they’ll come back?
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* Background is here. Press release…
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John M. Madonia has issued a TRO this afternoon following a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association earlier this week related to emergency amendments filed by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission seeking to change substantive provisions under the Workers’ Compensation Act. While the lead plaintiffs on this case are the IMA and IRMA, more than two dozen business groups from every segment of the economy are supporting this effort.
…Adding… I’m told the state has to respond by April 30 and both parties will reconvene on May 4 for potential arguments.
*** UPDATE *** Click here for the TRO.
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* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
The new Stay At Home order that includes many recommendations from the House Republican caucus is the first step in moving Illinois forward. Working together and implementing smart policy decisions will increase the safety of Illinois residents and allow our economy to begin opening up in an equitable fashion while still protecting employees and customers. I want Illinoisans to know that the Executive Order is not final, but it is a working document subject to change. While I am pleased with today’s actions, we must do more to restore economic vitality of the state while maintaining the health and safety of our citizens.
* Rep. Darren Bailey…
– State Rep. Darren Bailey filed a lawsuit today (April 23) against Governor J.B. Pritzker for a violation of civil rights.
“My lawsuit asks the court to find that Gov. Pritzker overextended his power by issuing additional ‘stay at home’ orders after his original disaster proclamation, which expired on April 9th, 2020,” said Bailey
(R-Xenia). “Enough is enough. I filed this lawsuit on behalf of myself and my constituents who are ready to go back to work and resume a normal life.”
While special emergency powers were granted to the governor through the Emergency Management Act in the late 1980’s by the Illinois General assembly, the unprecedented power and authority he wields under the current crisis calls for an immediate review and reconsideration of legislative intent.
Complaint. Legal brief.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady…
I am pleased this stay-at-home extension contains recommendations submitted by Senate Republicans that will ease some of the onerous restrictions on small businesses, essential health care procedures, and state parks. This will allow residents the opportunity to avail themselves of these activities and services while maintaining the proper social-distancing protocols.
However, one area not included in this extension was a regional, phased-in reopening of our state. Downstate communities, while following the proper social distancing guidelines, are not seeing the same number of cases, but they’re suffering just the same economically.
Thirty days is a long time, and the Governor has said the peak could be reached by the end of this month or early May. He must continue to monitor the data with the hope that we can ease restrictions before May 30 if it is safe to do so. We have to realize COVID-19 is our new normal, and it is time to address how all businesses, essential or otherwise, operate safely.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
At every step of the response to this deadly pandemic, the Governor has followed the guidance of public health experts and used the emergency powers authorized in State law to protect the health and lives of all Illinoisans.
As the experts outlined today, we are now seeing that the stay at home orders and other emergency steps have started to slow the spread of the coronavirus and are making a significant difference.
Now is not the time to stop our work, because we must remember lives are at stake. It is truly unfortunate that a legislator is working against our public health efforts.
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* On to questions for the governor. Remember to pardon all transcription errors. Are you saying that doctors and patients can now start making appointments to do procedures beginning May 1st for such things as MRIs, mammograms, colonoscopies and other potentially life saving measures?…
Dr. Ezike: So yes, we’ve been working very hard to try to come up with very safe ways that we can help these postponed procedures and surgeries, which, after postponing them for too long could actually become more of a harm to the patients, instead of a benefit.
And so we will roll out details in the coming days, but we are trying to make a healthcare, more accessible, these specific surgeries and procedures, and we will be working with our partners, the Illinois Health and Hospital Association to try to find the best media in terms of keeping beds available for COVID patients in case there is the surge, in case there’s any change in what happens with that, and make sure that we won’t undo any of the benefits that we’ve done so far.
* Greg Bishop at the Center Square apparently thinks the governor can unilaterally break the AFSCME contract, or just wanted to ding Pritzker: The state is scheduled to give union workers $261 million in raises. How do you justify those raises to people who are out of work and struggling to file unemployment benefits and pay their daily bills?…
Yeah. So, as you know, these are contracts negotiated after four years of no contracts for those workers, and no raises at all. And so that’s why those contracts are in place now. I was able to negotiate something with them. We certainly keep in close contact, we’re watching the budget very closely. But suffice to say that that’s the reason that those exist. If you look at the four years of no raises and the negotiated raises that were in those contracts, they’re very reasonable for the taxpayers and I think, again, we’re looking at all the constraints of the budget going forward and we’ll continue to make changes to the budget because that’s something tha the February budget that was proposed is no longer a budget that we can ever [garbled] so there are 261 million could be readjusted.
* Are you aware of the results of a study that was put out today that found the COVID-19 has spread through air conditioning systems at a restaurant in China?…
Dr. Ezike: I am not aware of that but I will make sure that my team researches that so that we can be aware of all the current information that’s coming out so thank you for sharing that.
I’m kinda stunned that she didn’t know about that.
* What are your thoughts about the recommendations concerning the letter that Minority Leader Jim Durkin put out today, expressing his desire for you to share the modeling numbers in detail with legislative leaders as well as the public?…
Well I think one of the purposes of today you know, he and one of his colleagues in the House have wanted to see the models, and as I’ve said to them many times, there are multiple models and the modeling doesn’t determine my answers to, you know how we’re going to move forward, but it is instructive for sure. So this is an assistance I think everybody to understand what we’re looking at. But this isn’t even the only thing that I’m looking at so the idea that somehow sharing one model with people is going to somehow instruct them about what next moves we’re going to make, I think is a fallacy.
* You’ve been accused by some including some Illinois Republican lawmakers of operating in a bubble, would you commit to holding a virtual town hall to hear directly from Illinois residents about the economic problems that they are facing?…
Well the accusation that I’m operating in a bubble is ridiculous.
First of all, I think everybody on my staff and the Republican members of the House and Senate and the leaders themselves know that I make frequent calls every day to them, to many of their constituents, to mayors, [and] Brad Cole knows there are quite a number of mayors all across the state that I’ve reached out to. I’ve tried to make myself accessible in every way that I can we’re also in a stay at home order. I’m trying hard to reach out as we all are using zoom and other methods of communication with people, and I’ll continue to do that for as long as we’re in this situation.
* WIND’s Amy Jacobson says that, preface that by saying this, Mitch McConnell has said he won’t provide federal bailout funds for state pension funds but he would support a provision to allow states to file for bankruptcy. You have said you don’t want such a such a provision and wouldn’t use it. If a reorganization was good enough for Puerto Rico, with less debt per capita than Illinois, why isn’t it good enough for Illinois? And if it’s not good enough for Illinois, what options would you necessarily consider absent a federal bailout?…
So, I would like to say that Amy clearly doesn’t understand what happens when an organization goes through a bankruptcy and out the other side.
The cost of borrowing, the cost of doing business goes way up much beyond where we are now. We would be paying interest at usurious rates. Our state would be in a world of hurt, people wouldn’t want to do business in fact with a state that’s gone through bankruptcy with the idea that, well if you’ve gone through it once you might go through it again.
And the fact is states are not allowed to declare bankruptcy, and it’s a good thing.
What we do need to do is make sure that we do as I was doing before we got to this crisis, which is to balance our budget on a regular basis to begin to build surpluses so that we can pay down existing bills, that were there before I came into office to make sure that we’re continuing the services that people need in the state, while also being fiscally responsible.
* Cisco Cotto says there are several downstate counties that are being devastated economically, even though they have very few infections. Why not allow those areas to reopen across the board?…
Well, as you can see from some of the changes that we made in the executive order, I listened to many people downstate and in areas where there were let the lower infection rates, lower hospitalizations, so that we could make it more accessible for them to do certain kinds of things that we thought will not spread the infection, but will allow areas that have a different set of characteristics than let’s say an area of downtown Chicago. To be able to operate in a different fashion so that’s that’s built in I talked about some of those things in my remarks.
* A study finds that 88% of COVID-19 patients who are on ventilators in New York, passed away. Do you know what the percentage is here in Illinois?…
Dr. Ezike: I have been following more national and international data, I don’t have Illinois specific data. But across the board we have seen rates of 50 to 80% mortality on events, and we have learned I know from talking to ICU and pulmonary specialists that people are trying different more innovative ways to try to increase the oxygenation in patients who are suffering respiratory distress and that involves putting people on their stomach and rotating them in the different positions to try to get oxygen to different parts of the lungs. So we are seeing that here.
* How much testing do we need in Illinois in order to go about normal life before a vaccine is widely available? What’s the figure in terms of tests per capita? Have we hit a ceiling in our ability to test in the nation or in Illinois because of a lack of testing materials available? What about the spread of the disease in Illinois, do we not know yet?…
>Let me start by answering the question about how many tests, do we need per capita, what’s the right number. It’s very difficult to say and the reason that you know when you talk to the experts around the country, about this, they will give you different answers.
And it is certainly different in different industries, obviously, what you’d like to do in certain industries like the nursing home industry is you would like to be able to test every person, every day on a rapid test basis. So add all of that up and that’s some number of tests that you start with, and that’s just nursing homes. We want to do that in each setting in where you’ve got somebody who has a comorbidity that might put them at risk. So that’s why nobody’s really come up with quite the exact number.
What I can tell you is, as you know, I set an initial goal here for Illinois, because remember when I set the goal we were only in the few thousands range of testing. I set an initial goal of let’s get to 10,000 that seemed like a pretty big number. And it still is, we aren’t there yet, but we’re getting closer. And then the question I’m certainly thinking about this too. What’s the next goal. We’re not going to be able to immediately go from 10,000 to 250,000.
So what’s the next goal what’s possible? And how would we use the tests if we could come up with a number that’s possible in the near future over the next let’s say the two months? Hence, how would you use those tests right if you came up with that number?
So that’s how we’re operating now because the truth is, even if you set a goal of hundreds of thousands of tests a day, the testing materials don’t exist today because the market is so strained. And so it’s difficult to try to shoot for the moon. But I do think setting real goals that are a little bit slightly out of range that you can shoot for and work really hard to make that those are the kinds of goals I like to set.
* Why is Cook County seeing a different range of deaths and cases than other cities with similar demographics? What factors are you seeing to suggest why the county is not recovering as quickly as other similar counties?…
Dr. Ezike: This virus is preying on people who are older, is preying on people with underlying conditions. So there’s definitely a bias towards communities, or areas where there are older people or more infirmed people.
It’s one of the reasons that we have seen that health disparities across our ethnic groups with the black community bearing a higher burden of this, of this disease in terms of the mortality. Again, the disparities of health in terms of the health of communities existed before COVID was here. Again we’ve talked about many of the reasons for that socio-economic racism. Many, you know, loss of opportunities but if you had that to start with and then you place COVID on top of that, then you will have a more serious burden of the disease on those on those communities.
* How will the face covering requirement be enforced, and with the stay at home order now in place for over a month outside of congregate settings have you identified where community transmission is continuing to happen?…
Face coverings, you know, the same way that everything else has been enforced. It’s certainly done at the local level. We’re not encouraging police officers to stop people and arrest them, take drastic action. We are encouraging certainly everybody to encourage everybody else that they know but including the police or other officials to it, you know, people should wear a mask and they should be reminded if they’re not wearing a mask that they’re not. And private establishments do need to require that people who enter their establishment wear a mask. […]
Dr. Ezike: We have community transition in in all parts of our state. I think in terms of documented cases. We’re at 96 counties of the 102 and so we know that the majority of people who are ELS cannot tell you exactly where it came from. So there’s widespread community transmission.
Pritzker: You could say that the rates are higher in some areas and others but that’s not to say that we don’t have it throughout the state. And let me just remind you that that you need to do more testing everywhere in the country to do central surveillance which is
* What will the state do to help people unable to pay their rent or mortgages, money won’t be able to pay at the end of forbearance periods, since they’ve gone without income?…
We’ve been encouraging the forbearance as much as possible. We’ve obviously stopped sheriffs from evicting people we’ve talked to mortgage companies to get them to provide forbearance. Look, we’re all hopeful that we’re able to begin to put our economy back together. We hope that the forbearance period that people will be able to take advantage of will be a short enough period, but fully covered so that when people are able to go back to work, they’ll be able to to afford to pay their bills
* You’re allowing outdoor recreation, why not indoor pools which are chlorinated or gyms under correct spacing and capacity limits? Isn’t that a health necessity for some people?…
Dr. Ezike: IDPH does regulate pools and if we want to get into the, the different microbes that exists within pools, different swimming pools, we can do that. But definitely the practice of obviously being in a swimming pool, unfortunately we do know this here’s some fecal shedding coronavirus … And so, as well as associated with pools, you would have locker rooms with which people would need to change. So you would have more people congregated in the same setting. So for a myriad of reasons. That wouldn’t be conducive to promoting social distancing and decreasing community spread.
* Will you release the raw data for these models, when and where can we access it?…
I just want to be clear with everybody, we don’t own these models, these models belong to the experts who you’ve heard from and the others who’ve been part of our consultative group. And so I would suggest, I will just remind everybody that they have spoken with the press before, they’ve been quoted about what the work that they do and. And I think that that will continue and so again it’s up to them though these are models that are owned and controlled by the people who created them.
* How do we police boating on Lake Michigan?…
I can’t you know they’re just the same way. Look, we’re encouraging everybody to do the right thing. I think the other, we’re not going to be sending police out to look at every boat and count people that are on the boat. But I think people know what the right thing to do is, they’re being told what the right thing to do is and if it needs ultimately to be enforced, then we may need to go that direction by using law enforcement, but that is not currently what we’re looking for.
* Many retailers already fill online orders and do curbside business. How will this benefit them beyond what they’re already doing and sacrificing?
Well, if they’re not an essential business they will not have been doing this or should not have been doing this, but it is now allowed for retail businesses.
* We’ve had a record number of new cases yesterday, is this simply a result of more testing or is the virus continuing to spread if it’s still spreading do we know where and why?…
Dr. Ezike: I will say that the increased number of cases have to be taken in context with what the denominator is and so as you’ve heard Governor Pritzker say we’re the last two days we’ve tested over 9000 people for the first time in this state and so when you look at the the numerator, the number of positive cases over the denominator, all the people that were tested, we actually are still running about the same percentage of positivity but obviously if you test more people, you will get more positives, again, that is understood. But I think we’re still in the 20-21% positive rate. So it’s still consistent it’s just a matter of more people tested.
She explained that yesterday, by the way.
* Jake Griffin at The Daily Herald: Many people in rural parts of the state wants to quarantine Chicago and the suburbs and reopen parts of downstate Illinois that aren’t seeing infection rates like the urban areas. Why has the state not done that? [I swear I did not make that up.]…
I, I’m not sure how to answer that except that this virus knows no boundaries, folks. No one is immune from this virus no matter where you live. And we are trying to take into account the differences between population density in one area of the state versus another and you’re seeing that in the executive order, the modifications to the executive order that we put out today.
* Was the extension of the stay at home order to May 30 taken into account when you gave your updated budget and revenue figures for fiscal year 2020 and 2021 last week? If not, given large parts of the economy will still be closed for four more weeks, do you expect revenue coming into the state this and next year to be even lower than the drop you projected last week?…
There are unknowns every single day. And so, no I didn’t know a week or two or three ago what exactly we would be doing in the month of May, nor do I know honestly, what’s going to happen tomorrow as a result of this virus.
But what I can tell you is that we have taken into account the fact that there is a significant effect on the state of Illinois economy and therefore on the collection of tax revenue for the state. And so we have projected that this would be a prolonged recession, not, multi years, but a reasonably long one. And so that is factored into the numbers that we put forward. And we’ll continue to evaluate that as we’re working with the legislature on putting our budget together.
* Can you explain specifically what kind of economic relief you’ve asked for from the federal government?…
Well, you know, I have been involved in asking for relief for hospitalsm for unemployment, for those who are unemployed, making sure that we provide funding for our local governments.
One of the challenges of the last [bill] was that it set a threshold at 500,000 people. So if you were in a city or a town or county that had less than 500,000 people, you weren’t benefiting from at least from that provision of the CARES Act. And so that’s one of the things that I’ve talked about smaller cities and towns and counties should be able to benefit too and of course the states ahave undergone significant pain in their budgets and it’s not just the state of Illinois, every state in the United States. I was on a call with the National Governors Association members, all the governors or at least as many as were on I think there were 40, as well as numerous other direct calls that I’ve made everybody, Republican and Democrat, there 24 states led by Democrats 26 states led by Republicans, every one of the states is having the challenges that we’re having and needs help from the federal realm. So I talked to federal representatives, or have my team talking to federal representatives all the time. And I hope that that each of the provisions that we’ve talked about, small businesses need more relief. There’s no doubt about it. And so, small businesses, hospitals, you know, all of these things have taken into account lobbying for to our federal representatives.
* Would you be willing to meet with [the president] at the White House to help mend fences and get your point across directly?…
Of course. I’ve been on the phone with the White House on frequent occasions. I’ve spoken with the President and the Vice President all during this crisis, even when the President has been critical of me.
I’m somebody who will do anything to work for the people of the state of Illinois, anything to help us get back on our feet, and to get past this crisis and in a way that preserves our working families and helps them.
So, yeah, of course I mean I would do any of those things. The President does not, you know, I have been to the White House and met with the president at the White House on a couple of occasions now, during the course of my governorship and of course I would go back and Governor Pence, sorry, Vice President Pence who was a governor of a neighboring state Indiana, has been very communicative with me and I know that he would also have a meeting with me if I asked for one. So yeah. Absolutely.
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* From the governor’s media briefing today. Please pardon all transcription errors…
To start, let me explain a bit about the role of modeling in my decision making, since the outbreak of COVID-19. I’ve taken into consideration a variety of models from researchers all across the world. There are often widely different projections from those about the state of Illinois. Some of this disparity is the result of methodological differences, but much of it also is due to data access and quality. The earliest coronavirus models that we had in the United States had to rely upon data from other countries applied to our national landscape, and certainly there was a real benefit in those very early days of getting educated estimates of what the virus’s effect on Illinois would look like regardless of where that early data came from. But the picture that gets painted by modeling gets better when it’s based off of what’s actually happening on the ground in Illinois data that can only be gathered with the passage of time.
We now have what we didn’t have two months ago, an understanding of what COVID-19 cases, deaths hospitalizations ventilator and ICU usage look like every day in Illinois. Even so, two months is not a lot of time in the world of modeling.
That’s important because the very essence of a model is that it gets smarter over time. How well you consistently test past predictions against current reality and then adjust projections accordingly. Or to put it simply, the more facts that you have, like exactly how many people went into the hospital with COVID-19 on a certain date, the better your ability to predict outcomes on any later date.
Notice I say it becomes better, because it never is exact. There is no crystal ball available to us. There are only estimates. Illinois is the proud home to some of the finest researchers and research institutions in the world, and still it is always the case that different modeling teams come to different conclusions.
So I undertook a project to give me the best possible approximations of future COVID-19 illnesses in Illinois, that would then allow me to make decisions about what resources we would need to keep Illinoisans alive, and recovering. And what urgency would be required in decisions about whether to initiate new mitigation strategies or extend existing ones, like the stay at home order. I have known from the start that even the best projections are going to have a great deal of variance. But knowing the boundaries of that variance informs my decision making. So we convened top researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, the Chicago and Illinois Department of Public Health Northwestern School of Medicine. The University of Chicago. And we also brought in outside consulting groups. They worked as a cohort, under civis analytics, using the most comprehensive data available for the entire state of Illinois. Suffice to say the findings we’re discussing today about the state of Illinois were put together by some of the best scientists doctors researchers from some of those great institutions that I just mentioned.
I want to look first at the projected fatalities. As you can see from the graphs that are next to me, Illinois is now looking at a peak, or plateau of deaths per day. Somewhere between late April and early May.
Why a range instead of an exact date? Well, everyone wants to look at the median line as a guide, that nice clear line that cuts through the big shaded section on all the models circulating online.
But reality is not quite so simple. Look at the actual deaths from the past few weeks on the graph next to me and look at the median projections going forward. Reality swings up and down, sometimes drastically affect that can’t be captured with a simple median line. What we have to consider is the whole shaded area that shaded area shows the range that researchers are 95% confident that things will land. That’s a shaded area you would see in differing shapes on every model.
To be clear, the fact that the variance is large doesn’t make a model less useful, but it does, nevertheless, make it clear that it is only a tool to be used.
I worry that people think the model is some miraculously accurate view into the future that is going to tell us exactly what we need to do and when it’s not. It won’t. I guarantee that the model that we’re sharing today will change in the coming days as projected numbers about those days are replaced with actual numbers.
A model is an imperfect tool that we use to add context to the actual numbers that we can chart every day. Cases, fatalities ,hospitalizations, positive test results, ventilator and ICU usage.
I also want to explain a bit about this change in our estimated peak cases. The concept of flattening the curve, only just entered our common vocabulary in the last few months, and it’s really crucial to understand our approach.
Weeks ago, many models, both those produced by our in state experts and those from around the nation, predicted an early or mid April peak for Illinois. But as the weeks have progressed those models have come to look quite different. That’s not because those models were bad models. Instead it’s because their inputs got better as time went on, real time data came in, and importantly Illinoisans protected each other by staying home.
Human behavior is exceptionally difficult to measure and even harder to predict. So that last part about staying home has made all the difference in our progress. Also, and this is very important, the most sensible and responsible use of a model in a public health crisis, like this one, is to pay close attention to the worst case scenario. In other words, when building hospital beds, purchasing and acquiring PPE and ventilators and making decisions about mitigation efforts, public officials should assume that the worst end of the model range could happen, and take that into account in planning.
…Pushing out that peak is a natural consequence and the best indicator that we are flattening the curve. That’s what you’re aiming to do, slow down the rate of transmission, which leads to a slower rate of increase over a longer period of time. Hence, a later, and lower peak, pushing the peak further down the line might not sound like good news but I promise you, it saves lives.
And make no mistake, Illinois has saved lives by staying home and social distancing we have kept our infection and death rates for the month of March and April, thousands below the rates projected.
Had we not implemented those mitigation strategies, the good people of this state have allowed our healthcare professionals, the ability to treat patients to the best of their ability without having to make dark choices, very real choices that doctors in other countries face about who lives and who dies. That is a historic and heroic act carried out by all of you.
Your efforts to protect your families, protect your communities, protect each other, have also given us another tool. And that’s time, time to build up our hospital capacity in terms of beds ventilators and healthcare workers, time to prepare for the kind of surge, that could occur. Anytime as a result of a virus from which no one is immune and capacity, we built in August of 2019. Back in a world that had never heard of COVID-19, Illinois had an average of about 26,000 total hospital beds available.
As of today, our total bed count in existing hospitals is more than 31,000. Back in August we had about 2000 ventilators, that number is now more than 3200 ventilators, and we’re building our healthcare workforce too. There are now 5000 out of state and former medical professionals who have applied for temporary licenses to join Illinois fight against COVID-19. We’ve built up our hospital capacity significantly.
But if we let up now, we would have nowhere near the kind of hospital capacity that we would need the projections are clear. If we lifted the stay at home order tomorrow, we would see our deaths per day shoot into the thousands. By the end of May, and that would last well into the summer, our hospitals would be full and very sick people would have nowhere to go. People who otherwise might have won their fight against COVID would die because we wouldn’t be able to help them through.
No amount of political pressure would ever make me allow such a scenario for our state, our beloved state of Illinois.
* And now the rationale for the new order…
So, the numbers present us with only one choice. Next week, I intend to sign an extension of our stay at home order with some modifications through Saturday, May 30.
To everyone listening: We are in possibly the most difficult parts of this journey. I know how badly we all want our normal lives back. Believe me, if I could make that happen right now, I would.
But this is the part where we have to dig in. And we have to understand that the sacrifices that we’ve made as a state to avoid a worst case scenario, are working. And we need to keep going a little while longer. to finish the job.
* More info…
On a more optimistic note, my team and I are finalizing the next step principles for safely moving toward reopening in phases. We are making progress building out testing and launching our contact tracing initiative. So that is so important to us that over time we will be able to realize the new normal.
We’ll be sharing more on that in the days and weeks ahead. On another optimistic note, May will look somewhat different than March and April.
He then explained the new order. Click here for more details.
* Looking forward…
I know that even with these changes, this stay at home order leaves many restrictions in place. And in the coming weeks as we get to the point of working our way down to the other side of the peak, as we move forward, there will be more to do to get people back to work and open up even more.
Understand that these are not choices that are made arbitrarily. These changes are what the data says that we can offer the people of Illinois, without risking so much viral transmission, that our hospitals will again become or potentially become overrun.
* Warning…
That said, if we start to see crowds and people violating the order or breaking the rules, I will need to bring back these restrictions. I’m hopeful that we will not need to do that.
* Reasoning with people…
Folks, this is a battle that you never asked to fight, I know that. I also know that our doctors and our nurses and our healthcare professionals, never asked to lead us through a pandemic. Our essential workers never asked to man the frontlines of society, our small businesses never asked to sacrifice their bottom line to an invisible enemy.
I see your pain. And I am so, so very sorry for it. But for every person who wants to go to dinner or hang out with friends in a park or swing open the sole their salon doors, there is a family mourning the death of someone they love. There is a parent, a child, a friend who would give anything to have their greatest strain be the difficulties of staying home, and not the unimaginable pain of a life loss too soon.
I’m not in the business of comparing suffering in a pandemic. Everyone is allowed to hurt, but we have the opportunity to prevent the pain of loss from touching the lives of thousands, we have the opportunity to follow the leadership of the countless nonprofits and community leaders and families across Illinois, who have demonstrated their courage and their empathy and their willingness to help, Illinois has the best people in the world. And I’ve said all along that I will fight like hell for you.
I’m asking you to hold on for just a little while longer. To help make sure that we all see through to the other side of this struggle. One day I pray that this virus will be a memory. But the strength that we found together will be something that we carry with us forever.
* Professor Nigel Goldenfeld of UIUC…
So let me tell you a little bit about modeling, but in my own language. Modeling an epidemic is rather like modeling the trajectory of a rocket. When you don’t know where it started from, in what direction it was pointing and how much fuel is onboard the rocket and you can’t even see the rocket, modeling an epidemic is not rocket science. It’s harder.
* Prof. Sergie Maslov of UIUC…
The success of social distancing is measured by what did not happen. Our calculations show that the number of deaths would have been about 20 times as high as they are today.
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1,826 new cases, 123 additional deaths
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,826 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 123 additional deaths.
Boone County: 1 male 80s
Champaign County: 1 male 90s
Cook County: 1 male 20s, 1 male 30s, 2 females 40s, 1 male 40s, 3 females 50s, 3 males 50s, 3 females 60s, 7 males 60s, 9 females 70s, 13 males 70s, 8 females 80s, 8 males 80s, 10 females 90s, 2 males 90s
DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 4 females 70s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s, 2 females 90s
Fayette County: 1 female 90s
Jackson County: 1 female 70s
Kane County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
Kankakee County: 1 female 80s, 4 males 80s
Kendall County: 1 male 70s
Lake County: 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 3 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 2 males 80s, 1 male 100+
McHenry County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 40s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
Sangamon County: 1male 70s
Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 2 males 90s
Winnebago County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 36,934 cases, including 1,688 deaths, in 96 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
…Adding… From Dr. Ezike…
Right now statewide medical surgical bed availability remains relatively flat, similar to ICU Bed Availability.
Although use has been increasing slowly, capacity has also been increasing, thereby maintaining relatively stable levels.
As of yesterday, 4877 individuals were reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19, of those 1268 patients were in the ICU and 766 patients were on ventilators.
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Pritzker issues modified stay at home order
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release [Pritzker said today the order will be formally issued next week and last through the end of May]…
Based on data from scientists and health experts and after consulting with stakeholders across the state, Governor JB Pritzker announced that he will sign a modified version of the state’s stay at home order that will go into effect on May 1 to continue the life-saving progress made over the last month while also allowing residents additional in the safest way possible.
In conjunction with today’s announcement, the Governor released modeling today put together by top academic institutions and researchers in Illinois that predicts the course of coronavirus in the state over the coming months. On our current trajectory, the state is projected to see a peak or plateau of deaths per day between late April and early May, but if the stay at home order were lifted this week, the model anticipates a second wave of the outbreak in Illinois starting in May, which would claim tens of thousands of lives and greatly exceed the state’s hospital capacity.
“Make no mistake, Illinois has saved lives. By staying home and social distancing, we have kept our infection and death rates for the months of March and April thousands below the rates projected had we not implemented these mitigation strategies,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I know how badly we all want our normal lives back. But this is the part where we have to dig in and understand that the sacrifices we’ve made as a state to avoid a worst-case scenario are working — and we need to keep going a little while longer to finish the job.”
MODIFIED STAY AT HOME ORDER
Lifting mitigation measures is only possible with widespread availability and access to COVID-19 testing, tracing and treatment. The data show that if the state were to lift mitigations abruptly this week, this would result in a second wave of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
After consulting with doctors, scientists and experts in Illinois and across the world, the Governor has announced he will sign a modified version of the state’s stay at home order that will go into effect on May 1 and extend through the end of the month. The modified order will strengthen the state’s social distancing requirements while allowing residents additional flexibility and provide measured relief to non-essential businesses in the safest way possible.
The new executive order will include the following modifications effective May 1:
OUTDOOR RECREATION: State parks will begin a phased re-opening under guidance from the Department of Natural Resources. Fishing and boating in groups of no more than two people will be permitted. A list of parks that will be open on May 1 and additional guidelines can be found on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website HERE . Golf will be permitted under strict safety guidelines provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and when ensuring that social distancing is followed.
NEW ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES: Greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries may re-open as essential businesses. These stores must follow social distancing requirements and must require that employees and customers wear a face covering. Animal grooming services may also re-open.
NON-ESSENTIAL RETAIL: Retail stores not designated as non-essential businesses and operations may re-open to fulfill telephone and online orders through pick-up outside the store and delivery.
FACE COVERINGS: Beginning on May 1, individuals will be required to wear a face-covering or a mask when in a public place where they can’t maintain a six-foot social distance. Face-coverings will be required in public indoor spaces, such as stores. This new requirement applies to all individuals over the age of two who are able to medically tolerate a face-covering or a mask.
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES AND MANUFACTURING: Essential businesses and manufacturers will be required to provide face-coverings to all employees who are not able to maintain six-feet of social distancing, as well as follow new requirements that maximize social distancing and prioritize the well-being of employees and customers. This will include occupancy limits for essential businesses and precautions such as staggering shifts and operating only essential lines for manufacturers.
SCHOOLS: Educational institutions may allow and establish procedures for pick-up of necessary supplies or student belongings. Dormitory move-outs must follow public health guidelines, including social distancing.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will also be issuing guidance to surgi-centers and hospitals to allow for certain elective surgeries for non-life-threatening conditions, starting on May 1. Facilities will need to meet specific criteria, including proper PPE, ensuring enough overall space for COVID-19 patients remains available, and testing of elective surgery patients to ensure COVID-19 negative status.
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* The Rand Corp. poured through thousands of gun policy studies published since 1995, weeded them down to 123 which “met high standards for causal evidence”…
“For our analysis, we looked for studies that made stronger claims to identifying a causal effect of individual laws,” said Andrew Morral, one of the authors of the report. “They had to show that changes (for instance, in suicide rates) that are attributed to the law occurred only after the law was implemented (not before), and did not occur in states where the law was not implemented.”
* To the research…
First, there was a clear consensus (indicated by three or more high-quality studies in agreement) that stand-your-ground laws, which allow people to use guns to defend themselves in public even if retreating is an option, result in higher overall rates of gun homicide. The higher rates aren’t simply from “bad guys” getting shot; the research shows the additional deaths created by stand-your-ground laws far surpass the documented cases of defensive gun use in the United States.
There was also a broad consensus that child access prevention laws, which set requirements for how guns must be stored at home, are effective in reducing self-inflicted gun injuries among children and adults.
* Then there were those which produced more moderate evidence, with at least two strong studies in agreement…
For instance, there is moderate evidence that banning gun purchases by people under domestic violence restraining orders decreases intimate-partner homicides. The research also showed moderate evidence that background checks reduce gun homicides, and that waiting periods for firearms purchases reduce gun suicides and overall homicide.
* And then there were those which produced “limited evidence,” meaning one strong study and none opposed…
There’s some evidence, for instance, that licensing requirements reduce suicides, that bans on gun ownership among the mentally ill reduce violent crime, that “right-to-carry” laws increase violent crime, that minimum purchasing age requirements reduce youth suicides, and that assault weapon bans end up boosting sales of those weapons in the period before the ban takes place.
The study found “no scholarly consensus” on “red flag” laws and mandatory gun-safety training. And there is no high quality research of gun-free zones and armed school employees.
That’s not to say some laws don’t work. It’s just that nobody has yet shown with some scientific certainty that they do.
Lots more info here.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Illinois Kidney Care Alliance (IKCA) and its dialysis provider member companies are working diligently across Illinois to support dialysis patients and their caregivers in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Given their underlying comorbidities, people with kidney failure are at a greater risk of complications if they contract COVID-19. To offset this concern, Illinois’ dialysis providers have instituted advanced infection control protocols in their clinics to help give care teams and patients protection against possible infection.
Dialysis patients should:
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For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on kidney patients, visit the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and the National Kidney Foundation, and follow IKCA on Facebook and Twitter.
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COVID-19 roundup
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not good at all…
A rash of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meat packing plants across the nation is far more extensive than previously thought, according to an exclusive review of cases by USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
And it could get worse. More than 150 of America’s largest meat processing plants operate in counties where the rate of coronavirus infection is already among the nation’s highest, based on the media outlets’ analysis of slaughterhouse locations and county-level COVID-19 infection rates.
These facilities represent more than 1 in 3 of the nation’s biggest beef, pork and poultry processing plants. Rates of infection around these plants are higher than those of 75% of other U.S. counties, the analysis found.
And while experts say the industry has thus far maintained sufficient production despite infections in at least 2,200 workers at 48 plants, there are fears that the number of cases could continue to rise and that meat packing plants will become the next disaster zones.
* The News-Gazette has a regular feature where Champaign-Urbana Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde answers questions from readers. It’s a great service and here’s the latest…
Q: I was hoping you could follow up on the question from Thursday about cloth mask protection. If a cloth mask can’t protect the wearer from getting infected, how can the mask stop you from spreading the virus? I find this confusing. Wouldn’t it be as porous in either direction?
A: The cloth masks are intended to prevent droplets from spreading when someone is talking, coughing, sneezing, etc. They also help prevent individuals from touching their nose and mouth. The masks should be made of at least two layers of cloth. The masks will absorb droplets. Remember that the masks are not to replace social distancing, cough/sneeze etiquette or thorough and frequent hand-washing. Ideally, everyone who is in public, especially while shopping or accessing other essential services, would wear these to help protect each other.
* Speaking of masks, this is really cool…
A new virus-repelling face mask is one of the things on the fast track to development at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center through a program launched to address the pandemic.
The Peoria-based center is an innovation hub for clinicians from OSF HealthCare, the University Of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria, and engineers from the University of Illinois in Urbana. The Jump Arches program has earmarked $750,000 for the program, which is developing things to address some of the most pressing issues healthcare workers and the public are facing during the pandemic. […]
“These new materials don’t allow any of the virus particles to adhere to the outside of the mask,” said Vozenilek. “Because as you breathe in and out you are pulling the air in on the outside of the mask and particles have a tendency to gather as you are pulling the air in. So the mask becomes contaminated. So in the future, the materials will be designed so the viral particles can’t adhere to further reduce contagion.”
Other research teams are working on disinfection methods for the masks.
* Sun-Times live blog headlines…
70% of residents test positive for COVID-19 at South Shore senior home where 10 have died
Remote learning ‘may be the new normal even in the fall,’ Chicago schools chief says
Second round of small business loans may have similar problems
Elizabeth Warren’s brother dies of COVID-19
Drive-in celebrations? Graduations in December? Virtual ceremonies? Plans for high school seniors unfold — but students not happy
The Lost Chicago Summer of 2020: Tough decisions, but necessary ones
Puzzling over African American COVID deaths — no easy explanation
Watching out for Illinois’ most vulnerable kids becomes all the harder during a pandemic
Why the coronavirus is forcing farmers to dump milk and let crops rot
Chicago’s ‘crush hour’ may take a new turn, but COVID-19 is not CTA or Metra’s death knell
Poland sending COVID-19 medical team to Chicago, White House says
* From the Tribune’s live blog…
Furloughs and layoffs for workers at Sinai hospitals
Chicago’s warm-weather businesses prepare for the worst as coronavirus shutdowns are extended
Evanston joins at least 18 Chicago suburbs requiring face coverings in public
City to hold first online town hall on COVID-19 aimed at slowing spread of virus in majority black communities
For decades Chicago’s lunchtime dining room, Manny’s now fights for new business during coronavirus pandemic
* Illinois roundup…
* Meat supply chain begins to feel effects of COVID-19: “When one section of the supply chain has a slowdown or complete shutdown, it bottlenecks the rest of the system,” Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert, Jr. said. “With highly perishable products like milk or vegetables, the bottleneck is slowing down the process longer than the items have in shelf life.”
* ‘It’s totally safe to come to the hospital’: Edward, Elmhurst managing pandemic
* Illinois rents 10 refrigerated trailers as COVID-19 morgue contingency
* Big crowds on first day of COVID-19 testing facility in Aurora
* 4 suburban ICU nurses who help form the backbone of the coronavirus fight
* Illinois mayors ask feds for COVID relief
* Nearly 70 residents, staff of GreenTree at Mount Vernon have tested positive for COVID-19
* Hidden coronavirus outbreaks spread through cities like Chicago, New York far earlier than Americans knew, researchers say: Vespignani said he and his research team warned officials of the silent spread, posting some of their early projections in mid-February. “We were talking to officials here, and it was the same reaction we got in Italy, in the U.K., in Spain,” Vespignani said. “They told me, ‘OK, that’s happening on your computer, not in reality.’ “Look,” he added, “No one’s going to shut down a country based on a model.”
* Lawmakers slowly preparing for session to reopen: Officials have been careful, though, to stress that the working groups are not legislative committees and that they are not authorized to draft legislation, hear testimony or take votes. “These are far more informal,” Rep. Michael Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat and co-chair of the House economic recovery working group, said this week. “I think they’re simply ways for us to congregate and hear each other out and compare notes and ideas about what we’re going to face in the near future, when we do return to normal regular order.” The difference between “working groups” and legislative committees is important because Article IV, Section 5 of the Illinois Constitution requires all meetings of the General Assembly, as well as legislative committees and commissions to be open to the public, unless two-thirds of the chamber votes to close them.
* Pedestrians complain runners are passing too close on Chicago sidewalks during the pandemic. How risky is that, and should they wear face masks?
* UI cancels fall study-abroad programs
* A few national stories…
* Blood clots in virus patients stump doctors
* Covid-19 causes sudden strokes in young adults, doctors say
* Top vaccine doctor says his concern about Trump’s coronavirus treatment theory led to ouster from federal agency
* Gilead’s coronavirus drug flops in first trial: The Chinese trial showed the antiviral remdesivir did not improve patients’ condition or reduce the pathogen’s presence in the bloodstream
* At Beleaguered U.S. Meat Plants, Inspectors Are Getting Sick Too
* Who’s Behind the ‘Reopen’ Protests?
* McConnell takes flak after suggesting bankruptcy for states rather than bailouts
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Calm down, please
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he does this because he’s been hinting at it for at least a week, but this story includes a lot of pure speculation…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to extend Illinois’ stay-at-home order Thursday, sources tell NBC 5.
With just one week left until the current April 30 deadline, Pritzker is poised to reveal an extension during his 2:30 p.m. coronavirus press briefing.
Though it’s not clear how long he will extend the order for, state law allows a governor to sign an executive order for 30 days. Sources believe the order could be extended through May 30.
The order is expected to include a new requirement that residents cover their faces in public spaces where social distancing is difficult.
Pritzker could also lift some restrictions on the order. Lawmakers and businesses have asked Pritzker to open state parks and golf courses and allow elective surgeries.
The press conference starts in just a couple of hours. We’ll know then.
* Meanwhile, a single alderman introduces an ordinance and the headline reads “Facial coverings would be required in many public settings in Chicago under City Council plan.” C’mon…
Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, introduced her ordinance Wednesday and said she’ll push for a quick hearing. “If we really want to get this behind us, everyone has to wear a mask in public,” Smith said. “The real impediment to that happening is social acceptance, so this ordinance would get everyone on the same page by making it a requirement.” […]
Asked Wednesday about whether she is generally considering requiring face coverings, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it’s being discussed, but implementing such rules would be hard.
“The challenge is making sure every member of the public has the same accessibility to some kind of face covering,” she said. “And we know, from the disparities in our city, that that is not so. What is possible in Lincoln Park is not the same as what’s possible in Austin or Englewood or Roseland. So we have to have a policy that is consistent with the realities of people’s lives. And while we are going to continue to encourage people to wear masks in congregate settings, mandating that without giving people the tools to actually comply — and we’re not going to lock people up because they aren’t wearing masks in public. So, these are nuanced issues.”
…Adding… Email…
Hey Rich,
Point of clarification, in response to ‘Meanwhile, a single alderman introduces an ordinance and the headline reads “Facial coverings would be required in many public settings in Chicago under City Council plan.”’
41 out of the 50 aldermen signed on to cosponsor this ordinance. We were working the phones all weekend.
(of course, it may be a non-issue as of a couple hours ago…)
Thank you for keeping us up to speed on the state stuff - it’s been very helpful. I mean that with zero percent snark.
* For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 resources, please visit and subscribe at - for mobile updates, text COVID19 to 78015 or email: coronavirus@chicago.gov. *
Erik Wallenius
Chief of Staff
Alderman Michele Smith
* And we don’t even know what will be in the next stay at home order, so this is a silly headline…
McHenry drive-in theater owner making plans to reopen May 1. Extension of stay-at-home order would nix that idea.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Um. No…
I did a quick TV interview last night and while I was preparing I decided that I had to wear a hat. My hair is just… outta control.
* The Question: How are you and yours holding up?
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The peak “will probably be more of a plateau”
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Caption from the state via the Sun-Times…
Illinois Dept. of Public Health death projections due to COVID-19. The gray line indicates range of deaths, which at its peak could hit between 50 and 150 deaths. The black line is reported deaths. The green line is the University of Chicago median line; the orange line is the median line projected by the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign researchers.
Graph…
* From the Sun-Times article…
And based on the projections, the peak “should be somewhere starting now through the first week of May,” [Cameron Mock, who oversees the state’s COVID-19 projections] told the Sun-Times.
“I think it’s tough to say, but I think a couple of weeks,” Mock said of the range.
According to a projection obtained by the Sun-Times, the top of the peak could see 150 deaths a day. But during that peak period, the daily range of fatalities could fluctuate anywhere from 50 to 150. […]
Another graph Pritzker plans to show will estimate that the death rate would go up ten times if the stay at home order was lifted Friday – a little less than a week before the scheduled April 30 expiration.
The model shows deaths in the state slowly flattening into August.
* I asked the governor’s office about the article’s focus on death rates because it’s a lagging indicator of about 3-4 weeks and because the governor has said he’s looking at a wide range of things, including hospitalization, case numbers, etc. I told subscribers the response, but I think it’s important to make that public to prevent confusion…
You are correct that deaths are lagging behind infections, but we don’t have enough testing right now to have a good sense of the true infection rate, so you have the option of choosing a lagging but reliable indicator, or a current but unreliable indicator. Like the governor has said, a model is just one tool he looks at.
Also, like the Sun-Times story mentions and like the governor has said, models are constantly changing when you put new data into them. This model has changed, changes, and will change every day as we put new data into it. The state could see the ‘peak’ within a span of time from now through May and then we could continue on that peak, which will probably be more of a plateau for a period before we see the decline.
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* WaPo…
More than 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department, a signal that the tidal wave of job losses continues to grow during the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s the fifth-straight week that job losses were measured in the millions. From March 15 to April 18, 26.5 million have probably been laid off or furloughed. The number of jobs lost in that brief span effectively erased all jobs created after the 2008 financial crisis. Jobless figures on this scale haven’t been seen since the Great Depression.
The new weekly total comes on top of 22 million Americans who had sought benefits in previous weeks, a volume that has overwhelmed state systems for processing unemployment claims. Economists estimate that the national unemployment rate sits between 15 and 20 percent, much higher than it was during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009. The unemployment rate at the peak of the Great Depression was about 25 percent.
The new weekly jobless claims figure came around economist predictions, which were expected “to be staggering, but not growing, which is a small mercy,” said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter. For comparison, 5.2 million people filed unemployment claims for the week ending April 11.
*** UPDATE *** Slowing down a bit, but still a ton of applications…
While weekly numbers keep decreasing, Illinois residents continue to file for unemployment benefits at record-high numbers due to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois residents filed 102,736 claims for unemployment benefits last week, according to preliminary numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s an about 27% decrease from the revised total of 141,160 for the week ending April 11, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security numbers on April 16.
Illinois received more than 757,000 initial unemployment claims from March 1 to April 18, according to state data. That’s more than the total number of initial claims for all of 2019 – which was more than 476,000 – and more than four times the amount of claims filed in the first two months of the 2008 Great Recession, per the state data.
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Open thread
Thursday, Apr 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Keep in mind that Germany has done a much better job than the US at containing the virus…
Despite the Merkel quote, do try to keep the conversation Illinois-centric and please be nice to each other.
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[This post’s timestamp has been altered to allow for Thursday visibility.]
* The governor announced two new drive-through testing locations today…
As you know, more widespread testing is a key goal for combating COVID-19. It’s a vital feature of our long term path to building a new normal. Along that path we need to make testing more available and convenient to more people. So I’m pleased to announce two additional state run drive through testing sites, both of which are available to anyone who has COVID like symptoms and wants to test, even without a doctor’s order.
Today in Aurora, we opened a new drive thru at the Chicago Premium Outlets outdoor shopping mall, located at 1650 Premium outlet Boulevard in Aurora, that location can take up to 600 specimens per day.
And starting on Friday in Rockford, we will open a drive thru location at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, the address there is 1601 Parkview Avenue, and that location will be able to take 500 specimens, a day when fully ramped up between these two new sites, and our three existing sites in Markham, Bloomington, and in Harwood Heights, our five drive-throughs can run up to 2900 tests per day when the Rockford test site is fully up and running.
As always, please pardon all transcription errors.
* PPE…
We’ve now sent out more than 15 million items, including 7.7 million surgical masks, nearly 1.7 million N95 masks, over 30,000 gowns, over 6.4 million gloves and over 350,000 face shields to locations all across the state of Illinois.
We also have outstanding orders due to arrive in the coming days and weeks with an additional 25.5 million NK and N95 masks [I’m not quite sure of that bit because I wasn’t paying attention and was relying on the transcription], 25 million surgical and general medical masks, 8.4 million gowns and coveralls, 14 million gloves and 7.5 million face shields and goggles.
* Dr. Ezike…
At the end of yesterday, we had 4665 individuals in Illinois who were hospitalized with COVID-19, of those 1220 were in the ICU and 747 of those ICU patients were on ventilators.
* On to questions for the governor. Got a long list of questions from colleagues here but wanted to begin with one of my own. The argument has been made regarding the stay at home order that the intention or the goal was, was not to eliminate COVID-19 by April 30, that was never going to happen, but to buy time for the health care capacity to increase for the ICU beds to increase to get the ventilators and the PPE to get the alternate care facilities up and running, including McCormick Place and credit to the administration, a lot of that has been accomplished in a short amount of time. So the argument has been made that, because the healthcare capacity is in a much better place right now. and because of the curve and the peak may be coming later and lower than initially projected why not open things up after April 30 just in a slightly more robust way than you’d so far indicate now…
I appreciate that question and I think people need to understand actually the principal purpose of the stay at home order was to make sure that fewer people got sick and fewer people would die than would otherwise without a stay at home order. And as you’re suggesting in the last part of your comments, the curve gets pushed out when you do that push down, and that’s good because, as you’re trying to build capacity you’re trying to raise the line, you know that you don’t want to go above of how many beds, do you have how many ICU beds, do you have how many ventilators do you have. You want to raise the line so that you can fit all of the patients and the needs underneath that line of capacity, let’s say, and you want to continue to make sure that that wave of patients doesn’t go above the line. You don’t necessarily need to continue to build capacity right. If we can’t build out more McCormick places.
But what you want to do is make sure that the number of people who get sick is kept down. And so that’s really the purpose of a stay at home order, it was the purpose of the original, you know, canceling of, as you may recall canceling of the parades and St Patrick’s Day parade and then closing of restaurants and bars so that’s what I think people need to pay attention to.
Now, obviously, you know, the better we do with this, right, the better we do with this, the more likely it is that we can start to think about what are the safe ways to begin to reopen things, so that people can go back to work people could go back to school. Are there ways to do that that keep people safe.
Some of the things we’ve suggested already like everybody wearing a mask, are some of what’s one idea among a bunch, that will help us get to keeping under the capacity and making sure that few people as few people as possible get sick. I think most people understand the need for avoiding a resurgence of the virus.
* I mean, is there a scenario in which you can open up the economy without there being some increase in cases and fatalities or are you going to have to make a very difficult decision. In terms of balancing increase with in order to avoid creating dire harm…
Well I think I’ve foreshadowed for everybody and I think it’s widely understood that the things that you need in order to open the economy are things that we don’t quite yet have in place, nor does any state. Some states are reopening anyway, that’s their choice I think people might get sick, many people might get sick as a result of it.
But look, what have I said right, testing tracing treating and PPE. And while we’re working very hard on PPE and testing and spinning up a contact tracing effort that will be very large at the end. Those are three things that we have to work on we’re not there yet, you know we’ve talked a lot about testing. We’re just not there yet.
And so, having said that you can make tweaks and moves and you know as you move along here. And as we learn more. Remember the researchers are learning things as we go to. Nobody was saying, everybody has to wear a mask at the beginning, nobody was saying that. Now, that’s pretty common understanding among the epidemiologists and others that it makes sense if you’re going to be outside and, each of you wears them. And you don’t have to wear an N95 mask, you just need some face covering because it’s your droplets that you don’t want to convey to somebody else and you don’t want them conveying it to you.
So once again, all these things are going to be kind of the new normal going forward and allow us to do things to loosen things up and begin to as you’re saying reopen the economy.
* At what point though, does the human cost of keeping the economy closed, the health problems that arise from joblessness etc. outweigh or commensurate to the health costs…
Obviously these are things that I weigh every day and I think about all the time because I understand that it’s challenging for people, there’s a mental health cost in addition to financial costs for everybody, this is going on, it’s having an effect on everybody. And so, I like everybody I wanted to be back to normal as fast as possible. I think we’re all recognizing that normal is going to look a little bit different going forward until there’s a vaccine, until the we can literally rid our state and our country and our planet of this scourge of COVID-19. Things are going to be a little bit different I think, we’re all going to have to be a lot more careful. And while we’re being careful, it allows us to begin to open things up more.
He went on for a while longer, but you get the idea.
* Yesterday during the White House briefing Dr. Birx mentioned New York, New Orleans and specifically Chicago, were doing quote much better. Do you agree with that assessment and how closely is your team consulting with federal government on modeling and determination of the peak?…
We are indeed doing better and I want to make sure everybody understands and look at New York right i mean they’re they’ve, they’ve seemingly flattened their curve, but it’s flattened at a very at a reasonably high level, but flat is way better than you know than the direction that they were going. And the same thing is true in Louisiana and the same thing is true in Chicago. So, I absolutely agree with things are better. And so that that’s a very good sign of, you know how the direction that things are going.
* To the second part of the question…
They don’t have, they are not using seemingly that data from Illinois as far as I know. And they have not offered to help with our data, or with our estimation of our curve. They in fact worked for a long time using that public one that people, others were using the IHME curve, which is inaccurate as regards Illinois, for example. They show a much lower number of hospital beds on their site than we actually have. So it’s very hard to, you know, they don’t have the data that we have, for whatever reason, so, you know, I would say what we have and the experts we have here are what we need I think to get good modeling and there are a number of institutions that have modeled Chicago. county, state and we are looking at those.
* One of our unemployed viewers says that she’s tried getting through to IDES quote hundreds of times without success. She finally reached out to the governor’s office and the matter was in fact quickly resolved. Would you recommend that other frustrated unemployed workers contact your office as a last resort?…
I certainly want to make sure that everybody gets what they need from our IDES and I will say that there’s been a vast improvement, I watched the numbers, I get a report every day. And we are processing gosh, I think 17 times the number. The last report I saw 17 times the number in a single day that we did a single day last year. So just to give you a sense of the magnitude of the problem. […]
Remember, the biggest issue is we can’t look at their private information, the governor’s office, right, we can’t process for them. And so, we have limited ability to really do anything except to hand it off back to IDES. And maybe get some attention to it.
* Summer camp business owners and parents said they say that they are waiting on official word from you to make a decision about whether summer camps will proceed or not, when can they expect that decision?…
Well, I’m not making decisions about summer camps. The summer camps themselves and I know parents will make those decisions and I feel terrible not having a perfect answer for them because as we’ve seen, you have to really watch all these numbers and see which direction we’re going to know to even begin to start to project when could you. And then, of course, is it possible to do social distancing in the context of a summer camp if people are staying overnight, for example, or even in a day camp, aren’t they often gathering in large groups in a summer camp. So I think these are all things that we’ll have to watch the numbers and see how things are going.
* Missouri’s governor has said that he intends to reopen most of the state as soon as next week, Missouri. Actually, May 4, he made a correction. Given that so many people in Metro East live and work in that same region, have you had any luck working with Governor Parson to convince him why that may not be a good idea?…
No, although I think I’ve been very vocal, I think all the governors know where I stand on what kind of a set of principles ought to be operated upon in order to think about reopening. It’s why we created this Midwest pact of states and we reached out to Missouri. They were not interested in joining that pact and similarly with Iowa.
* When will you allow elective surgeries to resume? Governor Cuomo is allowing them starting next week…
Yeah, we’re looking at that as we are in lots of other areas. […]
I’ve gotten suggestions from all across both sides of the aisle of elected officials as well as all across the industry so we’re considering a lot of different things
* Mitch McConnell said today that he’d be open to letting states file for bankruptcy to deal with economic losses from coronavirus, is that something you’ve considered or would consider addressing with state lawmakers?…
No.
* Back on April 5 you said that you had not had a haircut recently and that you were starting to get a little shaggy Have you gotten your haircut since then and if so who cut your hair?…
Does it look any less shaggy now. No… I was joking that I’ll end up wearing a ponytail at some point. We’re all looking forward to that.
* Rockford Mayor McNamara wants small retailers hard hit by big box stores to reopen with social social distancing or for you to ban big box stores from selling non essential goods. During the stay at home order. Are you considering his proposal?…
I haven’t seen that proposal and Mayor McNamara is a very thoughtful mayor. I certainly would like to look at how they are configuring their suggestion. But I spoke with mayors all across the state, about what’s of concern in their communities and I’m trying to take all of that into consideration as we make changes, not just now, but as we move forward, obviously. Even in the President’s plan for reopening there’s this contemplation of phases. And so we’re going to be looking at each of these things with regard to those phases.
* What specific metric has the multi state group come up with to determine when to reopen? Is it a downward trend of the number of positive cases the number of deaths, the hospitalization rates, is that going to be regionalised?…
We certainly talk about that as a group, we have shared our best ideas and that’s really the purpose of this pact. So I will look at the common interests that we have and then look at those common things that are good for Illinois, that come out of that pact. But that’s one of the reasons for that, we have a pact like that as we have a lots of things in common as Midwestern states. So I know that we’ll be able to kind of, let’s say, keep people safe and healthy. While we’re reopening things, in part because we share borders and ideas with one another.
* Responding to another question, Dr. Ezike said 2500 healthcare workers have contracted the virus “and we think that we know of potentially eight deaths.”
* Rep. Batinick said today that he expects restaurants would be among the last businesses to reopen. Is that also your thinking and what would it take to reopen restaurants for dining in safely?
All I can say is that I’ve read a number of the reports people have put together, including one that was done by AEI the American Enterprise Institute and a few others. And the suggestion, kind of the collective suggestion is that industries like restaurants and hospitality are harder to open than some others which are much easier to have social distancing, for example in a large warehouse, than it is in a restaurant where there might be booths and tables next to one another.
* Asked again about Mitch McConnell…
I think that Majority Leader McConnell is certainly important to the process of getting things done in Washington DC, but he’s not the only person involved. And there are an awful lot of Senators on both sides of the aisle that disagree with him. So, I’m hopeful that as a result of work that they’re doing those senators that believe that states and local governments deserve and need additional support…
* Asked about House Republican request that state parks be reopened…
It’s something that we absolutely have considered. I’ve heard a lot about it from people who live in areas where the state parks have been closed.
Remember that one of the biggest reasons that we closed state parks originally was the state workers who work there who have to work in close proximity. Even though you might think of a state park as being quite large. The state workers, how they work right is often in a building together, and in trucks, in which there might be multiple people that are in the truck as they travel around the park. And so that that’s obviously not at the beginning of this, that was not something that was acceptable to close proximity, and even now, and so we’ve talked a lot about you know how we might make changes that would allow people to use state parks.
* In suing your administration today, heads of major business group said that recent COVID related extension for workers comp benefits were pretty much unilaterally imposed on them without consultation or debate. Is that true?…
That is not true. And I don’t really want to comment any further because I know it’s a subject of litigation.
* The Association of Illinois Chiefs of Police is contending that felons convicted of violent crimes are being released due to COVID-19, is that correct?…
As you know I review applications for commutations of sentences as governor. It’s what every governor does, you can look back through, you know, I have the records of each of the governors Republican and Democratic so and and I do commute sentences so the contention that I’m looking at and actually do commute sentences, that’s an accurate depiction. I’m not sure what implication they’re making there.
* As you consider extending the stay at home order, a majority of the cases are in Northern Illinois. What’s your message to residents in downstate and Metro East where there are just a fraction of the cases and deaths?…
Well, you know, he mentioned Metro East. Actually there’s a hotspot in Metro east.
And that should remind you that nowhere in Illinois are people immune from COVID-19.
There are fewer cases it’s true, in some counties, but you heard me say at the beginning when there was only one county that had cases that this was likely to spread. We now have 96 counties with cases. What I would say to people who live in central and southern Illinois is, I’m taking into account the fact that there are fewer cases and fewer deaths in those areas. But we’re also looking at hospital availability and other factors to determine how we might think about changes that will be good for people who live in areas that don’t have as virulent a spread of COVID-19
* Today is the highest number of positive test results reported in one day. How do you explain the surge?…
Well, the most important thing that happened today that led to a lot higher positive test count is we tested more people. I think the testing number for today was 9300, and that’s the largest number yet, so that’s why you see a larger positive testing result.
* Are the early models predicting a peak in mid April wrong, and do you believe the public has a right to see the models you’re using to make these life altering decisions?…
So I think I’ve made clear but I’ll repeat that I’ve relied upon a variety of experts, you can reach them yourselves they’re the experts at Northwestern they’re well known in Northwestern U of C you have UIC. These are, [garbled] you know examples of folks who, some of whom have developed models.
And so, I look at all of the those and listen to those experts because I think one of the things that maybe isn’t widely understood as these models are they change literally every day. And the reason is because you’re projecting on one day, right, but about a bunch of days forward. And then as you move forward, you have actual numbers now to plug into the model. And guess what, that will be different than whatever you projected by its very nature.
So there’s nothing exact about these models and it’s really important for people to understand that, you know, I’m estimating. We all are. Even the modelers are estimating and the purpose for the estimating isn’t so much that we know exactly what date, some data, which you might peak, that’s not the purpose of the models.
The purpose of the models from my perspective is to understand what the capacity needs will be for us in our hospitals among our healthcare workers to treat people who might get COVID-19 on those dates where we might have a very high infection rate and a need for more hospital beds. So that I hope that gives a bigger picture of what we’re looking at.
But I think you should look at all of the online models, they’re worth looking at. We’ll be talking more about modeling tomorrow, to give you a better understanding of how we look at things.
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Message to commenters
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We’ve picked up a bunch of new commenters lately. All are welcome if they abide by the rules and they keep in mind that this isn’t Facebook.
However, some of the newbies are neglecting to pick screen names. I don’t care how thoughtful or interesting their comments are, I’m deleting all anonymous comments as soon as I see them because most are drive-by one-offs which add zero value.
But that process can take a bit. I have other stuff to do besides monitoring comments, after all.
So, I’m asking all other commenters to not respond to the anonymous goofs. If something is getting out of hand, please email me (click the contact button at the top right of the page) or text me if you have my number and I’ll try to get right on it. But in the meantime just completely ignore them because their shelf-life is brief. Life is too short to spend time arguing with the walking dead.
Thanks.
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Get it together, IDOC
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Center Square…
A county board chairman has raised concerns after he said the Illinois Department of Corrections failed to test 5 correctional officers who worked at Stateville Correctional Center, a state-run prison that has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prison has reported a growing number of coronavirus cases and the Illinois Department of Corrections had asked for officers from other prisons to fill in at Stateville. Fulton County Board Chairman Pat O’Brian said officers from Illinois River Correctional Center were told they would be tested after their rotation at Stateville and placed on 14-day paid quarantine. O’Brian said that is not happening.
“They were essentially releasing five individuals back into our communities that had been working at one of the largest COVID outbreaks in a prison in the state of Illinois,” O’Brian said. “We had to act on that.”
State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, and State Rep. Mike Unes, R-East Peoria, have been in contact with the governor’s office regarding the issues.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the issue on Tuesday at a news conference but declined to provide specifics.
I’ve read a few other articles about this. Here are a couple of them..
* Fulton County Board Chairman accuses Department of Corrections of breaking promise
* Fulton County chairman says Illinois DOC went back on its promise to employees
Not one of those reporters bothered to reach out to AFSCME Council 31 for its response. So I did.
* Here’s Anders Lindall…
Last month IDOC sought volunteers from other facilities to be temporarily detailed to Stateville in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak there. It’s our understanding that, without talking to the union, some management personnel promised that — upon the completion of three to five weeks of working 12-hour shifts, five days a week at Stateville — staff who volunteered to participate would remain in paid status during a 14-day self-quarantine period before returning to work at their usual facility. This promise was subsequently withdrawn.
AFSCME’s top priority is safety and making sure that the employees involved could be immediately tested for COVID-19 before returning to work. That would not only prevent the potential spread of coronavirus infection between facilities but ensure that anyone found to have contracted it could get needed medical attention while taking the COVID leave available to all state employees. The union pushed hard and made it happen.
The union has also filed a grievance over management’s withdrawal of the promised 14 days’ leave. These unnecessary complications and confusion could have been avoided if the department had simply agreed upon a procedure with AFSCME in advance and prevented some supervisors from dealing directly with individual employees.
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2,049 new cases, 98 additional deaths
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,049 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 98 additional deaths.
Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 male 30s, 3 males 40s, 2 females 50s, 3 males 50s, 5 females 60s, 6 males 60s, 7 females 70s, 8 males 70s, 1 unknown 70s, 5 females 80s, 16 males 80s, 8 females 90s, 3 males 90s
DuPage County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 male 80s, 2 females 90s
Jefferson County: 1 male 60s
Kane County: 2 males 50s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
Kankakee County: 1 female 90s
Kendall County: 1 female 60s
Lake County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
Macon County: 1 female 60s
Madison County: 2 males 70s, 1 male 80s
McHenry County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
Monroe County: 1 male 80s
Rock Island County: 1 male 70s
St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 35,108 cases, including 1,565 deaths, in 96 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
…Adding… Here’s your graph…
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COVID-19 roundup
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Headlines from the Tribune’s top-notch live blog…
More than 100 seniors at South Shore nursing home — 70% — test positive for COVID-19
Wheaton College apartments will be used to house DuPage County first responders amid coronavirus outbreak
Lightfoot’s opponents block COVID-19 measure giving her extraordinary spending powers for Chicago’s pandemic response
Illinois midwives face surge of interest in home birth during coronavirus pandemic
Muslims begin holy month of Ramadan during pandemic
Federal PPP loans won’t protect all paychecks: Many small-business recipients say they won’t rehire
Illinois National Guard setting up coronavirus testing site near Aurora outlet mall
Still waiting for your federal stimulus check? Here are four possible reasons.
Chicago aldermen offer COVID-19 related proposals — including mandated facial coverings
DePaul student Nate Odenkirk, son of TV star Bob Odenkirk, talks surviving coronavirus: ‘I was lucky’
First US coronavirus deaths came weeks earlier than thought in California, CDC confirms
* The Sun-Times’ live blog gets better by the day…
Illinois still short of COVID-19 testing goal
County jail staff sue over pay for added daily sanitizing work
Chicago Marathon officials say October race is still on
Air pollution plummets worldwide as more nations shelter in place
Where can you get tested for COVID-19?
Mole de Mayo goes digital for 2020
Would you volunteer to be infected with COVID-19 to help develop a vaccine?
Chicago police announced Tuesday 50 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the department to 365.
Another employee at the Cook County Circuit Court clerk’s office has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the overall total to 20.
Two more inmates at Cook County Jail who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, the sheriff’s office announced Monday.
Here’s hoping my family and I won’t look like a depressed and hangry Brady Bunch this Ramadan
These Chicago hotel workers are now on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic
* National roundup…
* CDC director warns second wave of coronavirus is likely to be even more devastating
* The tricky math of lifting coronavirus lockdowns - Research groups are trying to calculate how much we can safely relax social distancing restrictions, but we’re still missing critical pieces of data.
* Five threats to US food supply chains
* German shoppers not rushing back as stores reopen
* Developing a National Strategy for Serology (Antibody Testing) in the United States
* Is the City Itself the Problem? - There’s a long history of blaming urban areas rather than economic factors for physical and moral ills. But density can be an asset for fighting coronavirus
* Who’s Behind the “Reopen” Domain Surge?
* Illinois…
* Illinois Republican lawmakers urge Pritzker to open state parks and some businesses: Rep. Mark Batinick, a Plainfield Republican, recommended that senior citizens, one of the groups most vulnerable to COVID-19, continue to stay isolated, and that employees be required to wear face coverings inside stores and restaurants. Batinick said he has largely been satisfied with the Pritzker administration’s communication with lawmakers during the public health crisis, but that he wants to see new epidemiology charts over the next couple days.
* Mundelein to impose mask policy; Gurnee, Buffalo Grove considering similar plans
* Tribune Publishing furloughs employees in second round of cuts this month
* Rodney Davis consultant gets into PPE business
* At some Chicago homeless shelters, half of staff and residents tested positive for COVID-19. Advocates say better housing is crucial.
* Decatur mayor on whether people will behave when restrictions are lifted: That’s what we’re risking. If we open up somewhat, having people take so much advantage of it that they overdo it, they overcorrect, and we have to go back to Ground Zero because as you said, we haven’t hit the peak here yet. We’re still nearly a month away from where we thought we’d be right now. I hope along with the governor that we’ve overprepared. That is my goal is that we are so over the top and overprepared and it doesn’t happen here in the way that it could. I think the governor does not want New York happening in Chicago. By doing everything and being in place, if it does come, we’ll be ready, and we can pray every day that it doesn’t.
* Peoria council leans toward deferring capital projects to patch COVID-19 deficit
* Why Experts Say It’s a Good Thing Illinois’ Peak in Coronavirus Cases Will Be Later Than Anticipated: “So the reason why we’re not quite at peak is actually really good news. And I know that’s hard to hear that, you know, we may need to stay in longer, we’re not going to be able to just go right back to normal, but moving that peak later is the sign. It’s the reason why if you or someone in your family needs to go to the hospital or gets sick with COVID and needs a ventilator, it’s available. And we want to make sure it continues to be available.”
* COVID-19 delivering latest twist in fight over controversial Joliet shipping hub - Project recently approved by Joliet raising issues not only of economics but also of open democracy for governments making decisions as they adhere to social distancing and stay-at-home orders amid pandemic.
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*** UPDATED x1 - Pritzker responds *** Calm down
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You’ve probably seen this headline today…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he favors allowing states struggling with high public employee pension costs amid the burdens of the pandemic response to declare bankruptcy rather than giving them a federal bailout.
“I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” he said Wednesday in a response to a question on the syndicated Hugh Hewitt radio show. “It’s saved some cities, and there’s no good reason for it not to be available.”
Getting that through the Senate would be quite difficult, to say the least. Financial institutions which hold untold billions in public debt have a lot of clout in DC, and I can’t see them jumping up and down with glee at the possibility of those portfolios collapsing.
But getting that radical idea through the House would be next to impossible. McConnell is very good at public negotiating ploys. The media eats it up every time. But everyone needs to take a breath, even if President Trump chimes in.
* Again, the media loves to highlight conflict…
His statements set up a conflict with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said on Bloomberg Television Wednesday a “major package” of aid for state and local government will be in the next stimulus legislation considered by Congress.
McConnell may also find himself in conflict with President Donald Trump. The president said Tuesday after meeting with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that states will need assistance. “And I think most Republicans agree too, and Democrats,” Trump said. “And that’s part of phase four.”
* But while McConnell did throw a lot of cold water on a state bailout package, saying he wanted to hit the pause button, he didn’t completely rule out all state aid today. Let’s go back to McConnell’s remarks…
“You raised yourself the important issue of what states have done, many of them have done it to themselves with their pension programs. There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations,” McConnell said, after Hewitt floated Illinois, California and Connecticut as examples of states that have overly generous benefits for public employees.
“We’ll certainly insist that anything we’d borrow to send down to the states is not spent on solving problems that they created for themselves over the years with their pension program,” McConnell added.
To my eyes, that last bit looks like the real McConnell demand: No federal money for state pension funds. The Harmon letter did not help.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
The Governor is working with our delegation and partners in Washington D.C. to ensure the state has the resources it needs to continue this fight against COVID-19. As the nation grapples with the impacts of this virus, every state is facing budget shortfalls and we need partners in Congress who will work with us on real solutions, instead of using this crisis to propose an ideological hail mary. The State of Illinois prioritizes its debt payments and is working to ensure we remain on firm fiscal footing through this crisis and we are working with partners who believe a federal response is needed to address unique challenges of this time.
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* From a TRS email to participants…
Each year, Teachers’ Retirement System distributes approximately $7 billion in benefits to retired members and beneficiaries. Those benefits must be – and always have been – paid each month, no matter what the economic conditions may be.
TRS will continue to have sufficient funds to meet all benefit payments on time and in full for the foreseeable future despite the worldwide economic downturn created by the spread of the coronavirus.
The System’s defensive investment strategy enabled TRS to protect the bulk of member assets during recent market upheavals. On December 31, 2019, TRS assets stood at $54.24 billion. As of April 20, 2020, the investment portfolio was valued at $50.18 billion.
“The impact of the economy’s hard stop is being felt in every household, every business, every school and every government in the United States. TRS is not immune,” said TRS Executive Director Dick Ingram. “TRS was able to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus because our investment strategy emphasizes keeping risk at a minimum.”
A key element of the TRS investment program is to maintain a focus on steady, long-term investment returns. Short-term corrections in the investment markets get the headlines, but TRS recognizes that the majority of its members maintain relationships with the System that last for several decades.
For instance, the 40-year return for TRS at the end of 2019 was 9.1 percent. During the same period, the annualized return for the S&P 500 index was 8.4 percent.
In its 81-year history, TRS has survived numerous economy-shattering events, including World War II and the resulting reconstruction of Europe and Asia, wars in Korea and Vietnam, oil supply crises in 1973 and 1979; runaway inflation in the 1970s and 1980s; numerous stock market “corrections;” the Iranian invasion of Kuwait, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and five global health epidemics – SARS, Ebola, the Avian Flu, the Zika virus and the Swine Flu.
“Our long-term perspective and strategy serve our members well,” Ingram added.
To put this into some perspective, the Fiscal Year 2020 budget appropriated $4.8 billion to TRS. And $4 billion has vanished for now.
Also, Iraq invaded Kuwait, not Iran.
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Who Should Control The Remap Process?
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
In Illinois, the five people who have the ultimate say in shaping our state legislative districts include House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, and Governor J.B. Pritzker. If state lawmakers don’t follow the lead of other states and pass the Fair Maps Amendment, our representation will be determined by career politicians and attorneys.
Or, we could follow a path that would lead to a more diverse group representing the people of Illinois. If we follow California’s lead and establish an independent commission, we could have our next remap led by people who have spent their lives educating high schoolers, running small businesses and doing community foundation work and urban planning. That was the result of California’s first independent, citizen-led commission. Which group would you trust to represent your community’s interests?
State lawmakers must take votes on HJRCA41/SJRCA18, the Fair Maps Amendment, by May 3rd or we will be left with the status quo.
Learn more about the effort to end gerrymandering in Illinois by visiting: https://www.changeil.org/policy-priorities/redistricting-reform/
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Everyone has their own priorities
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Even if the governor had the power to do this (and I don’t think he does and neither does his legal counsel), a governor should not use this emergency to fulfill a policy goal that has been rejected for decades by the Illinois General Assembly just because elements of his base want him to do it. Here’s Ariel Cheung at the Tribune…
The state’s eviction moratorium has not been enough to protect Illinois renters, housing advocates say. Chicago’s 2,000 one-time housing grants — which 83,000 people have applied for — did not quiet the calls for relief.
Lawmakers are rushing to pass legislation that would suspend rent and mortgage payments during the coronavirus pandemic, while also keeping landlords and lenders afloat. But next month’s rent is due in just over a week, leaving little time to help those who need it. […]
Advocates and a growing number of politicians have urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to use his emergency powers through his ongoing disaster proclamation to repeal the state’s preemptive ban on rent regulation — action Pritzker has repeatedly said he cannot legally take. They are also pushing for the governor to put a moratorium on rent and mortgage payments for the duration of his stay-at-home order and three months after it is lifted.
They come armed with a legal opinion arguing that such action is within the governor’s powers during a declared disaster, either by issuing a statewide order or leaving it up to municipalities to decide.
…Adding… Set aside for a moment the highly questionable legality of the governor issuing an executive order to nullify a state law that prohibits rent control, and consider their other demand that he place a “moratorium on rent and mortgage payments” for the duration.
Leases and mortgages are legally binding contracts. So, the progressives pushing this idea need to stop and think what they’re doing. If they say he has the ability to nullify contracts, then what’s to stop him from temporarily nullifying or altering public and private employee union contracts? The CTU has been backing this ill-advised campaign. Careful what you wish for. Also, y’all might want to check the US Constitution’s contract clause.
Heck, taking it to an extreme, if the governor supposedly has this much power during an emergency, what’s to stop him from nullifying the legally binding contract portion of the state Constitution’s pension clause?
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* From a letter to the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities from 78 Illinois state legislators…
The COVID-19 public health crisis has our Country living through unprecedented times. Our State is under a stay- at-home order resulting in school closures, drastically altered restaurant operations, and banned gatherings of ten people or more. In the midst of this stay-at-home order, some services cannot stop and some workers must still report to the frontlines.
Nursing home workers are among those our state is depending on to show up and care for our loved ones. As elected officials – as Illinoisans – we owe them and their families a great deal of gratitude and deep appreciation. We are concerned to hear that there is not enough PPE being provided to workers in ALL job classifications in nursing homes. If we are going to flatten the curve of COVID-19, we have to provide the appropriate PPE, for workers and consumers to feel safe. Workers should be informed and trained on how to deal with COVID-19 in all facilities for their safety as well as the residents. Our collective goal is to save as many lives as possible and that can only be done when employers protect their employees.
In addition, these workers are among the lowest paid in the state. Last year the Illinois General Assembly took action to increase the reimbursement rates for nursing homes by $240 million. We supported this measure, in part because it was assured by the nursing home industry that a significant portion of this money would be spent on direct care staff – the very staff on the frontlines fighting back against COVID-19.
Unfortunately, we’ve learned that this hasn’t been the case as workers from over 100 nursing facilities are bargaining to finalize a contract before their current agreement expires at the end of this month. As some of the lawmakers who authorized this funding, we remain hopeful that the nursing home industry intends to offer their workers a contract that truly reflects the large increase in dollars that the industry was given. This also comes in light of news that the nursing home industry is asking for millions more in immediate state funding for purposes which are unclear. We are alarmed to learn of this request when the money previously authorized hasn’t yet been used for its intended purpose.
We urge the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities to thoroughly consider their actions in this extremely trying time. Workers deserve respect and dignity. This starts with adequate personal protective equipment, a level of paid sick time that you would expect for yourself, and wages that don’t keep employees living in poverty.
If the COVID-19 public health pandemic has accomplished one thing it has uncovered the very real problem that frontline healthcare workers haven’t received the support, respect, and compensation they deserve to support themselves and their families. Please consider contributing to the solution. Now is the time to save lives – not pennies.
* Meanwhile, SEIU Healthcare has two new radio ads. First up, “She’s My Mom”…
Script…
My daughter cries every day when I go to work at a nursing home, not knowing if I’ll be safe.
I hear the cries of patients — crying because they’re getting sick, care workers are getting sick, and because nursing home owners refuse to help. Nursing-home workers — Black, brown, and white women — deserve a safe workplace and hazard pay for our work on the frontlines — we deserve to be able to protect our families and communities from getting sick. Because I’m not just a nursing-home worker —
[Daughter’s voice:] She’s my mom, too.
* “Profits Above Safety”…
Script…
I’m a Nursing home worker on the frontlines of this crisis. Other Black women, like me, are risking our lives everyday, working in unsafe workplaces, and not receiving hazard pay for our essential work. Across Illinois, residents in nursing homes are dying…. workers like me are dying.
We need nursing home owners to put our safety and our patients’ safety above their profits.
We are urging our lawmakers to get involved on behalf of our patients’ lives — and ours too.
Thoughts?
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Do better
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. JB Pritzker said during a Monday afternoon appearance on CNBC that he is hoping the coronavirus peak will come “in the middle of May.” On Tuesday, the governor said this to a Washington Post reporter…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday said models are now predicting the new coronavirus won’t peak in Illinois until mid-May, weeks later than previously projected. […]
“So it’s been pushed out now, according to the models, to maybe mid-May, but at a lower level, and so we’re moving, inching toward that date,” Pritzker said.
* The first question from Illinois reporters yesterday was about that changed forecast. Pritzker’s response…
We’ll be talking more about our models in the coming couple of days. But suffice to say that we’re working hard to try to make changes to the stay at home order. But, you know, we are in the stay at home order now, so I think I’ve given enough information to people so they understand that the peak is still yet to come. We need to be careful.
But I wanted to give our staff and myself enough time to have conversations with the epidemiologists and the experts and people in different industries to try to understand what we could do, not just in the very near term about changing the stay at home order in some ways, tweaking at the edges and trying to make it easier on people, but also what we will do going forward, if in fact the peak comes in mid-May or whenever that may come. We need to have 14 days after that, as you know, according to many of the experts, where the numbers are going down, so we’re looking at all of those things we’re working on it now.
I have a very real problem with the governor going on a national cable news program mere minutes after briefing Illinois reporters Monday and telling that audience about a very substantial change in his forecast, and then repeating that information to a national newspaper the following day, but then dismissing questions about this quite substantial revision from reporters who actually live in and cover his own state.
I get why the modeling changed. The curve was slowed. Illinoisans leveled off a sharp upward spike and that pushed things out by several weeks.
But he should’ve explained this yesterday. And he probably should’ve said who was doing this new modeling that he’s looking at. At least give us a thumbnail sketch and then provide lots more details at a later briefing devoted entirely to the topic.
We’re the ones he governs. We’re the ones whose very lives and livelihoods depend on the governor’s every decision. If he’s not willing to answer questions at home, then he shoudn’t go on national media and answer theirs.
42 Comments
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Your moment of Zen
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oscar taking a much-deserved nap after vigilantly protecting his dad 24/7 from the hazards of life during these trying times…
And, yes, I know he really needs a haircut. So do I.
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* Press release…
– A coalition of business groups today filed a lawsuit challenging changes recently adopted by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission that will require employers to pay workers’ compensation benefits if an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19 without proof the illness was contracted at the workplace.
The plaintiffs in the case are the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which filed the suit on behalf of the state’s diverse employer community. Together, IMA and IRMA’s membership employ the largest number of workers in Illinois and contribute the highest share of the state’s Gross Domestic Product. The legal challenge was filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court by attorneys Scott Cruz, Thad Felton and Kevin Hormuth with the law firm Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.
“To be clear, this case is not about the wisdom of the substantive new law expressed by the Commission. This case is about the Commission far exceeding its rulemaking authority. The substantive law of Illinois, and the wisdom of implementing it, is for the legislature, after proper discourse, and not the whim of the Commission,” said attorney Scott Cruz. “Essential businesses across Illinois are doing all they can to protect workers while also meeting unprecedented demand for food, medical supplies, protective equipment and other important services needed during this pandemic. At a time when many are waiting for relief from the federal and state government in an effort to make payroll and retain workers, they will now be forced to pay for additional medical and salary costs regardless of whether an employees’ illness was contracted outside of the workplace.”
For clarity’s sake, the new rules shift the onus of proof onto businesses. They can still rebut the claims.
Working on getting a copy of the lawsuit, but the biz groups say they believe they’ll get a hearing this week.
…Adding… The complaint is here.
*** UPDATE *** Illinois AFL-CIO…
It shouldn’t shock anyone that the corporate community opposes a policy decision that helps workers. It’s what happens in Springfield and Washington D.C.
Only thing is, for the last several weeks, we as a community, state, nation and world have been fighting a scourge that has ground the economy nearly to a halt and likely forever changed our society and its people.
From the beginnings of the pandemic, our institutions have had one common thread holding communities together – our front line workers. Whether it is the health care workers and first responders trying to stay even or one step ahead of a lightning-fast disease, or the grocery store clerks, public employees and other essential support people, they have not blinked in trying to keep us safe and ready to begin a recovery.
We commend Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission for their foresight, compassion and good judgement in making sure those essential workers who contract COVID-19 are covered under Workers’ Compensation protections.
This is why we have Workers’ Compensation. Let’s defend the workers standing between us and chaos. We hope the business community interests that filed a lawsuit challenging the ability of sick workers to have speedy access to Workers’ Compensation rethink their position.
25 Comments
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* On Monday, the governor issued a warning to some nursing home owners and managers…
I briefly want to address concerns about long term care facilities not adhering to proper COVID-19 response protocols. Thus far facilities seemed to have been responsive to IDPH guidance and compliance with IDPH teams on the ground. Just like our other health care workers staff at these facilities, our frontline workers dedicating their days and nights to caring for seniors and doing all that they can to ensure a safe and healthy home for their residents. We as a state are deeply grateful for their service.
That said, we will not hesitate to hold any bad actors at the management level accountable. These private facilities are home to some of our most vulnerable Illinoisans, and we expect owners and managers responsible for their care to take every action at their disposal to keep them safe.
The governor’s remarks clearly struck a nerve.
* A reporter asked the governor this question yesterday…
How do you respond to concerns from nursing home groups that their facilities were not prioritized soon enough by the administration, including testing and PPE? They argue that this has led to even worse shortages of PPE and more positive cases and facilities as many cases went undiagnosed for limited access to testing
Part of the governor’s response…
Who is it that made the, not the question, but made the statement about PPE not being real? I think it’s an association. […]
I don’t think it would be fair to say that we have not provided PPE to nursing homes or to the counties to provide to their nursing homes. But we certainly want to know when there are nursing homes where you believe there is not PPE being made available every day to the people in those nursing homes where there are COVID positive patients, you should let our IDPH know. Dr. Ezike and her staff are all over this and they want to make sure that every one of our seniors is protected.
* A little background. I received this email after Monday’s media briefing from Matt Hartman, the executive director of the Illinois Health Care Association…
Rich, there was a good deal of misinformation in the Governor’s presser today in regards to nursing homes and how the state has handled the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in regards to the sector. The statements regarding expansive testing in facilities, prioritization of the sector for PPE, and prior statements about additional funding for nursing homes flowing all mischaracterized the reality. The timelines they describe are inaccurate, as are the responses to the requests of the sector and how they have involved us.
Testing in broad strokes in nursing homes didn’t begin until this week, prior to that centers had to request tests on a case by case basis, and in spite of the increased threat the virus poses to our residents, they were frequently denied. Nursing homes were not included on the initial priority list for PPE, rather they were told to individually request of their local health departments to be included, by which point the initial supplies were depleted. No funding has gone to facilities for the wildly increased costs of PPE and staffing during the crisis, though increases have been discussed by HFS.
* So, I asked the administration for a response. It came in not long before yesterday’s daily press conference and I didn’t have enough time to put something together. From deputy comms director Jason Rubin…
Hey Rich,
If the Illinois Health Care Association has concerns about the Governor’s statements we recommend they reach out to us directly so we can clarify. We have provided Matt and his team with a multitude of channels through which we can share information, guidance, and concerns during this pandemic. In fact, Deputy Governor Sol Flores and her team have a call with Matt and his team later this afternoon, one of the many calls that now take place every week, and I know they’re looking forward to another productive conversation.
On the substance, I would strongly encourage the association give the Governor’s remarks another listen before claiming the Governor is mischaracterizing reality. On testing, the Governor clearly laid out the fact that we have been able to secure more testing supplies, like VTM and swabs, and are therefore now able to more aggressively deploy testing at our long term care facilities. In facilities with known cases, we will continue to operate under the assumption that residents showing symptoms have COVID-19 and should be isolated and treated accordingly, but we will more aggressively test staff to understand who can safely continue working and who should isolate. In facilities without cases, we will test both residents and staff to isolate cases before widespread transmission. The Governor made clear in his remarks that we tested our first two homes over the weekend and an additional ten facilities yesterday. I’m not sure what was unclear about that timeline for Matt, but I’m sure the Deputy Governor and her team can help clear up any confusion this afternoon.
On PPE, everyone has to request PPE from their local health departments and county emergency management agencies. Those requests are all filled at the local level and when local stockpiles are depleted, county emergency management agencies make requests for additional PPE from IEMA. The state has made clear to local health departments that long term care facilities should be made a priority along with health care workers and first responders, who engage in this same process. If the association is suggesting long term care facilities be provided with a separate process than hospital workers and first responders, they are welcome to raise that on the call this afternoon.
On funding, as Matt Knows, Nursing Homes received initial funding from the CARES Act and will likely receive additional funding as soon as the federal government issues guidance. In the meantime, the state has provided a rate increase for nursing homes providing COVID-19 positive only care and we have streamlined the process for eligibility and admissions approvals to bring additional funding into all nursing homes at this time. This is in addition to the $240 million increase in funding the industry received less than a year ago, which represented a 10% rate increase.
Long term care facilities care for some of our most vulnerable residents. As the governor said, we are deeply grateful to the staff at these facilities who are on the frontlines, dedicating their days and nights to keeping our seniors safe. We look forward to continued dialogue with the Illinois Health Care Association as to how best we can all support that critical work.
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* From a Moody’s press release yesterday…
We revised Illinois’ outlook to negative because it aligns with Moody’s view of the probable effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which will reduce tax collections and likely cause current-year pension investment losses, both of which would weigh more heavily on Illinois, given its existing weaknesses relative to other states. Federal government support will mitigate some of the direct budgetary burden, but the state will face liquidity pressure that may lead it to near-term actions such as adding to its balance of unpaid bills. The state is also increasingly likely to take actions that worsen its long-term liabilities, in view of revenue shortfalls and growing health and social burdens.
* Greg Hinz looked at the new report…
How Illinois’ fares now will depend on not only the track of the epidemic but how much financial relief it gets from the federal government, something that certainly was on the mind of Illinois Senate President Don Harmon with that controversial letter a few days ago, in which he pleaded for a bailout.
Another is whether voters in November approve Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to authorize a graduated income tax.
“Voter approval, which is far from assured, would add some revenue volatility but would greatly improve flexibility to respond to pension contribution and other spending needs as well as shifting economic conditions,” the agency wrote in a comment Pritzker surely noticed. “Rejection of the amendment probably will force the state to consider other alternatives, such as aggressive spending reductions, an increase in the existing flat income tax rate or application of the state sales taxes to services.”
Overall, it concludes, the state generally should fare about as well as other large-economy states in the recession that’s now underway. And liquidity is good—at the moment.
* I read the initial press release and asked a Moody’s spokesperson if the firm had any evidence that Illinois would skip bond payments. The emailed reply…
The short answer is “no.”
* So, I said, if there’s no evidence of that happening, why put Illinois a hair above junk status? The reply…
Well, that goes back to our rating scale. I can talk you through it at some point if you want but there’s 21 total ratings with about half considered “investment grade” (Aaa to Baa3) and the rest below (Ba1 and lower). We call the latter “speculative grade” but everyone else calls it “junk.”
At the end of the day, the ratings translate to bondholders how risky a bond is and what the chances are they’ll be fully repaid with interest. The higher the rating, the greater the likelihood and vice versa. Since there’s multiple levels of speculative grade ratings, the lower the rating the higher the chance of default (and the higher the risk to bondholders).
We rate about 8500 municipal issuers across the country and I’d be surprised if we had 400 ratings below investment grade. Municipal issuers are extremely resilient and defaults and bankruptcies are very rare. But if a rating is downgraded below investment grade that does not automatically translate to default. It means we think the chances are higher than before.
Remember Chicago is rated Ba1, the highest “junk” bond level and one below the state. But Chicago has been at that position for a few years now and has not defaulted. CPS is rated three notches lower than the city at B1 because we consider them a much higher risk than the city. But at its nadir a couple of years ago CPS was rated two notches lower at B3 and may have defaulted if the state had not assisted.
This might be too wonky already, but in speculative grade the ratings also translate into likely recovery rates for bondholders if there is a default. The lower the rating the lower the recovery expected. Puerto Rico’s debt is rated either Ca (35-65% recovery expected) or C (35% or less) and Puerto Rico has defaulted on almost all its debt.
One last item to note: Our records go back to 1970 and we’ve never had a state rated below investment grade. The median state rating is Aa1, our second highest and eight notches higher than Illinois.
Thanks for reading and hope that clears things up,
It didn’t.
* Meanwhile…
The onetime head of Fitch Ratings’ Public Finance Group is blasting the firm’s decision [last week] to immediately downgrade Illinois debt, calling it “premature,” instead of giving officials a chance to resolve financial woes amid a fast-moving COVID-19 pandemic.
Mike Belsky said the pandemic still has too many uncertainties to make a judgement on its fiscal impact here. Belsky is now executive director of the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. […]
Belsky said Fitch apparently did not follow its normal course of sitting down with management—in this case, state financial officials—to discuss what sort of response they might make to souring finances. “Management now is stretched, drinking from a fire hose” and properly focused on medical issues, he said. “There’s no doubt that Illinois is going to be challenged.”
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* Press release…
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, a Clinton appointee, [yesterday] discussed the substantial relief she intends to order for minor party and independent candidates for the Illinois 2020 election. The Libertarian and Green Presidential Candidates will be on the ballot in Illinois, as will all “minor” party candidates who were on the ballot in 2016 or 2018. Unfortunately there were no Libertarians on the ballot in 2016 or 2018 for legislative seats in Illinois. The Libertarian candidate for Senate will also be on the ballot.
Judge Pallmeyer also offered relief to the Libertarians who are running for congress in 2020. They will only need 10% of their original signature requirement, and the petition deadline is extended from June 12th to August 7th. Signatures can be obtained via a computer and an electronic signature, though a paper version of the signature must be printed and brought to election officials.
The judge’s order is currently being drafted.
“This legal victory is the first of many for the Libertarian Party as we fight for fair access to the ballot in an era when traditional petitioning is impossible and a threat to public health. We think Judge Pallmeyer’s precedent will be a beacon for other justices as they hear the other Libertarian Party cases,” said Libertarian Party Executive Director Daniel Fishman
* Rebecca Anzel at Capitol News Illinois…
The judge also dictated candidates may collect signatures remotely. Voters would be able to print out a petition from the candidate’s website, sign it and either send a hard copy to the candidate through the mail or electronically in an emailed attachment or as a photograph.
Alternatively, voters would be able to electronically sign petition forms from their smartphone or laptop’s trackpad. […]
The parties asked Illinois’ signature collection mandates be waived or suspended this general election cycle so their candidates could appear on the November ballot. In a remote court hearing Friday, Pallmeyer said that “is beyond the power of the court.”
“In other words, no test that I adopt is going to be, if you file a lawsuit, you get on the ballot. That’s not appropriate,” she said, according to a court transcription.
* However, some signature-gathering requirements were waived. From yesterday’s transcript…
As I understand the order, it will be that if, for example, the Green Party qualified to have a candidate on the ballot in the Fifth Congressional district in one of the last two elections, so they would be — they would meet this qualification to nominate a candidate in the Green Party candidate without any signatures, but the fact that they nominated any Congressional candidate doesn’t mean that they can do that in every district where they didn’t have candidates.
Judge Pallmeyer said that interpretation was correct.
And it also means the two parties can nominate US Senate candidates and put them on the ballot without circulating petitions.
22 Comments
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