* Gov. Pritzker began by going over what I told you late yesterday about the lack of PPE supplies from the federal government. But he also announced that the private sector was coming through. His conclusion…
Illinois is acquiring PPE to compensate for what we haven’t received in our federal requests. But we are doing so while running up against obstacles that should not exist. I have medical professionals and first responders begging for things that they need to keep them safe, but so does Governor Cuomo in New York, so does Governor Dewine in Ohio, so does Governor Inslee in Washington State.
We’re all doing everything that we can to do our jobs, which is to protect our residents and to make sure our health care workers have what they need. We need the federal government to use the defense production act, to help the states get what we need. It’s the federal government’s job to make sure that a nurse being properly equipped in Illinois doesn’t come at the cost of a doctor being ready for work in California.
It’s the federal government’s job to make sure that we have a cohesive, prepared, robust national response. It’s the federal government’s job to make sure that cash-strapped states are not paying more than they should have to for supplies. That we are not watching prices go up by the hour, because we’re competing against one another, yet for the common good.
I’m an Illinoisan and I’m the Governor of Illinois. And I’m going to do everything that I can to protect our residents and get us through this crisis. I said I’d fight like hell for you. And I’m doing that every minute of every hour of every day. One way or another. We need these supplies, and I have a whole team of people whose singular focus right now is working the phones across the world to get as much PPE as possible shipped to Illinois. They’re the force behind the 2.5 million N95 masks, 1 million disposable surgical masks, 11,000 gloves and 10,000 personal protection kits that I just announced.
And again, I’m an Illinoisan, but I’m also an American. And so long as I know that there’s action that the White House can take things like aggressively wielding the defense production Act, or actually buying and distributing the supplies that they say they’re going to buy and distribute. I’ll do everything in my power to make that clear on behalf of the people of this state, and the more than 300 million Americans who don’t call Illinois home. Because that’s the very baseline of what we all deserve.
* Press release…
In another effort to build supply to protect those on the frontlines, battling this pandemic, Gov. Pritzker announced today that the state has executed contracts to purchase 2.5 million N95 masks, 1 million disposable surgical masks, 11,000 gloves and 10,000 personal protection kits.
While medical facilities across the state do have their own stocks of PPE and uses their own vendors to source additional PPE, the administration’s procurement effort aims to supplement their existing supply during this period of heightened need.
* Mark Denzler with the IMA was able to find 171,000 MREs and 350,000 N95 masks…
Thank you Governor Pritzker for your calm and steadfast leadership during this pandemic. I’d also like to thank the brave men and women who are on the front lines every single day, including women and men in manufacturing, Illinois is facing extraordinary times the rival, some of the greatest challenges in our history. Well the headlines are grim and the task is daunting. Illinois manufacturers once again stand ready to answer the call conquer obstacles and lead the way forward.
Over the last few weeks, the Illinois Manufacturers Association has been inundated with offers from companies across Illinois. Some manufacturers are ramping up production of current products, while others are repurposing their facilities to meet the need. Liquor manufacturers are making sanitizer, clothing manufacturers are making masks and grounds plastic injection molding companies are making parts for testing kits. This new essential equipment task force will help these companies collaborate, break down regulatory barriers in Washington DC or Springfield, provide medical standards and testing and help review the validity and safety of these products. Importantly, these products will remain in Illinois, to help our families and our neighbors.
* On to questions. Pritzker was asked about the crush of people trying to file for unemployment insurance and couldn’t get through…
First of all this is just an unprecedented number of people that are seeking Unemployment Claims during this time period. I don’t think we’ve ever seen this before even in periods during the 2008-2009 crisis. Having said that, we found over the weekend and over the last you know couple days of the week that the systems that we had that were supporting the online applications wasn’t robust enough to take all of the applications that were coming in at one time. And so we’re porting that system entirely over to a much more expansive foundational software system and server. So we won’t have any of those problems going forward. So we’ve taken care of, I think the online problem.
The phone line problem is another issue. We had to take non essential staff and push them up to the front lines to answer phones to make sure we answered any questions we would like anybody who needs to apply for unemployment though, to go to the website it really will be. It’s now a, you know, as I say it’s on a new platform, we’ll be able to take many more at the same time, we want to fulfill on people’s need during this crisis and we’re going to.
* How do you balance protecting the public health, while protecting civil liberties…
So to be clear, we’re trying to protect people’s health and safety. That’s our number one job here. There’s no attempt here to limit peoples’ civil liberties. People can go outside, they can do an awful lot of the same things that they were doing before was simply asked that non-essential businesses closed during this time period, and that people make a special effort to stay home.
* He was asked about supplies…
I was on the phone trying to get ventilators. I talked to two CEOs yesterday afternoon, speaking to them about acquiring ventilators from that we need to build up as many ventilators as we can. I should also point out that earlier today, I reached out to the President of the United States, he returned my call a little [later in the] afternoon and I spoke with him directly about our need for N95 masks and for ventilators. And as you know, it’s very important that we acquire as many of these as we can. I have called for him to invoke the national defense production act and actually utilize it because I know he’s invoked it but not utilized it in any industry. And when I call these ventilator manufacturers and I gave this example to them. In one case, they told me I was competing with FEMA to acquire ventilators, so I’m competing against the federal government to get ventilators for the state of Illinois, and the federal government is not distributing ventilators to the state of Illinois so I’m literally working against, you know, a competitor.
I just want to give you the second example if you don’t mind, I called another manufacturer of ventilators, and he pointed out to me that well I would be competing with countries other than the United States, so as I put an order in I better put in as big an order as possible in order to put myself higher on the list of priority to get ventilators from that manufacturer. Now, here I’m competing with my own federal government, I’m competing with countries outside the United States to get things that we need to, to keep our people safe and healthy.
The President was very responsive, frankly. He didn’t so much like the idea of invoking the defense production act, but he did say, you know what do you need. Let me see if I can get that for you and I, you know, gave him some numbers I told him what we had ordered from the government already. And he said let me work on that. And so I really thought it seems like he’s being very responsive to what I asked for and I hope that we’ll be able to receive those items in relatively short order.
* The governor was asked about rumors that the National Guard was armed. He deferred to his Adjutant General…
It’s great to actually get that out in front of the media today, dispel any rumors that the National Guard has any weapons. We’re not doing any police action, we’re not, you know, doing any kind of work at all like that.
What we are doing is supporting testing within the Rosemont area this week where we just stood up a new testing facility. We have 100 personnel that are taking care of testing now these are professional doctors or nurses or medical professionals that are supported by logistics folks. They’re there to manage that line and to help our neighbors, our community, folks in our community to get through and be tested. Today they started out with the first responders, they started testing them early this morning to get them through and make sure that they’re good to go on their test. And then they’re opening more and more up to the public as we go forward. They’re also supporting as the governor talked about PPE that personal protective equipment. They’re also supporting accounting for that distribution, as we get more and more of that coming in as governor talked about the large orders coming in. They will be helping warehouse sad they’ll package that up, they’ll ship that out, along with one way Department of Transportation, in conjunction with Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois State Police will be moving that distributed around the state to different drop areas. We’re also doing hospital assessments, we’re going in with our specialized engineering team that we have out of our civil engineering team out of their national guard. And they’re going around the state assessing hospitals that had been closed down previously that maybe provide additional capacity so they’re actually looking at the heating, the plumbing, electrical throughout those facilities and identifying which ones are easy to quickly turn on if we need that additional capacity and which are not. We’re also providing support with operations planning and management so when the governor talks about the professionalism that’s brought out by the National Guard, these are these are your citizen soldiers your, your soldiers that work for the Army and your Air Force SOC personnel that work for the Air Force, that are trained in many different skill sets. And unlike a flood where a lot of times we’re doing a lot of security and management and supporting flood operations. This time they’re bringing out some really key healing needed specialties such as medical and logistics and transportation. That’s what your National Guard brings, unique capabilities and capacity, when the state runs out of capacity, because we have so many people working. They come forward and they provide that extra lift. So you’ll see trucks around the Chicagoland area, you’ll see when we show up in camouflage we tend to draw a crowd.
But we’re not bringing weapons, we’re not bringing anything like that we’re bringing our professional skills to help out.
* What is the Illinois hospital bed capacity and how close to reaching it are we right now and what is the state’s ICU bed capacity and how close are we to reaching…
We’re going to be talking about that tomorrow. We’re right now we’re in you know decent shape across the state
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* If this virus gets into a prison or a jail, it can spread very fast…
* Tribune…
A number of Cook County Jail detainees — including “serial stowaway” Marilyn Hartman — have been quietly ordered released this week to help relieve jail crowding amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The hearings to formally release the detainees began this week, unannounced and separate from the two duty courtrooms that remain open to hear emergency matters during a widespread court shutdown.
* Press release…
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart continues to address the threat of COVID- 19 by implementing comprehensive precautionary measures across the Sheriff’s Office to ensure the health and safety of staff, detainees and the public.
Sheriff Dart previously activated the office’s 24/7 Critical Incident Command Center, which has been tracking COVID-19 related concerns in the Sheriff’s Office. To date, there have been few concerns, and no known cases of COVID-19 at the Cook County Department of Corrections. Incident Command is also communicating with public health and law enforcement agencies about ways to help prevent the spread of the virus. Through these communications, our staff have also been kept updated on ways to protect themselves.
* And then…
A correctional officer at the Cook County Jail has tested positive for coronavirus, the sheriff’s office announced Sunday.
The officer most recently worked in the jail’s Residential Treatment Unit, the wing for inmates who need medical or mental health attention, and Cermak Hospital, the on-site medical center, Cook County Sheriff’s spokesman Matt Walberg said. The officer is now in isolation at home.
The sheriff’s office has contacted employees who may have had contact with the officer and advised a “small number of staff” to self-quarantine for 14 days, though none have shown symptoms, the sheriff’s office said.
* Today…
In an attempt to speed the release of detainees from the Cook County Jail amid coronavirus concerns, more judges will take the bench this week in Chicago’s main criminal courthouse to formally release people who are not believed to pose a safety risk.
Prosecutors, sheriffs and the Public Defender’s office already have been working together to agree on which jail detainees could safely be released, and have brought about 100 of those cases before a judge for review.
* Decatur Herald & Review…
Seventeen non-violent, petty offenders have been released over the last few days from the Macon County Jail as corrections staff attempt to limit the risk of contagion from the coronavirus.
No cases of the virus have shown up in prisoners so far and Sheriff Tony Brown said he was being careful to strike a balance between public health concerns and public safety. […]
All over the country, sheriffs are taking a look at their jail populations and assessing risks. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell hasn’t gone as far as any prisoner releases yet but, quoted in the State Journal-Register on Sunday, he said 20 non-violent offenders had already been identified as candidates for potential early release.
Sangamon’s inmate population was the same as Macon County’s — 262 — but trending down from a recent high of 330.
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line…
Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is still considering releasing Illinois prisoners and youth at juvenile detention centers as the Coronavirus continues to spread throughout Illinois. […]
Groups like the John Howard Association, the Uptown People’s Law Center and the Children and Family Justice Center at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law are pushing for some incarcerated adults and youth to be sent home to prevent the rapid spread of Covid-19 should it enter either an adult or youth prison facility. […]
The Department of Juvenile Justice has seen a decrease in population over the last several years, but currently houses approximately 225 youth in five facilities statewide. The largest of those facilities — in Harrisburg and St. Charles — house approximately 80 incarcerated youth.
A coalition of nearly 30 organizations on Friday published an open letter to Pritzker asking for the careful release of some incarcerated youth from the Department of Juvenile Justice, pointing out that the facilities “do not and cannot maintain standards similar to congregate healthcare facilities.”
*** UPDATE *** It’s happening…
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced that two detainees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The detainees tested positive on Monday, March 23, and are currently being held in isolation cells at Cermak Health Services, where they have been housed since exhibiting flu-like symptoms on March 20.
One of the detainees, age 42, has been in custody since late December 2019 after he was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 D-bond on charges of Aggravated DUI. He was housed in the Residential Treatment Unit at the time he became symptomatic.
The second detainee, age 18, has been in custody since mid-February 2020 after he was ordered held without bail on charges of Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm. He was housed in Division VI at the time he became symptomatic.
…Adding… Press release…
Following a hearing before Cook County Judge Leroy K. Martin earlier today, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx released the following statement regarding the urgent situation at the Cook County Jail and emergency bail hearings to expedite release of detainees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the interest of both public health and safety during the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) has been working around the clock with the Cook County Sheriff and Public Defender to ensure any individuals who are not a threat to public safety are released from Cook County Jail. This weekend alone, prosecutors reviewed more than 1,200 cases. We will continue this process and agree to appropriate releases for the duration of this pandemic, to limit the number of people in our jail and reduce the number of people needlessly coming to court while recognizing there are both public health and safety risks that some detainees may pose. The only way to carry this out responsibly is to address these risks on an individual, case-by-case basis and per the Court’s order this morning, we will do so with increased capacity and continued urgency,” said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
In light of COVID-19, last week the CCSAO stopped prosecuting low level, non-violent narcotics offenses to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by limiting the number of people coming to court. In addition, the Illinois State Police will not be providing chemical testing during the pandemic.
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Hospitals are in increasingly dire straits
Monday, Mar 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Manny Ramos at the Sun-Times…
Roseland Community Hospital has operated at about 90% of capacity each day since nearby MetroSouth Medical Center closed last year.
And that’s before the coronavirus outbreak hit.
So Roseland, a so-called safety net hospital that serves predominantly low-income families on the city’s far South Side, is now bracing for a wave of patients to come through its doors.
“I think even a single hospitalized COVID-19 patient causes an overburden for us because it brings staffing issues and concern of the virus transferring to other people,” said Dr. Terrill Applewhite, chairman of the Roseland’s COVID-19 task force. “Even though we are facing this crisis, we are still dealing with everyday ailments.”
In that sense, Roseland is not alone. And it’s not just bed space about which hospitals are concerned.
Illinois hospitals used to have a lot of excess bed capacity, but that started changing about five years ago as hospitals began closing. Anyway, go read the whole thing.
* Rural hospitals are also at risk…
Those hospitals in small-town America that have survived rely heavily on moneymakers such as elective surgeries, physical therapy and lab tests to make their razor-thin margins work. But, according to the Chicago-based Chartis Center for Rural Health, almost half of them still operate in the red.
So the added financial hit from the coronavirus outbreak could be the final straw for many rural hospitals — exposing the complicated business dynamics at play within the United States’ critical public health infrastructure.
“This virus, and what it is causing for these hospitals, is the perfect storm that will close these hospitals at a time this country critically needs them,” says Robin Rau, CEO of Miller County Hospital in southwestern Georgia. “This is going to be the death blow to them.”
* What’s at stake…
While the virus is mild for the vast majority of people, the concern is so many people in Illinois are getting it that “even the small number of people who have trouble recovering is more than our health care system may be able to handle,” Pritkzer said Saturday.
That’s proven deadly in other locations: Italy’s health care system was overloaded by the sheer volume of cases there and doctors and hospitals haven’t had the resources to care for people who could otherwise be saved. That’s led to a surge of deaths there — 5,476 as of Sunday.
* Probably prudent, but still enraging…
Days after it began to ramp up drive-thru testing for patients who may be infected with the novel coronavirus, the Advocate Aurora Health hospital system announced Friday that it has suspended that program because of a national shortage of test kits and processing materials.
Advocate said in a news release that state health officials and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association were seeking “to conserve tests for those in critical need.”
“It’s an ongoing issue for all our hospitals in Illinois and across the country,” said Danny Chun, spokesman for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association. “There are very limited supplies of testing kits, nasal swabs and reagents — chemicals used to test the specimens — in large part due to the very small rollout of test kits by the federal government.”
* Meanwhile in New York…
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday mandated that all hospitals in the state increase the number of beds in their facilities by at least 50 percent as part of a multipronged effort to ensure that an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases won’t overwhelm the medical system.
Cuomo, during his daily coronavirus briefing, encouraged hospitals across the state to aim for a 100 percent increase. The governor has repeatedly cited statistics showing that the state currently has about 53,000 beds, but projections show there might be a need for as many as 110,000 within a few weeks.
* Related…
* ADDED: Chicago plans to rent thousands of hotel rooms for coronavirus isolation in move to preserve space in hospitals
* Hospital officials: Illinois should consider reopening shuttered facilities to help care for COVID-19 patients
* U.S. Hospitals Prepare Guidelines For Who Gets Care Amid Coronavirus Surge
* ‘Chicago Med,’ ‘Fire’ and ‘P.D.’ join other TV shows donating masks, other supplies used as props to hospitals for coronavirus treatment
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Rumor patrol
Monday, Mar 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m loving the Illinois National Guard’s Twitter content…
The ISP and other agencies should also start doing this.
…Adding… And, voilà…
* As I’ve already told you, the governor addressed some of the rumors himself…
“There have been a lot of rumors circulating around that are completely inaccurate,” he said. “Rumors that there’s going to be martial law that’s going to be imposed, that we’ve called out the guard or the military somehow to impose their will upon the state of Illinois. Those are all false. I want people to take a deep breath.”
Pritzker said that while the rumors are largely spread on social media, there’s also “an effort by the Chinese government and the Russian government to feed into that paranoia that people have about what’s going on.”
* Herald & Review…
Rumors that Decatur police are looking to pull drivers over to see if they are making non-essential journeys are just that — rumors, according to the city’s police chief.
Stories have circulated of drivers being pulled over and fined for contravening newly-imposed state-wide measures to limit non-essential travel in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“No, absolutely not, we’re not doing that,” said Police Chief Jim Getz. “We’re not doing it and we don’t have time to do that anyway.” […]
Getz said his officers are following guidelines laid down by Pritzker’s office and the Illinois State Police. Officers will not be “proactively” stopping drivers at random, he said, but they may question them about the nature of their trip if they’ve been pulled over for something else, like a traffic infraction or if somebody has made a specific complaint about a person’s behavior.
* WALLS 102…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources wants to clarify what the Governor meant by the executive order to stay at home. According to the office of J.B. Pritzker, as long as our sportsmen and women are fishing or hunting at a site which is currently open and they have the appropriate licenses and permits, they may continue to hunt and fish during the stay at home order. They were also made aware of a rumor that the upcoming hunting season is being closed, and wanted to let the public know that is completely false.
* Related…
* FEMA releases coronavirus rumor control website
* DHS chief refutes rumors of national lockdown due to coronavirus: ‘It’s simply not true’
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Get your COVID-19 questions answered here
Monday, Mar 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told you over the weekend that legislators are submitting questions to the governor and his office is responding to them in writing every day. Here’s one from the latest Q&A…
Childcare
Q: A healthcare provider is looking to set up a temporary daycare location for their healthcare workers. Can they get any reimbursement for this from the State?
A: Per the Governor’s Executive Order 10, all child care programs are closed; however, home day care programs can care for up 6 children. Where possible, children should be kept at home. The Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, in partnership with IDHS and IDCFS, has established a structure and system for child care providers to apply for an “emergency child care license” to provide care for essential workers. Please refer to the following link for additional resources: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/OECD/Pages/For-Communities.aspx.
Liquor
Q: What will happen to liquor licenses that expire soon?
A: Due to the hardships on liquor license holders as a result of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, all licenses expiring on March 31, 2020, April 30, 2020, and May 31, 2020, are extended until July 31, 2020. […]
Housing
Q: Is there consideration for reimbursing local housing agencies for making arrangements out of current homeless prevention funds? Are there other plans for assisting with homelessness / those seeking shelter in places where shelters are no longer taking new clients?
A: Through local continuums of care, DHS is making $6 million available for isolation housing for those who are experiencing homelessness. Homeless service providers will also receive a 5% increase in funding. Visit the Department of Human Services for more information.
Also in that new guidance is a clarification on auto dealers. I told you yesterday that the governor’s office said auto dealer sales were not deemed an “essential” service. But this is from the new Q&A…
Q: Are car dealerships essential services?
A: Car dealerships may stay open for repair and parts. Car dealerships may also remain open by appointment for individuals who need to purchase a car for essential travel. Showrooms should be closed. For further guidance, please call DCEO’s helpline 1-800-252-2923 or CEO.support@illinois.gov.
* Here are the Q&As I’ve been able to collect thanks to a generous legislator…
* March 22
* March 21
* Stay at home EO FAQ
* March 19
* March 18
Tell us what you find.
…Adding… The Illinois House Republicans have put together a website to answer your questions. Click here. Also, click here for a good Tribune explainer.
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[Comments are now open.]
* From the governor’s office…
MARCH 6:
The State of Illinois requested personal protection equipment (PPE) from the strategic national stockpile (SNS) managed by the federal government.
State of Illinois request:
• N95s - 600,000
• Surgical masks - 900,000
• Gloves - 400,000
• Gowns - 24,000
• Goggles - 4,000
• Face shields - 120,000
• Respirators - 4,000
• The following was requested for continuity of government (public safety workers):
o N95s: 600,000
o Gloves: 1.2M
o Goggles: 20,000
MARCH 12:
The State of Illinois received a shipment of PPE from the SNS containing:
• N95s - 123,430
• Face shields - 55,989
• Coveralls - 234
• Gloves - 162,541
• Surgical Masks - 45,649
• Gowns - 45,649
MARCH 20:
The State of Illinois made a request for PPE for public safety workers.
State of Illinois request:
• Gloves - 7M
• N95s - 1.74M
• Gowns - 900,000
• Goggles - 43,500
• Hand Sanitizer - 85,000 bottles
• Disinfectant Wipes - 43,000 Canisters
• MREs (meals ready to eat) – 1,000,000
MARCH 22:
According to IDPH an additional SNS shipment will begin arriving today. The amount of this shipment is expected to be the same as the shipment we received on March 12.
* I put the numbers together for you…
• Respirators requested - 4,000
• Respirators received - 0
• Goggles requested - 67,500
• Goggles received - 0
• Hand Sanitizer requested - 85,000 bottles
• Hand Sanitizer received - 0
• Disinfectant Wipes requested - 43,000 Canisters
• Disinfectant Wipes received - 0
• MREs (meals ready to eat) requested – 1,000,000
• MREs received - 0
• Surgical Masks requested - 900,000
• Surgical Masks received - 45,649 (91,298 if federal promise met today - 3.8 percent of IL’s request)
• Gloves requested - 8.6M
• Gloves received - 162,541 (325,082 if federal promise met today - 5 percent of IL’s request)
• Gowns requested - 924,000
• Gowns received - 45,649 (91,298 if federal promise met today - 5 percent of IL’s request)
• N95s requested - 2.94 million
• N95s received - 123,430 (246,860 if federal promise met today - 8.4 percent of IL’s request)
• Face shields requested - 120,000
• Face shields received - 55,989 (111,978 if federal promise met today - 93 percent of IL’s request)
• Coveralls requested - 0
• Coveralls received - 234 (468 if federal promise met today)
Well, at least we’re all good on face shields and coveralls.
That MRE request is a little scary, by the way.
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* Press release from Rep. Bob Rita (D-Blue Island)…
URGENT PUBLIC NOTICE: Early this morning, I was contacted by the Governor’s office regarding policing and public safety in Blue Island. I have since learned that Mayor Domingo Vargas made a unilateral decision at 1 a.m. Sunday (today) to suspend all police department activities. At no point did the Mayor’s office contact my office, any member of the City Council or any other local leaders in making this rash decision.
In response to this action by the Mayor, my office has made contact and arrangements with both the Cook County Sheriff and Illinois State Police to ensure that Blue Island residents have police patrolling our community. While this is not a long- term solution, please be assured that there are County and State police available should residents need their help. Residents should still call 911 if an emergency. I am also in frequent communication with the City Council and am calling on our alderman to convene an emergency meeting to address community policing during this crisis.
Our first responders are heroes because they remain on the frontlines during this crisis. In the event that a first responder falls ill with COVID-19 or any other illness, there are state-mandated protocols in place to protect both the employee and any others coming in contact with that person. These protocols are in place to ensure that we can protect both individual officers while not threatening the safety of the general public. Based on current information, these vital protocols were not followed by Mayor Vargas when making his decision.
I am in frequent communication with both local leaders and the Governor’s office and will be providing daily updates as we work through this difficult time. We are also asking that anyone who is in possession of safety masks, gloves or other equipment consider donating those items to the Blue Island police and fire departments as we are facing a national shortage on protective items for first responders. Residents are invited to call my office at 708-396-2822 or email robertbobrita@aol.com with questions or concerns.
Together, as a community, we will get through this.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. From Jordan Abudayyeh…
The Governor’s Office urges local governments to act responsibly as we overcome the challenges COVID-19 brings us. Police officers are essential employees who do valuable work to protect and serve. The health and safety of all Illinoisans are the Governor’s top priority and the administration is working with ISP to inform local governments on proper protocols. The Governor would urge leaders in Blue Island to follow guidance from the CDC and IDPH.
* Sen. Michael Hastings…
“Our first responders are doing a phenomenal job in the south suburbs responding to COVID-19 calls. I’ve been on daily calls with them regarding planning and potential issues moving forward. Unfortunately, we are already seeing the effect when our law enforcement officials are exposed to this virus. We’ve had exposure at four of our local police and fire departments already.
On a positive note, whether it’s getting PPE or prioritizing testing for first responders, Governor Pritzker has been overwhelmingly understanding and helpful to our requests.
Similar to my experience in Iraq, bad things will occur in this battle. We’re going to have to be one team, one fight regardless of who you are or where you live.
…Adding… One person who’d been home a week and the entire department is shut down?…
Blue Island Mayor Domingo Vargas made the decision Sunday. Vargas told NBC 5 a police department employee tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and although the person hadn’t been at work for at least a week prior to the positive test, officials are looking into whether the individual was in contact with other city or department employees.
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* Gov. Pritzker began his press conference today by thanking the media…
Today marks the 14th of these daily briefings, two full weeks. So I want to start by saying how appreciative I am to the many members of the media, and to the public who tune in to these press conferences every single day, and help us to get the word out to the broader population of Illinois.
This also feels like an appropriate time to offer an apology to the woman who called my office this week angry that I’ve been interrupting the Bold and the Beautiful, and wanting to know that I too look forward to the days when we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming.
All kidding aside, getting accurate information disseminated and squashing irresponsible rumors is so critically important, as we waged the battle against COVID-19. So thank you to our residents, for sharing the information that I share, every day with your friends and your neighbors your family, and your social media networks. Thank you again to the reporters and the press who are continuing to do this work in such a difficult time.
* He went on to speak about President Trump…
One final thing. I refuse to spend more time on this than it deserves. So I want to quickly address Donald Trump’s tweet today before you asked me.
One of the things that’s been most heartening here in Illinois is the degree to which Republicans from all over our state have reached out to me to ask how they can help. Even people who have had profound political disagreements with me in the past have been among the first to call or text me asking what they could do to help Illinois in her hour of need.
When it comes to volunteerism and charity and stepping up in a crisis, Illinoisans of all political stripes are doing their part.
Now, I’m a pretty even-keeled guy. But even I’m finding it hard to contain my anger with Donald Trump’s response to this national crisis. I have doctors and nurses and first responders begging for masks, equipment and more tests. And I have a floor full of staff who are working day and night to hunt down the supplies that our healthcare workers and our first responders need, and the supplies we know they’re going to need.
We’re doing that because Donald Trump promised to deliver for all the states weeks ago. And so far has done very little.
So apparently the only way to get the President of the United States to pay attention is to go on national television and make noise about it, which I won’t stop doing until we get what we need. I said I would fight for the state and I will with every breath that I have and I meant it.
I said that the other day, that this is a time for serious people, not the carnival barkers that are tweeting from the cheap seats. All I can say is, get to work, or get out of the way.
This will be updated. And please pardon all typos because I’m using Otter for fast transcription.
* On to questions for the governor from the media. Will Illinois be extending the tax filing deadline..
I want you to know that we’re working hard to figure out how we can do that. You know there are challenges for the state of just cash flow right. I mean obviously we receive a lot of those revenues typically in April and they’re planned for spending related to those revenues that come in in April. So we’re trying to figure out whether there’s federal borrowing or federal help that will come down the pike that will help. I think there are a lot of states will have this kind of cash flow issue. If they extend their deadlines to July, I think is when the federal government did, but we are working on it . We think that’s an important thing for us to evaluate and then do something about
* Concerns about the health of older healthcare workers coming back to the profession, as Pritzker asked yesterday…
For those who are older, we certainly want people to take extra care. We wouldn’t want anybody who deems themselves to be at risk or falls into a high risk category to come into the healthcare profession and be exposed to COVID 19.
There are ways for healthcare professionals, even who are older, to participate and help us, and not be as exposed to COVID 19. In other words, there are a number of people who will be in hospitals or in health care centers that don’t have COVID 19 that simply are people who are heart attack victims or have some other condition that that need hospitalization. We’re trying to separate those people out from people who have covered 19, and make sure that we are serving both needs, but not spreading the virus. So, there will be and are places where one can work that are lower risk than just going into a hospital emergency room or serving COVID19 patients.
* We’re hearing a number of employers are giving essential employees documents akin to an affidavit for proving that they are indeed essential or law enforcement requiring this…
No, but let me be clear. You do not need to have papers or a permission from your employer, when nobody’s being stopped on the streets. And unless they are in fact seem to be directly violating the stay at home order in which case, a police officer or somebody else may just ask you please go home or are you in fact going to your job or going somewhere that is essential. Just to encourage people to do the right thing. So there’s no stopping people and asking for papers that’s going on.
* How will you measure how effective the stay home order is…
…One of the things that the doctors have said, the researchers have said is that after about eight or 10 days after the stay at home order’s put in place, we may begin to see the increase in the number of cases reported start to diminish their acceleration. Let’s say, instead of being exponential, maybe they’ll be growing at only a geometric level.
And remember these numbers will grow even after we may have slowed this significantly. They will grow because of more testing being available. We’ll be able to test more and more people know exactly who has it. But we may begin to see and this is up to the statistician and the modelers, we may begin to see it, a bending of this curve, you know, even after less than two weeks and so that’s why we wanted to put this in place for long enough to be able to see what effect we’re having. And we’ll watch it very closely. I mean I want very much as everybody else does, to begin to go back to normal as soon as possible. But let me tell you what the most important thing is that needs to happen. And it’s something that’s a little out of all of our control. But it is in the hands of the tremendous researchers that are here in in Illinois in Chicago, many of them in Champaign, and also all across the United States and the world. And that’s they’re researching treatments and therapies, and they’re getting closer.
There are two or three that have been in trials even now, one of which seems more effective than others but we won’t really know until we get the full results of those tests but the truth is that we’re going to rely upon them to help us with treatments. Once we get treatments I think all of us will feel a little bit of relief that we know that we can save lives. We know that we may be able to, you know, bend this curve, even more. And then of course finally getting a vaccine to protect people entirely from it will be the most important thing we can do
* How much money are we taking out of the state’s rainy day fund to help medical facilities and testing centers…
So I think many of you know that the state for many years didn’t have much of a rainy day fund. And I want to say that we’ve worked hard. So far I’ve been in office now 15 months and we’ve worked hard to look at ways that we could build up that rainy day fund.
Well now as you can imagine in this crisis, there’s no way to build up that fund it’s a very very small fund in the state of Illinois.
Having said that, all the states in the United States need help from the federal government. That’s why you’ve seen in some of these stimulus packages for example support for unemployment benefits, unemployment insurance. As one example but we’re all going to need help with our state budgets because revenues are declining in every state as we have had to slow things down to keep people at home. But also we’ve seen an increase in expenditures because we have social services that we want to make sure we’re providing for people who may be suffering economically, financially from this virus, so we have a lot of needs I would say that we can’t meet with a rainy day fund in our state. And so we’re going to do everything that we can to meet those needs no matter what
* Is there some where people can call to denounce if their place of employment is open and they don’t think it should be…
I would encourage people to call the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. We have a hotline where people can find out if their business does in fact meet the requirements of an essential business operation in the executive order.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 296 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an infant. IDPH also announced three deaths. The deaths included a Cook County man in his 80s, a Chicago man in his 80s, and a McLean County woman in her 70s. Jo Daviess, Livingston, Rock Island, and Stephenson counties are now also reporting cases. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,049 cases in 30 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to 99 years.
Health officials are still learning about this new virus and information and guidance is rapidly evolving. At this time, it is still unknown if a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can pass the virus to her fetus or baby during pregnancy or delivery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no infants born to mothers with COVID-19 have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. In these cases, which are a small number, the virus was not found in samples of amniotic fluid or breastmilk.
* Today’s graph…
…Adding… Illinois is up to 8,374 completed tests. Positive movement, but not nearly enough.
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* The Illinois National Guard is on rumor patrol at its Twitter page…
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association sent this to its members Friday about the governor’s stay at home order…
Importantly, Section 12(e) of the order provides that “Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, and related facilities and bicycle shops and related facilities” are essential businesses that can remain open. In other words, motor vehicle dealerships, both the parts and service department and the related sales department are essential to the health and welfare of Illinois residents and may remain open
* A legislator asked the governor’s office about this topic…
Q: Car dealers appear to think they are essential services? Perhaps being open for service calls but new sales? Where can they receive more guidance?
A: Only auto-repair is considered an essential operation.
*** UPDATE *** Last night’s Q&A updated the position…
Q: Are car dealerships essential services?
A: Car dealerships may stay open for repair and parts. Car dealerships may also remain open by appointment for individuals who need to purchase a car for essential travel. Showrooms should be closed. For further guidance, please call DCEO’s helpline 1-800-252-2923 or CEO.support@illinois.gov.
* Legislators are submitting questions to the governor and his office is responding to them all at once every day. I have asked to be put onto that list so I can post them here. A helpful legislator forwarded a few to me today. That auto dealer guidance was in yesterday’s email…
* March 21
* Stay at home EO FAQ
* March 19
* March 18
* Remember the other day when Liz Uihlein sent an email to legislators complaining about the media overblowing COVID-19 and asked them “at what point do we go back to our normal lives?”
NY Times…
And in the Midwest, Uline, a major distributor of packaging materials and industrial supplies, kept its work force going through the week, despite complaints from employees, including those crowded into its call centers, working side-by-side in cubicles.
“Nothing’s really changed,” one employee said. “It’s just nerve-racking.”
Employees received an email Thursday from the Uihlein Family, owners of the $5.8 billion company and big donors to Republican causes, thanking them for their efforts and saying that the “White House called upon us twice with huge orders” this week.
The same day, a manager at one Uline call center sent a note to employees.
“If you, or family members, are under the weather with cold/allergies — or anything aside from Covid-19,” it read, “please do NOT tell your peers about the symptoms & your assumptions. By doing so, you are causing unnecessary panic in the office.”
* A few headlines from the Tribune’s excellent live blog…
* Chicago groups scramble to change 2020 census plans for ‘hard-to-count’ communities after coronavirus stay-at-home order
4 Elgin firefighters in isolation after contact with 3-year-old with coronavirus
Chicago launches website to help first responders and health care workers find day care
Confirmed COVID-19 cases reported at Loyola University, U of I Urbana-Champaign
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* Gov. Pritzker today…
Please remember that the grocery stores and gas stations and pharmacies will all be open tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday and every day after that. And they are being constantly restocked. In fact, you would be better off going to the store on Monday than you are today.
As I said yesterday, so many of us have neighbors who are vital to our future, our nurses our doctors our healthcare workers, our law enforcement officers, our firefighters and the ambulance drivers our grocery workers truck drivers our pharmacists, let’s be good to them. […]
Today I’m issuing a call to action in the fight against COVID 19. We’re in the middle of a battle and we need reinforcements. I’m asking all former physicians, nurses, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners and respiratory care therapists who have recently left the field, whether for retirement or a new profession, to come back and join the fight against COVID 19. We need your help now.
We’ll be waiving the fees and licensures so you can rejoin the healthcare workforce right away. On Monday, your health care license reinstatement form will be available on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation website … These applications will be processed on an expedited basis, and we’ll be coordinating with hospitals and healthcare sites throughout the state to deploy these reenlisted medical professionals to the front lines. Also for medical professionals professionals whose licenses may be expiring, we are automatically extending your licenses, through the end of September.
Finally, for healthcare workers living at our borders,who may be practicing in cities outside of Illinois. We’re going to make it easier for you to also practice here. This will allow health systems in places like the Quad Cities and East St. Louis to deploy physicians where they are needed most on either side of the border.
This is hero’s work. And all of you have our deepest gratitude for your willingness to serve.
* Racism spike…
Lastly, let us remember that this virus is not tied to any specific ethnic group or race, people from every demographic every race, ethnicity, gender, or background, have been infected. Suggesting otherwise, or engaging in racist speech or acts is one of the most profoundly unAmerican things that I can think of. Instead, the current crisis should drive home to all of us just how connected we all are. We can choose how we want to come out on the other side of this. Let’s choose to be one Illinois.
* IDPH Director…
I have to share with you the additional cases. Se’ve added 168 new cases. And unfortunately, that includes a death. A gentleman in his 70s, who resided in Cook County.
That brings our total to 753 cases, with a total of six deaths. for each of the families, represented by these fatalities. We all offer our support, and prayers.
* Today’s graph…
* Back to the IDPH Director…
During this unprecedented public health emergency, stocks of personal protective equipment, also known as PPE, are being used rapidly. The availability of critical resources, such as gloves, gowns, eye protection and N 95 respirators is essential to maximize the state’s availability of this PPE. IDPH will release guidance to limit non essential adults’ elective surgery and other medical and surgical procedures, including dental procedures until further notice.
We are encouraging strongly all ambulatory surgery centers and veterinarians to donate PPE that is not immediately needed to assist healthcare workers healthcare facilities and first responders who are on the frontline actively responding to COVID 19.
Remember that I’m using Otter for transcription so I won’t be able to catch all of the typos.
* On to questions for the governor. The first two reporters have apparently not bothered to read the EO or even the press release. They asked some pretty obvious questions about what would and would not be closed. He was also asked again about enforcement, which he went over yesterday…
Well we are certainly asking the residents the citizens of Illinois to enforce themselves, to make sure that they follow the rules. We hope that people who might see somebody else doing something that’s against the order might say something to them. It’s not their job to intercede.
But if the law enforcement officers out on the streets would see something there. They certainly would say something to people there. Their next course of action if somebody were to refuse to comply, would be to get a cease and desist order from a court.
So if it was a gathering somebody’s having a picnic a large group of people who are just disobeying the order around the number of people who should gather which is limited to 10, they might need to go to a court to get a court order to get that party that activity to cease and desist in the extreme circumstance. An officer could charge somebody with reckless conduct, which is a misdemeanor, if they’re truly engaging in reckless conduct.
Most people will simply be making a mistake, they’re not standing six feet away from each other they’re standing a few feet. Those are the kinds of mistakes nobody’s going to hold anybody responsible for and we’re not encouraging police, we’re not looking to put people in jail or to fine them for this kind of activity. What we really want is for people simply to obey the rules.
This is about keeping everybody in our community safe, including the law enforcement officers, including your neighbors and your friends and your family members. But people are still encouraged to go outside and, you know, the weather allows to go on a walk to take your dog on a walk to take your child out, and so on. There’s nothing wrong with going to the grocery store, going to the pharmacy. You know, if you need to check up on a neighbor or friend.
Those things are all, you know, allowed and something that certainly I would encourage. I would especially encourage checking up on, calling your friends or people that you know who our healthcare workers and on the front lines who are our first responders, those are people who are so vital to us, and they should know how grateful you are. And I would hope you would ask them if there’s anything that they need that you might be able to do for them.
* Federal response…
I must admit that we’ve gotten no help from the federal government or, let me say, limited help because we did receive some PPE. When we put in an order we got 25% of what we asked for from the federal government. But I believe that we are acquiring at a reasonable rate, but I have an office of people several of them are dedicated to just this to getting into the supply chain and getting every item that we need to make sure that our healthcare operations and our first responders are covered.
* Recovery rates…
It is true that the vast majority of people will recover from having COVID 19. The problem is that the numbers of people, overall, who are getting COVID 19 are so large that even the small number of people who have trouble recovering is more than our healthcare system may be able to handle. And that’s why we’re all working so hard to make sure that we keep our social distance and that all of you obey the stay at home [order].
* For the IDPH Director: How confident are you about asymptomatic transmission…
Yeah, that’s a great question. So, we know that before you develop symptoms, you have to have the virus in your system. And the virus, you don’t get the virus replicates rapidly so you get the virus, and then it replicates in your system, and then you develop symptoms. So we know that from when you get the virus to when you get symptoms, there could be some time in there, maybe a day or two. And so, the issue is how do we think that virus that’s in your system now gets transmitted to another person. And so from what our best evidence shows, we think the majority of the transmission has to do with droplets coming out from sneezes or coughs potentially from contaminated surfaces, being touched and then introducing that virus into, into your mucous membranes, whether it’s your mouth your nose your eyes. And so that’s why the attention to cleaning surfaces frequently, and to cover your cough, and stay home when you have a cough. So, yes, we know that you could potentially have the virus at say Day Zero, but the likelihood of transmitting at that time is significantly lower which is why we prioritize people with symptoms, because we know the direct method by which people would transfer it to another individual.
* Question for the governor: We are getting tons of questions from people who work in manufacturing asking why they are not shutting down and are considered essential. Can you elaborate on what manufacturing sectors are essential and why…
So again I would direct everybody online to the frequently asked questions into the order itself it actually outlines quite a long list. The intention here is that there’s a supply chain of manufacturing that occurs, not just for the end product that you see on a shelf, but all the way back you know the brand that you see on the shelf is not just the brand itself but there’s a twist tie and there’s a plastic bag that holds the brand. Those are all manufacturers that are necessary in order for that good to end up on the shelf. The same thing is true for bottle makers for pharmaceuticals, for example. It’s not just the pharmaceuticals, but that someone makes the tops, someone makes the bottles, you can see that there’s a whole supply chain behind many of the things that are necessary for everybody’s daily life. And so we want to be, you know, to make sure that essential business operations includes all of the supply chain across the board.
* He was asked about his optimism for the future…
I’m going to try to be measured in my answer to your question because as you know I’ve been deeply concerned. I would say frustrated and sometimes even angry at the failures of the federal government.
Let me say that there are people at levels below the political levels of government, who are working very hard to do the right thing. People have the experience that’s necessary to help us solve the challenges we have in the States, and I talk to them frequently. Sometimes I expressed to them my frustration. I simultaneously tell them you know that that I know that this is not their fault, specifically.
But I have to say that that my optimism has waned.
Honestly, because I said the other day that the federal government is like Lucy with the football and I feel like Charlie Brown. And so this has happened, a number of times now, weeks ago, you could look back at press conferences or comments that I made weeks ago, weeks ago we were promised tests that in fact we were told that right around the corner. I was told by people at the highest levels ‘Right around the corner, we’re going to see more and more tests.’ and then weeks went by. Now, are we seeing more tests? Yes, but not even at the numbers that were promised weeks ago. And now they want to sit you know they want to try to play games, about the numbers.
Pritzker continued…
All I can tell you is that that the great people of the state of Illinois, the people who work in our hospitals, the researchers the laboratory technicians, they’re the ones, the doctors here, they’re the ones who have actually figured out how to test and have spun up testing all across the state.
We, of course, our laboratories the state IDPH laboratories were the real front lines. They’re the ones who they put on a second shift. They’ve been doing more and more tests. I mean, they’ve had to put aside some other testing that they do in order to make sure that we’re getting the COVID 19 testing done.
So, I am frustrated. I mean I’m hopeful in a way that the commercial laboratories, and that the private sector will help us figure this out, because so far the federal government hasn’t.
Just one example, private companies have developed or are developing rapid COVID 19 tests that don’t take four or five hours to get an answer for, but something that takes that you could do on the spot. That would be a revolution here.
And so I’m, I’m hopeful in that regard that we’re going to get help. Because the ingenuity of the people of Illinois, the ingenuity of the private sector the ingenuity of the people working in the laboratories, at the hospitals all across our state is heartening.
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Executive Order now online
Friday, Mar 20, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Click here to read it and discuss. I’m too busy at the moment.
* Press release. Sorry about formatting. On deadline trying to finish my newspaper column…
Following the advice of leading public health experts around the globe, Governor JB Pritzker announced today has signed a statewide stay at home order, aiming to keep new cases of COVID-19 from rapidly increasing and ensure the state’s health care system remains fully operational to treat patients in need of urgent care.
The order takes effect 5 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 2020. In addition to the stay at home provisions, it also orders all local government units across the state to halt all evictions and bans gatherings of more than 10 people.
“We are doing all that we can to maintain as much normalcy as possible while taking the steps we must to protect our residents,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I fully recognize that in some cases I am choosing between saving people’s lives and saving their livelihoods. But ultimately, you can’t have a livelihood without a life. This will not last forever, but it’s what we must do to support the people on the front lines of this fight, and the people most vulnerable to its consequences.”
“This action underscores the seriousness of the situation and reinforces what many people all across Illinois are already doing to protect themselves, their neighbors and the community at large,” said Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). “Please, take this seriously, stay inside, limit your travel and be responsible for not just your own health, but everyone else’s, too.”
“During these unprecedented times, it is important we do what we can to prevent the spread of this virus. Simply staying home and following these best practices will help ensure our families, our neighborhoods and our communities remain safe,” said Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington). “It is also important that we not panic. Essential businesses and services will remain open and available. We will get through this if we all work together.”
“I commend Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot’s leadership, and join them in urging people to adhere to this ‘stay at home’ order to help flatten the curve and ultimately save lives,” said House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago). “We should all rest assured that we will continue to have regular access to groceries, medication, gas and other essential services. We will get through this together by following the advice of experts and giving doctors, nurses and first responders a chance to fight this disease. I want to extend my full gratitude to the frontline medical personnel working hard to save lives. By adhering to this order and following best medical advice, we can stand with them in this fight.”
“This is a critical time for our state and our nation, and we must take any and all steps, including the governor’s action today, to reduce the number of those affected by this virus so that we can return to our normal way of life as quickly as possible,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R- Western Springs)
“Every action we’ve taken so far is based on the latest science and data from health officials as we combat the dynamic spread of COVID-19, and this is no exception,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This decision was not an easy one, but Governor Pritzker’s order for Illinois residents to stay at home is the right thing to do to ensure we are protecting the health and wellbeing of our residents. We strongly encourage our residents to follow the guidelines and ensure the safety of their neighbors as we work to confront this crisis together.”
THE SCIENCE
Over the last several months, the Governor has consulted with medical experts, epidemiologists, mathematicians and modelers to understand the progression of COVID-19 and the measures needed to keep Illinoisans safe.
The administration has looked closely at the trajectory of coronavirus in countries like Italy and China. It is clear that left unchecked, cases in Illinois will rise rapidly and mirror the consequences experienced by other countries. Hospital systems would be overwhelmed, protective equipment would become scarce, and there would not be enough health care workers, hospital beds, or ventilators for the influx of sick patients.
In consulting with these experts, it is clear the most effective strategy available to Illinois is mitigation. That means limiting the increase in cases to ensure our healthcare system has capacity to treat those who become ill. The most aggressive form of this strategy is a stay at home order, which the administration is now implementing.
STAY AT HOME ORDER
All first responders, emergency management personnel, law enforcement personnel, health care workers and others working to support Essential Businesses and Essential Government Functions like grocery stores and pharmacies are exempt from this stay at home order.
The governor’s action today formalizes his calls this week for Illinoisans to stay home as much as possible, aside from meeting their basic needs. In that regard, the stay at home order permits a range of activities that will allow Illinoisans to get their necessities while maintaining social distance from others, which include but are not limited to:
Essential Activities:
For health and safety: seeking emergency services, obtaining medical supplies or medication or visiting a health care professional
For necessary supplies and services: obtaining groceries and food, household consumer products, supplies they need to work from home, and products necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences
For outdoor activity: walking, hiking, running or biking – including going to public parks and open outdoor recreation areas, except for playgrounds
For certain types of work: Providing essential products and services at Essential Businesses or Operations or otherwise carrying out activities specifically permitted in the order, including Minimum Basic Operations
To take care of others: Caring for or transporting a family member, friend or pet in another household
Essential Government Functions:
All services provided by state and local governments needed to ensure the continuing operation of the government agencies and provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public
This Executive Order does not apply to the United States government
Essential Businesses and Operations:
Healthcare and Public Health Operations: Working at or obtaining services from hospitals; clinics; dental offices; pharmacies; public health entities; healthcare manufacturers and suppliers; blood banks; medical cannabis facilities; reproductive health care providers; eye care centers; home healthcare services providers; mental health and substance use providers; ancillary healthcare services — including veterinary care and excluding fitness and exercise gyms, spas, salons, barber shops, tattoo parlors, and similar facilities
Human Services Operations: any provider funded by DHS, DCFS or Medicaid; long-term care facilities; home-based and residential settings for adults, seniors, children, and/or people with disabilities or mental illness; transitional facilities; field offices for food, cash assistance, medical coverage, child care, vocational services or rehabilitation services; developmental centers; adoption agencies; businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services and other necessities of life for needy individuals — excluding day care centers, day care homes, group day care homes and day care centers licensed as specified in Section 12(s) of the order
Essential Infrastructure:
Working in food production, distribution and sale; construction; building management and maintenance; airport operations; operation and maintenance of utilities, including water, sewer, and gas; electrical; distribution centers; oil and biofuel refining; roads, highways, railroads, and public transportation; ports; cybersecurity operations; flood control; solid waste and recycling collection and removal; and internet, video, and telecommunications systems
Stores that sell groceries and medicine
Food, beverage and cannabis production and agriculture
Organizations that provide charitable and social services
Media
Gas stations and businesses needed for transportation
Financial institutions
Hardware and supply stores
Critical trades, includingplumbers, electricians, exterminators, cleaning and janitorial staff for commercial and governmental properties, security staff, operating engineers, HVAC, painting, moving and relocation services, and other service providers that maintain the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences, Essential Activities, and Essential Businesses and Operations
Mail, post, shipping, logistics, delivery and pick-up services
Educational institutions, for purposes of facilitating distance learning, performing critical research, or performing essential functions
Laundry services
Restaurants for consumption off-premises
Supplies to work from home
Supplies for Essential Businesses and Operations
Transportation, for purposes of Essential Travel
Home-based care and services
Residential facilities and shelters
Professional services
Day care centers for employees exempted by this Executive Order
Manufacture, distribution, and supply chain for critical products and industries
Critical labor union functions
Hotels and motels, to the extent used for lodging and delivery or carry-out food services
Funeral services
All non-essential business and operations must cease, aside from Minimum Basic Operations. Business can continue with employees working from home. Minimum Basic Operations includes the minimum necessary activities to maintain the value of inventory, preserve plant and equipment condition, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits and facilitate employees working remotely.
The order also closes licensed child care centers and all childcare homes serving more than six children. The Pritzker administration is working to expand the availability of child care for essential workers, while protecting the health of the children and child care teachers and home providers. A new Emergency Child Care Center license is being created with more flexibility but much smaller group sizes to ensure social distancing for children in care.
Only essential travel is permitted at this time and must be done in accordance with social distancing requirements. That includes travel related to:
Performing Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions, Essential Businesses and Operations or Minimum Basic Operations
Caring for elderly, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities or other vulnerable persons
Receiving materials for distance learning, for receiving meals, and any other related services from an educational institution
Returning to a place of residence from outside the jurisdiction
Following the direction of law enforcement or court order, including to transport children pursuant to a custody agreement
Returning to a place of residence outside the State for non-residents
In addition to halting evictions statewide, the Governor is directing additional resources to organizations across the state to serve those experiencing homelessness.
For those whose residence is or becomes an unsafe place, please call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-877-863-6338.
Finally, the Governor encourages Illinoisans to come together during this time of crisis and reminds the public that this is not a virus tied to a specific ethnic group or race. Suggesting otherwise – or engaging in acts of racism against a specific community – runs counter to our values.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE SICK
Every Illinoisan plays a role in ensuring our health care system remains fully operational to treat patients in need of urgent care.
If you are experiencing symptoms of any illness, including COVID-19, the first thing you should do is:
Call a health care provider, like your primary care physician or a health clinic. But please, do not walk directly into an emergency room or a doctor’s office.
A health care provider will ask about your symptoms and potential exposures. If they think you need medical care, they will help arrange medical treatment without putting others at risk of exposure.
If you meet certain criteria, you may be tested for COVID-19, but as testing expands, those with severe illness and those at higher risk of complications are being prioritized.
People whose symptoms are mild — which will be most people — will be able to isolate at home during their illness, and they should follow the directives of their health care providers.
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* Gov. JB Pritzker started today by expressing condolences for the latest Illinois death. He then talked about all the experts he has consulted on the pandemic…
Well, they’ve come back to me with one inescapable conclusion. To avoid the loss of potentially 10s of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay at home order for the state of Illinois. So that is the action that I’m announcing today.
We have looked closely at the trajectory of this virus in countries like Italy and China left unchecked cases in Illinois will rise rapidly. Hospitalization systems will be overwhelmed protective equipment will become scarce, and we will not have enough healthcare workers or hospital beds or ventilators for the overwhelming influx of sick patients. The only strategy available to us to limit the increase in cases and ensure our healthcare system has capacity to treat those who become ill, is to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus in the most robust manner possible.
I don’t come to this decision easily. I fully recognize that in some cases, I am choosing between saving people’s lives and saving people’s livelihoods. But ultimately you can’t have a livelihood. If you don’t have your life.
Of all the obligations that weigh on me as governor. This is the greatest. If there are actions that I can take that will save lives in the midst of this pandemic. No matter how difficult, I have an obligation to take these actions.
Therefore, starting tomorrow evening Saturday, March 21 at 5pm, until the end of April 7, all our residents will be subject to a stay at home order, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about what a stay at home order means. So I want to clarify it for everybody.
Here’s what will stay the same.
You’ll still be able to leave your house to go to the grocery store to get food, you’ll still be able to visit a pharmacy go to a medical office or hospital or to gas up your car at a gas station, you’ll still be able to go running and hiking and walk your dog. Many, many people will still go to work for the vast majority of you already taking precautions, your lives will not change very much.
There is absolutely no need to rush out to a grocery store or gas station on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and every day thereafter, those will be available to you.
Agriculture and the press, veterinarians and plumbers, laundromats and banks, roadsm bridges and transit. The fundamental building blocks that keep our society safe and steady will not be closing down.
You can still pick up dinner from your local restaurant, pick up your prescriptions and just spend time with your family. We are doing all that we can to maintain as much normalcy as possible while taking the steps that we must to protect you.
That brings me to what will change all non essential businesses must stop operating. If you can work from home and aren’t already doing so, now is the time when you must. The heroes of this moment are healthcare workers, first responders, law enforcement officers and the individuals and organizations like the Illinois AFL CIO and other workers who keep our grocery stores and pharmacies running cannot stay home. We need you.
This executive order is fundamentally about the rest of us. And what we can do to support the people on the front lines of this fight, and the people most vulnerable to its consequences. We know this will be hard. And we’re looking at every tool that we have to help you through this crisis. For our essential workers we’re going to make sure you have safe daycare, to take care of your children, while you do the critical work to save us and to keep us safe.
* Evictions…
To those that we are asking to stay home, we’re ordering municipalities across the state to halt all evictions. We need our local leaders to help ensure our families do not lose their homes. I’m also directing additional resources to organizations across the state to serve those experiencing homelessness, for our students, your school district will continue to provide you with meals, and we will back them up in this.
* Schools…
I wish I could stand up here and tell you when your schools will safely reopen. But that is not an answer that I have at this time we’re postponing our tentative reopening date statewide until April 8 and we’ll continue to update you with new information as we have it.
* Enforcement…
To be honest, we don’t have the resources, the capacity or the desire to police every individual’s behavior enforcement comes in many forms and our first and best option is to rely on Illinoisans to be good members of their communities and good citizens, working together to keep each other safe.
I’ve instructed law enforcement to monitor for violations and take action when necessary, but that is not an option that anyone prefers.
* The future…
The easy thing to say today is that soon, everything will go back to the way it was. But I want to be honest with you about that too. We don’t know yet all the steps, we’re going to have to take to get this virus under control.
* Mayor Lori Lightfoot…
So many Chicagoans have already heeded our calls to stay home and are practicing social distancing. And for those residents, today’s announcement won’t drastically change the day to day changes you’ve already taken. But while many have listened, some have not. It’s clear that the time is now for us to be very definitive in telling people that you must stay home and the governor explained what this order is and what it requires from each of us.
And I want to say to be clear, this is not a lockdown or martial law.
As the governor said and I want to reiterate, Chicago’s grocery stores pharmacies and clinics will remain open. And there’s absolutely no need to change your normal purchasing patterns. What I mean is, do not take this direction as a reason to run to the stores, buy everything inside and hoard vital supplies. Please, the grocery stores will remain open and stocked, so be mindful of your neighbors, and do not hoard supplies. Hospitals, will continue to treat patients, the city’s essential services will not cease. The CTA will run, airports will be open and your garbage will be collected.
* Lightfoot to close parks and libraries…
I also want to announce it in light of this order, we will be closing fully Chicago parks and libraries for the duration of this order. Some of these facilities may be repurposed to help support some other essential services by third parties, but effective tomorrow at 5pm, all city parks and libraries will be closed.
* Press release…
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered a statewide Shelter-in-Place amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic:
“Governor Pritzker’s shelter-in-place order is critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19. This pandemic will continue to disrupt our daily lives, but it is more important than ever for all Illinoisans to follow official health and safety guidance, practice social distancing, and do everything in their power to avoid infecting themselves and others in their community. Our actions today will save lives tomorrow.”
* Today’s updated graph…
* On to questions for the governor. He explained the consequences for violating the order…
We’re calling on people to use their best judgment to follow the guidance that we’re giving them. We’re, of course, authorizing that the members of law enforcement, if they see somebody who’s maybe violating this order, they would go talk to them and ask them not to. And then if the people who are violating the rule refuse to comply, a police officer could get a cease and desist order they’d have to go get one at a court to do that. And then finally in a, you know, in the last resort really, you know. There is the kind of reckless conduct misdemeanor that someone could be charged with, but look we anticipate that people will follow this order.
Mayor Lightfoot said “We’re going to educate people into compliance.”
* Rumors about martial law, etc…
There have been a lot of rumors circulating around that are completely inaccurate, rumors that there’s martial law that’s going to be imposed, that we’ve called out the Guard or the military somehow to impose their will upon the state of Illinois.
Those are all false and I want people to take a deep breath, people who have heard these rumors. Remember, in addition to people who just like to forward rumors around on Twitter or on Facebook, there is also, I hate to tell you, an effort by the Chinese government and the Russian government to feed into that paranoia, that people have about what’s going on the COVID-19 challenge.
* Childcare…
We are working very hard to provide childcare, especially for essential workers. We want to make sure that we’re standing up. Remember, we don’t want to put too many children or childcare workers in the same room together in the same facility. So we’re actually working to provide the right size, small sizes of perhaps a half a dozen children.
* What about the 225 juveniles held in detention…
Department of Juvenile Justice in the state, we do not have very many kids who are in those facilities in general, it’s a little over 200 as was suggested. And then we are making sure to maintain social distancing in those facilities, and you know where we can we’re certainly going to look at the possibility of those kids being allowed to return home, but most importantly we want them to have shelter we want them to be safe and healthy. We’re going to work very hard to make that make sure that that happens
* State prisoners…
Wwe know that there’s a risk as there is anywhere where you might put a lot of people together that there would be an infection. And so we’re working very hard to make sure there are areas for segregating people who may get the flu or get a cold or some other condition that you know if COVID 19 was something that might infect them there wouldn’t be a comorbidity as they call it. And so we’re working hard in our prisons to make sure that happens. And as I mentioned at the point in an earlier, press conference, we’re also looking at the possibility of people with nonviolent offenses, who have served much of their time that the possibility of alleviating some of the burden in the Department of Corrections by allowing them to be paroled with a lot of conditions associated with that.
* You’ve said this order is until April 7th, but how do you know it might go longer than that…
I think you’ve seen that we’ve had to work quickly act, with haste, based upon the information that we’re given guidance by the CDC, what the experts are telling us. So I’m not going to tell you, as I said earlier, I’m not going to tell you that I know that the end of April 7 is ultimately the end date.
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* It ain’t gonna be pretty…
Goldman Sachs economists on Friday forecast an unprecedented 24% decline in second quarter gross domestic product, following a 6% decline in the first quarter, based on the economy’s sudden and historic shutdown as the country responds to the coronavirus pandemic.
The economists then expect a bounce back of 12% in the third quarter and 10% in the fourth quarter, but unemployment will surge to 9%. They also expect GDP to contract by 3.8% for the full year on an annual average basis, and 3.1% on a fourth quarter over fourth quarter basis.
Just five days ago, Goldman economists had expected the economy to trough with a decline of 5% in the second quarter after a flat first quarter. They had expected a resurgence in the second half and full year growth of 0.4%.
Using Goldman Sachs’ original forecast and finding a middle ground between it and two forecasts from Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, the Economic Policy Institute projected 206,648 lost jobs in Illinois alone.
Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan predicted a 14 percent GDP decline. The middle point used by the EPI was somewhere around 10 percent. Goldman Sachs is now at 24 percent. The new middle point between those two is now a 19 percent contraction. So, maybe double that originally projected 206.6K Illinois job loss?
The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has Illinois employment at 6.19 million with a 3.5 percent unemployment rate.
*** UPDATE *** A striking visualization of the Goldman Sachs projection…
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[Comments are now closed because we have a fresh thread. Click here.]
*** UPDATE *** The Tribune’s decision to publish the story without waiting to see what the order would do has created a lot of unnecessary panic.
If you click here, you’ll see the Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce issued yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security.
I asked the governor’s press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh if the stay at home order would be based on that list of businesses, industries, etc. Her reply…
We may have identified more, but our definition encompasses everyone listed in CISA.
So, again, click here and calm down.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* I’ve been hearing this all morning from reputable sources, but figured I’d wait to see if the governor actually announced it at 3. It’s sounded to me like he and his staff are calling around preparing people for an announcement. Dan Petrella, Gregory Pratt, Stacy St. Clair and Jamie Munks at the Tribune…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to issue a “shelter-in-place” order for the entire state starting Saturday, essentially commanding residents to stay in their homes as the officials take drastic measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, sources told the Tribune.
Pritzker is expected to announce the directive at a 3 p.m. Friday news conference along with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Details are still being worked out, sources said.
Residents can still go to the grocery stores, put gas in their cars, take walks outside and make pharmacy runs. All local roads, including the interstate highways and tollways, will remain open to traffic, as well.
I work from home and because the restaurants and bars were closed, my life won’t change much at all. But that’s just me. Others will be impacted. But I encourage all of you to take a deep breath, not assume the worst and wait to read the full order before you jump to any conclusions.
Most of these state and local orders so far have contained a ton of exemptions (click here for a good explainer about San Francisco’s order). Again, try to stay calm.
Also, the Tribune headline used the word “lockdown.” That’s not what’s happening here, I’m told.
…Adding… WBEZ…
A source familiar with the plan tells WBEZ that Pritzker’s order will detail essential and nonessential work and workers. The order will call for the closure of salons, retail stores and recreational places, such as bowling alleys.
But essential employees — such as manufacturing workers — will still be allowed to report to work, so the supply chain can keep running. Other essential workers include grocery store workers, first responders, news reporters and food delivery workers.
Grocery stores, banks, doctors’ offices, gasoline stations and at-home food delivery services will remain open.
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[Comments on this post have been closed because we have a fresh thread. Click here.]
* Last night…
California’s 40 million residents should stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs, errands and some exercise, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, warning that the coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the state’s medical system.
The move, the most sweeping by any state so far, was an exclamation point at the end of a week of increasingly aggressive moves meant to keep the virus in check by forcing people to stay away from each other as often as possible.
“I can assure you home isolation is not my preferred choice, I know it’s not yours, but it’s a necessary one,” Newsom said at an evening news conference streamed on social media.
He assured residents that they “can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog.” Restaurant meals can still be delivered to homes.
* Today…
Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered nonessential businesses to keep 100% of their workforce at home and put in place stringent new restrictions on New Yorkers starting Sunday as the state grapples with the worst coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
“When I talk about the most drastic action we can take, this is the most drastic action we can take,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany on Friday. Cases across the state surged by 2,950 overnight to 7,102, he said. “This is not life as usual. Accept it. Realize it and deal with it.” […]
When in public, individuals must practice social distancing of at least six feet, he said. Businesses that provide essential services, like grocery stores, pharmacies and banks, must implement rules that ensure employees and customers maintain at least six feet of space between each other, according to a slide presented at the press conference. Individuals should also limit use of public transit only if it’s absolutely necessary. Individuals will also need to limit outdoor activities, avoiding ones where they come into close contact with other people. […]
Mayor de Blasio said Thursday there’s been “an explosion of cases here in New York City,” including an inmate at Rikers Island. Cases in NYC jumped by 1,939 overnight to 4,408, Cuomo said Friday. The number of cases is surging as the state ramps up its testing capability and detects previously unknown infections. “This number is, nonetheless, very, very painful,” de Blasio said Thursday when the case count was significantly lower.
Do you think Illinois’ governor will do the same?
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* Ben Bradley at WGN TV…
Illinois health officials tell WGN Investigates that as of Wednesday morning: 825 of the state’s 1,764 intensive care unit beds are available but only 374 of the 1,467 ventilators in Illinois are currently unused.
State health officials are concerned about a shortage. They have told people who think they may have the virus but who have no other underlying condition or complication that they should simply stay home and recover. […]
Illinois has 1,467 ventilators statewide. There’s also a national emergency supply but experts fear it’s not adequate.
“We have a specific number of ventilators in the stockpile,” Vice President Mike Pence said. “It’s in excess of 10,000 and you just heard the announcement from the Department of Defense that they’ll be adding several more thousand to that.”
* As we discussed yesterday, the Illinois Hospital Association has issued an urgent plea for PPE donations…
As you may be aware, Illinois hospitals and health systems are facing a critical shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they care for increasing numbers of patients with COVID-19. Yesterday, the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois nearly doubled to 288. We anticipate that the number of cases will increase dramatically in the coming days and weeks, exhausting all the PPE at hospitals, including gowns, gloves, eye shields and, especially, medical masks (specifically, standard surgical masks and N95s, which have NIOSH or FDA approval, including expired N95s).
PPE is critical to protecting our frontline healthcare workforce from infection when testing and treating patients for COVID-19, keeping our dedicated physicians, nurses, technicians and others in our hospitals where they are needed most.
* Crain’s…
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s new guidelines for optimizing a limited supply of face masks have been criticized by some health care providers.
In addition to suggesting that workers use expired face masks or wear the same mask to treat multiple patients, the CDC recommends using a bandana or scarf “as a last resort” in settings where supplies are not available. The guidelines note that “caution should be exercised when considering this option.”
It’s like we’re a Third World country or something.
* The governor talked yesterday about reopening some shuttered hospitals. Illinois has been going through a reduction in hospital beds the past several years, including this one…
To help provide additional medical services during the spread of COVID-19, State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is calling on Gov. Pritzker to reopen Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park. […]
Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park permanently closed last year shortly after the hospital was purchased by Pipeline Health. Weeks after the out-of-state corporation assumed ownership, Pipeline announced plans to close Westlake. Welch was an outspoken advocate in the fight to keep the health care facility open before it ultimately closed in August. Now, Welch is urging Gov. Pritzker to reopen the closed hospital in order to expand access to necessary health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Meanwhile, this is from Paul E. Pedersen, MD, the President of the Illinois State Medical Society…
The Illinois State Medical Society applauds Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order requiring health insurer coverage of telehealth services. We reached out to his office yesterday with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association seeking action to require that health insurers cover virtual patient encounters. We are facing unprecedented disruptions to healthcare delivery and his decisive action will save lives.
We echo Governor Pritzker’s call for physicians to sign up for the State of Illinois Rapid Electronic Notification System (SIREN) to receive urgent COVID-19 alerts. Health professionals can learn how to sign up for this Illinois Department of Public Health program by visiting www.isms.org/COVID-19
* AFT…
The nation’s second largest nurses’ union, the AFT, is calling on employers and the federal government to provide coronavirus tests for all U.S. healthcare workers, alongside access to universal testing for all Americans. And they are seeking emergency protection and supplies to slow the growth of the dangerous pandemic.
Hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak are yet to be tested, despite reports of waves of infections. Nurses lack the basic resources and supplies they need to help patients and do their job safely—including N95 respirators, patient care beds, and childcare for their children. Many have resorted to making their own masks as the CDC recommends wearing “bandanas” and “scarves” to ward off the threat. Healthcare workers are experiencing enormous stress and fear as they scramble to respond.
* More bad news…
With nursing homes now on the front lines to contain the coronavirus pandemic, federal inspection records show Illinois’ facilities have been among the worst in the nation for an important measure of patient protection: following rules to contain infections.
An analysis by the Tribune raises new concerns about how well the homes can protect more than 80,000 residents under their care. While the industry has stressed its beefed-up response to screen for and contain any spread, advocates for residents worry about an industry that has sometimes struggled to properly care for residents — even before the emergence of a pandemic that particularly endangers older, more frail residents.
“This is an extraordinary circumstance,” said AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo. “And judging by the track record we’ve seen before, compliance needs to be ensured.”
The Tribune analysis studied federal inspection data on infection control for facilities certified by Medicare and Medicaid, representing the vast majority of nursing homes. The analysis found that 89% of Illinois homes — 642 of 723 — have been cited at least once since 2016 for violating infection control regulations. Only two states, Michigan and California, fared worse, and just barely.
…Adding… Yet another broken promise from DC…
President Trump recently announced that drive-thru testing would be available in parking lots at retail stores. Nearly one week later, drugstore chains like Walgreens are still working to finalize the details of such an endeavor.
* Let’s close on an up note…
At least two of Detroit’s three automakers are studying the feasibility of producing vital medical equipment, such as ventilators, as the nation tries to combat the coronavirus pandemic, echoing the industry’s conversion to building tanks, trucks and planes during World War II.
After announcing they both will temporarily suspend production amid coronavirus concerns, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. confirmed Wednesday that they have been in contact with governments in the United States and United Kingdom about evaluating ways to produce the ventilators experts say doctors are expected to need to treat seriously ill coronavirus patients.
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COVID-19 rumor patrol
Friday, Mar 20, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This video was passed around all over the place yesterday (it was even posted in comments here this morning before I deleted it). But notice the date when it was first posted on Facebook: February 19th…
😳😲😥 look what the freight just brought in..
Posted by Alex Hampton on Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Many, many thanks to SEIU Local 1 Communications Director Izabela Miltko-Ivkovich for tracking that down. I got so tired of receiving it yesterday that I started scolding everyone who sent it to me. The only thing that was forwarded to me more than that has been that stupidly ubiquitous Blagojevich meme. Please, stop sending that to me. Many thanks.
* The online uproar got so intense that the Illinois National Guard had to take to Twitter…
The governor’s office should put a prominent link to Snopes on its COVID-19 website.
* From a family member…
I am hearing on this group that ISP has shut down background checks.
* Illinois State Police…
The Firearms Services Bureau is still working diligently to process Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program submissions as quickly as possible. We have experienced a high volume of requests recently and are working to process these requests as efficiently as possible. Please remember not to calculate weekends and holidays when determining an approximate date for response. Temporary fluctuations in staffing made in response to COVID-19 may temporarily result in fluctuations in processing times, but FTIP submissions and processing have not stopped and continue in earnest. ISP also is rolling out telework capabilities as quickly as possible to increase efficiency in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you for your patience as we work to respond in as timely a manner as this emergency situation allows.
* This trailer was parked outside of Sycamore and some locals were freaking out…
Explanation…
* My all-time “favorite” however, is this, which was sent to a legislator who forwarded it on to me so I could mock it…
Great retort by a Golden Horseshoe Award winner…
…Adding… Thanks to a commenter for pointing to this Dahleen Glanton column…
Some folks actually believe that black people, either by genetics or some favor of God, cannot catch the coronavirus. Or if black people do get it, they are more likely to fully recover from it than other racial or ethnic groups. […]
Here’s the truth, according to the World Health Organization: Anybody can contract the coronavirus. People over the age of 60 are at a higher risk of developing a severe case of illness, and the highest death rate is in people over 80. But anyone who suffers from chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, cancer, diabetes or asthma is likely to get very sick or die.
Black people rank at or near the top of just about every one of these conditions. That places them among the most vulnerable groups for which the virus could be fatal.
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* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line…
More than 64,000 Illinoisans filed unemployment benefit claims with the Illinois Department of Employment Security between Monday and Wednesday as the initial damage caused by the spread of the Coronavirus on the state’s economy emerged.
* Lynne Funk at the Bond Buyer…
The municipal market was imploding in real time as it sold off by at least half a percentage point across the curve and Lipper reported more than $12 billion of outflows — simply more sellers than buyers amid a chaotic reaction to the COVID-19 virus.
The municipal market also completely decoupled from U.S. Treasuries in a major sell off that had the one-year muni yielding well over 2% on Thursday as the rest of the curve was up by more than 50 basis points across AAA benchmarks.
One-year munis currently yield more than 30-year U.S. Treasuries, which landed at 1.77%.
This sell off is fund outflow-driven and there were massive bid lists out on Thursday morning and the relative ratios of municipals to corporates and Treasuries are historic.
Lipper reported a whopping $12.214 billion of outflows from municipal bond funds. Out of that huge number, $5.3 billion of outflows were from high-yield bond funds. The $12 billion figure of outflows in one week equates to about 3% of annual municipal volume.
* Jason Grotto, Shruti Singh and Noah Buhayar at Bloomberg…
It’s a bitter irony: As state and local governments struggle to blunt the new coronavirus outbreak, the most effective weapons hammer their fiscal health.
Social distancing has already begun to crater their revenue, even as emergency expenses, pension costs and other long-term liabilities are poised to surge. The market has priced in the impact of the slump, leading to the worst muni-bond rout since 1984 and prompting desperate calls for federal support.
The U.S. government has begun sending billions to states to offset the cost of combating the virus, but additional pressures are likely to build in coming weeks and months as revenue declines, unemployment spikes and business activity slows. […]
Few states face a crisis as deep as Illinois, which has more than $7 billion in unpaid bills, about $137 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and only $1.2 million in reserves. Just over a week into the pandemic, initial jobless claims in Illinois jumped more than 10-fold compared with the same period last year. […]
“Illinois and Chicago were ill-positioned for a crisis before all this started,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago-based independent, nonpartisan research organization. “The only way you can get out of this is a massive federal stimulus for state and local governments.”
* Brian Tumulty at the Bond Buyer…
Congress is considering authorizing the Federal Reserve to purchase municipal bonds as one of the ways to support local and state efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic.
A memo circulated Wednesday by House Financial Service Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., suggests that the next wave of federal legislation authorize the Fed to support state, territory, and local debt issuance in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Waters memo also suggests a blanket waiver for state or local governments to provide a local contribution as a requirement for receiving certain federal grants. […]
Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of organized labor and liberal advocacy groups, has recommended that Congress mandate the Fed to purchase municipal debt to help state and local efforts to fight the epidemic and related economic fallout.
Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, wrote in an op-ed for Bloomberg, pointing out that the Fed has used its authority in the past to help banks and even foreign governments.
The full memo is here.
*** UPDATE *** Good…
The Federal Reserve capped off an unprecedented week of action Friday by extending a lifeline to cash-strapped state and local governments that are about to borrow large sums as they deal with skyrocketing costs from coronavirus safety measures. […]
The Fed will make loans available to financial institutions that can be secured by “high quality” state and local bonds. This will make owning these tax-exempt municipal bonds more attractive and should help ensure there is plenty of demand for these bonds as many states and cities begin to issue more debt in the coming weeks and months.
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