* IDPH reported 5,183 hospitalizations as of midnight. Our seven-day average daily decrease is now 2.9 percent, a little below yesterday’s average of 3.11 percent. The seven-day average daily decrease for ICU usage is 2.34 percent, down a tic from yesterday’s average of 2.74. But, hey. The trend is still friendly. These are steady declines, no matter how you look at it.
* Chicago hospitalizations down that much in a single week is really quite something. That’s a four percent average daily decrease. As explained in comments, those are new hospitalizations. The average daily decrease is actually 3.29 percent, which is still pretty darned good…
Chicago's COVID-19 test positivity is 7.9% per @ChiPublicHealth. 7 days ago, it was 14.1%
On average, per day, during the past week: ➡️There are 1,919 COVID-19 cases, down 48% ➡️The number of tests ⬇️ 3% ➡️154 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, down 28% ➡️19 people died
On Monday, 29,570 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 41,692.
So far, 8,330,026 people have been fully vaccinated or 65.7% of Illinois’ 12.7 million population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC defines fully vaccinated as two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson’s.
Of those people who are fully vaccinated, 46% have received a booster shot.
Maybe it’s the weather, or maybe the fear and concern over omicron are subsiding a bit leading to a dip in recent vaccines.
Highland Park’s city council on Monday decided to extend a temporary order requiring proof of vaccination.
The order requiring proof of vaccination for “on-premise dining establishment” began Jan. 7 and was extended to Feb. 14 at the council’s meeting Monday night. […]
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 82.39% of Highland Park residents are fully vaccinated.
ANNC: A riotous mob. The police, outnumbered — but backed up by their mayor.
Richard Irvin called in the Guard. Closed exit ramps. Shut down the riots.
IRVIN: Aurora will be ready for you if you come to our community wreaking havoc.
We will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We will not put up with this BS and foolishness…
…this, I guarantee.
ANNC: They tried to burn his city down. Richard Irvin took it back.
Elect Irvin Governor, we’ll take back our state.
*** UPDATE 1 *** DPI…
Irvin Lies to Voters on TV While Continuing to Hide From Them In Real Life
Today, in an unprecedented move for a statewide candidate, Richard Irvin went up with his first paid TV ad of the campaign. The only problem? Irvin has still not met with voters, held a public event, or answered questions from the media.
In the ad, Irvin spreads the same lies he told in his announcement video, including the claim that as mayor, he called in the National Guard to Aurora. Only the governor can call in the National Guard and despite being fact-checked for this lie, he continues to repeat it on air. Clearly, Irvin and the rest of the Rauner Reboot slate think they can avoid accountability for their words as long as they can avoid talking to voters or reporters.
Richard Irvin would prefer to not answer basic questions like where he stands on a woman’s right to choose, who he voted for in the 2016 Democratic primary, if he thinks the 2020 election was stolen, or why he flip-flopped from saying Black Lives Matter to All Lives Matter. And why won’t Irvin or the slate answer simple questions? Because Ken Griffin won’t let them.
For Griffin and his Rauner Reboot slate, this election isn’t about solving the big challenges facing Illinois families. They just want to implement disastrous policies to take us backwards — and they aren’t interested in being held accountable by voters, reporters, or anyone else.
…Adding… DGA…
Today, Richard Irvin released his first TV ad despite not meeting with voters, holding a public event, or answering questions from the media in the week since declaring his candidacy.
You can track how long Radio Silent Richard has been hiding at this new site.
The ad features the same lies and hypocrisy Irvin has based his entire campaign on. He claims he called the National Guard to Aurora, even though he was called out for this lie before. Only the governor — who Irvin himself has praised numerous times — can call in the National Guard. And since the protests shown in the ad, Irvin has flip-flopped from saying Black Lives Matter to All Lives Matter.
Instead of speaking with Illinoisans about the challenges they face, Irvin is busy parroting big donor Ken Griffin’s agenda of dragging Illinois back to the failed policies of Bruce Rauner.
By dodging events and interviews, Irvin has avoided the tough questions like why he’s voted for Democrats in the past and where he stands on a woman’s right to choose.
“Richard Irvin doesn’t know where he stands — which is why his only strategy is to dodge questions or lie,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Once Illinoisans hear Irvin’s true intentions of a Rauner reboot, they’ll see the Griffin slate is more interested in undoing progress than moving forward.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Gary Rabine…
“Pretend Republican candidate for Governor, Richard Irvin, continues the deception today as he rolls out his commercials claiming to be the law-and-order candidate. Let’s do a reality check. Irvin has spent the last twenty years representing criminals and doing his best to keep them out of jail. His clients aren’t just low-level criminals but rather the full range of bad guys from domestic violence offenders to murderers. The crime rates during his tenure as Mayor of Aurora, his support for defunding the police, sanctuary cities and BLM, tells us loud and clear that his approach to law and order is right out of the Kim Foxx - JB Pritzker woke playbook, where victims are an afterthought and justice is only served when the jails are empty.” “But it goes beyond helping criminals beat the rap. Last election, ‘Democrat-running-as-a-Republican-Irvin’ fully supported his criminal defense attorney law partner as she ran against a law-and-order Republican in Kane County. Yes, the guy seeking the nomination for Governor as a Republican fully and actively supported a far-left criminal defense lawyer over a law-and-order Republican. Don’t be fooled by the smoke-screen. Richard Irvin is a left-leaning Democrat and does not support the polices that will end the crime wave in Illinois. We do not need another Democrat as Illinois Governor.”
