* That’s it for me. Barring extreme craziness necessitating a return to the helm, I’m taking next week off. You’ll have all of the news feeds and the live coverage post to keep you up to date. Judging from the comments, I think we could all use a little rest…
The ‘Edge’. There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others — the living — are those who pushed their luck as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later. But the edge is still out there.
* Gov. JB Pritzker spoke to reporters today at the Peoria Civic Center. The questions were off-mic, so they are paraphrased here. I skipped over a couple of them. And, as always, please pardon all transcription errors.
* Emergency special session…
What I’ve said is that if the leaders of the General Assembly call for a special session, I’m right there, I think we should do it.
One thing I do think is we need to make sure we have an agenda to put forward. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to develop that agenda. I can tell you what I think I just did, but it needs to be put into effect in more than what I just said. And so there needs to be work to put an agenda together before we call for a special session or any session.
* Legislation has been introduced to require a special prosecutor for every officer-involved death. Would you sign it if it reached your desk?…
This prospect was just brought to me you know over the last few days as one of the things that we ought to be thinking about that. Honestly, I had not thought about a special prosecutor, I had not seen the bill before. That’s the honest truth. I think there’s a lot to it. I think that making sure that there is a truly independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding a killing, that is something that’s very important. Just saying that police will investigate themselves or letting the leadership, even if a city investigate the police. That by itself isn’t enough.
* You’ve deployed the National Guard. Are there additional measures you could take if violence erupts this weekend?…
Well, I think that, let me compliment the National Guard one more time but let me also bring up the name of the Illinois State Police, because they’ve been working in very close collaboration across the last week to bring down the temperature across the state to support local police departments, and you’ve seen I think over night after night I mean I’ve watched it up close and personal. The looting has come down ,the violence has come down. Last night was the best night over the last seven. […]
We’re not just sending them places. The local communities are asking us for help and we’re responding by posting National Guard and state police in those locations, and where we’ve been called to, where they’ve been called to, they’ve done an amazing job backing up local police departments.
* Why are National Guard troops needed in Peoria?…
In short, we go where we are asked. And there is a discussion that takes place between the National Guard with state police involved, and the local officials both elected officials and the law enforcement very importantly, so that’s all done as partnership.
* Worried about huge cuts to local law enforcement budgets?…
Well, I can’t say it enough that there’s no doubt and I don’t want to put Congressman Bustos on the spot because she voted for it already, but the federal government has to step in. This isn’t just happening in Illinois. This is happening in every state in the United States, even the ones you think of as never having any budget problems.
When I first became governor, I remember sitting down with the governor of California, the new governor of California. And he said, What’s your biggest problem? I said well we got to balance our budget in the state. And I said, How is your budget? He said well we have a $23 billion surplus. So I said, well, I won’t tell you the rest of that conversation, but I will tell you this, they have a $54 billion deficit.
So that just tells you one state. But that’s happening all over the United States. So local county and state governments need help from the federal government, just like all the big businesses big industry, the airlines and all the rest of them got help. We need help and we’re on the frontlines of lifting people up when they’ve lost their jobs and they need medical care, they need to take care of their families. They need childcare and so on.
* With the large protests all over the state, are we still on track to move to Phase 4? Do you anticipate setbacks?…
I wouldn’t say I anticipate delays or setbacks, but I’m concerned, worried that seeing so many people pack so close together in the marches that I’ve seen. And again, I support the expression of their first amendment rights. But so many people were so close together. I’m glad to say so many are wearing masks, that’s half the battle for sure. But I worry.
And you won’t see it show up, it doesn’t show up in the case numbers early. Where it shows up, where you really will see it is two to three weeks hence, so two to three weeks from the beginning, at the beginning of this week, look at the hospitalization numbers. That’s where you’ll start to see either movement or not. And then we can either develop some confidence about the outcome for phase three or some concern.
* No new cases after big Memorial Day party in Lake of the Ozarks. What if there is no spike now?…
Well, that would be fantastic. I mean let’s all celebrate. I said when we built out McCormick Place as an alternative health facility, and people were saying oh my gosh how many people are going to get COVID-19. I said, look, if nobody gets it nobody moves in there, you know, what a great day that’ll be. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be, because so many people followed the rules along the way as to, you know, if no if people end up two to three weeks from now, not having COVID-19. Fantastic. Wonderful. And by the way, about three weeks from now is the beginning of phase four all four regions, being currently on track to go to phase four, but again that’s why we have this period to watch the hospitalization numbers and all the rest.
* Would you consider changing anything related to large gatherings if that’s the case?…
You don’t want a politician making decisions like that. What you want is your elected official, your leader listening to the scientists to the epidemiologists which is what I do. And then asking questions, poking and prodding and making sure they’ve got it right. And then a decision gets made. And I’ll take responsibility for the decision, but I’ll also say, I’m not doing it by myself I’m doing it in collaboration with experts.
* What is the strategy for reopening casinos?…
Our public health officials are talking to casino owners and other experts to try to figure out how you could do it. I know other places have opened casinos. We’ve heard a lot about this out of Las Vegas, of course. But, the goal here is to get everybody back to work, but to do it safely. And so when you think about, I don’t know about all of you but when you think about a slot machine, or a blackjack table with six or however many people around it in very close quarters with somebody facing here, you’re all kind of facing each other I mean, those are challenges. I’m not going to make an epidemiological decision about that I don’t fully understand why six feet versus three. I know masks are hugely important.
But the point I’m making is that whatever we do with regard to casinos and with video terminals has got to be done with the thought in mind that the states and the cities that keep their people safest - this is the history of pandemics - the states and the cities that keep their people safest are the ones that do the best economically coming out of it. So we’re doing our best to open our economy, but to do it in a way that keeps everybody safe and healthy.
* Question about summer schools…
When the scientists are giving us information that’s helpful for us toward moving toward opening I’m listening. And so the signals they gave us were that we could move this direction. And of course, it helps us move toward opening schools in the fall, which I’m determined to do, I want to do, and I expect that we will be able to do. But I just want to be clear that these are not arbitrary political decisions that are getting made. They’re decisions that are getting made based upon the development of the research and the science about keeping people safe.
Dave’s been reading the Chicago Tribune [the Sun-Times actually published the story]. And all I can say is, I know there are a number of people who aren’t wearing masks in Scott County because they say they haven’t had any cases, and there hasn’t been a recorded case in Scott County. It’s the only one of 102 counties, the only county that doesn’t have a case. And that’s fantastic. I would say to everybody, this pandemic, this virus has no boundaries. And so I’d be extremely careful because people in Scott County don’t just stay in Scott County. They travel they engage with people and they may become sick as a result that but I just want people to be safe and I hope people do enjoy themselves, but wear a mask wash your hands. Be careful.
* More financial assistance from the state to help those who were impacted financially by the pandemic?…
Well yeah, first of all the budget that was just passed, there’s a lot of federal dollars that are in that budget for COVID relief. And so there there are a lot of dollars still yet to come. We announced today grants to small businesses. But I want to reiterate that so far we’ve sent about $30 million to small businesses across the state to support them and they’re reopening, and they’re surviving and making sure that their employees get paid and so on. We’re trying to help people through this period, there’s more money to come that came from this budget, but one program that we announced today, we put about $1.4 million, out of about $20 million, just in that one loan program but there’s much more to come.
* What would you do differently to prepare for the pandemic?…
That’s such a hard question to answer. And the reason is, if you don’t know all the facts about the virus, you know how it affects people, how it transmits how fast it would move. You don’t know and that’s, so that’s what was happening every day of this crisis. We’ve been reacting to new information, things that we’ve learned what the CDC tells us as they learn things as we watched other countries like Italy, China, Spain, France and so on.
So it’s hard to second guess when you’re in a dynamic environment. I think all of you remember that it was a very quick progression of decisions that needed to be made. I limited gatherings, you remember, I remember having a meeting in my office about closing down St Patrick’s Day. I mean that’s not something you do lightly anywhere in this state. That’s a lot of business for small businesses, that’s a lot of people enjoying themselves, nobody wants to do that. But it became clear that that was something we needed to do. What about just even before that, closing down visitors at nursing homes. I mean, these are very difficult decisions. I don’t know how to second guess what we did. It may be easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback and look back and say well gee, if I had known this I would have done that.
So the answer is, we’re making the best decisions we can with the science and the data. And I’m sure that people wil,l six months or a year or two years from now, look back and say we should have done X Y or Z. But if they weren’t in the room with the information at that moment then I don’t think they have a leg to stand on.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,156 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 59 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 3 males 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 male 40s, 3 females 50s, 1 male 50s, 3 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 3 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 4 females 80s, 8 males 80s, 3 females 90s, 2 males 90s
DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s
Iroquois County: 1 male 70s
Kane County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
Kankakee County: 1 female 80s
Lake County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 80s, 2 females 90s
McHenry County: 1 male 70s
Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
St. Clair County: 1 female 90s
Will County: 1 male 80s
Winnebago County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 125,915 cases, including 5,795 deaths, in 101 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 18,903 specimens for a total of 1,000,919. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 29–June 4 is 6%.
A pet cat recently tested positive for COVID-19 after becoming sick in mid-May. The cat was in a home with people who had tested positive. This is the first animal to test positive for the virus in Illinois. There is no evidence COVID-19 is transmitted from animal to humans. However, if you are sick, you should distance yourself from pets as well as people.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered.
As of midnight last night, we have 2911 Illinoisans in the hospital with COVID-19. To give you some perspective at the height of this crisis that number was over 5000. Of those 800 of those 2911 Illinoisans in the hospital, 817 are in intensive care units and 500 are on a ventilator.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today joined U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos, Illinois General Assembly Leaders Jehan Gordon-Booth and Dave Koehler and county and city leaders at a Community-Based Testing Site in Peoria, to announce more than 1 million tests have been performed in Illinois. Testing is critical to preventing additional spread of COVID-19 as Illinois takes a safe and deliberate approach to reopening through the Restore Illinois plan.
“This milestone is the result of the incredible work of so many people behind the scenes in state government, in our National Guard, in our public and private hospital and healthcare systems all around the state – people who were willing to battle it out to build out a testing infrastructure that is accurate, efficient, and accessible,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And we’re still building – but I’m very proud to be one of the earliest states to hit this landmark.”
* Press release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois…
This weekend, thousands of people across Illinois once again will gather together to protest anti-Black racism and the police killing of George Floyd and countless other Black people. These inspiring protests have taken place throughout Illinois, including small towns like Anna in Southern Illinois to the City of Chicago and its suburbs.
These protests – and the ability of people to be outdoors for other permissible activities – should not be limited by indefinite curfews. Curfews are a blunt tool that invite unnecessary police interactions and often result in arbitrary and selective enforcement aimed at Black people and people of color, the type of biased policing challenged by many protesters.
Many Illinois cities and towns imposed unnecessary curfews last weekend that have continued throughout this week. It is time for the curfews to be lifted everywhere in our state.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Press release…
ACLU of Illinois Responds to the End of Chicago’s Curfew
The below statement can be attributed to Colleen Connell, Executive Director, ACLU of Illinois:
“Finally! The curfew in the City of Chicago has been lifted. The limitation went on too long and caused disruption for too many of the City’s residents, including those protesting anti-Black racism and police violence, journalists, people experiencing homelessness, and essential workers.
As we said the night the curfew was put in place, the indefinite and vague nature of the curfew invited discriminatory enforcement against Black and Brown communities in the City.”
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced the first round of grants awarded as part of the new Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program, just over a month after the program was launched. The fund was created to support small businesses in downstate and rural counties across Illinois that have experienced a negative impact due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As businesses across Illinois grapple with the devastating financial impact of COVID-19, my administration continues to look for ways to help provide relief that will allow small businesses, the backbone of our economy, rebuild and thrive,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The Downstate Small Business Stabilization fund will help respond to the needs of our rural and downstate communities and address the impact COVID-19 has had across Illinois so that together we can start to rebuild our economy.”
The first $1.3 million in grants have been allocated to 65 businesses spanning 28 downstate communities. To support small businesses in downstate and rural counties across Illinois, DCEO repurposed $20 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to create the Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program. Through the program, small businesses of up to 50 employees can partner with their local governments to obtain grants of up to $25,000 in working capital.
When Governor JB Pritzker issued his first stay-at-home order more than two months ago, he told small businesses that assistance was available through the Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program administered by DCEO.
Local governments had to apply to DCEO on behalf of businesses in their jurisdiction who had financial need because of COVID related closures and limitations on business. Many small businesses were unable to apply for a grant because the amount of work required from their city or county was too much of a burden on small local governments.
The City of Dixon chose to participate and was a statewide leader, immediately hosting virtual meetings and establishing an 8-person team to assist small business owners with preparing and submitting an 80-100 page application for each business. The City was required to post notice and hold several public meetings to take a City Council vote to support each individual application. Altogether, the City team spent more than 500 hours to prepare, approve, and submit 52 applications on behalf of local businesses.
During this time, DCEO posted initial guidance and criteria, hosted a webinar to explain the program and answer questions, and revised their guidance and criteria more than once. Many applicants in Dixon had already done considerable work to apply for the grant when the rules changed mid-stream. I also contacted DCEO multiple times to try and streamline the application process so more small counties and cities could apply. After being told by DCEO that much of the red-tape was due to federal requirements, I worked through Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s office and contacted officials within the US Department of Housing and Urban Development who oversaw the grant program and got them to agree to waive certain requirements.
In Dixon alone, 52 small businesses chose to apply for a grant to help stabilize their businesses which were greatly impacted by COVID and the stay-at-home order. Many of these same applicants were also forced to wait more than 7 weeks to even be able to apply for unemployment insurance through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Some have still not received unemployment benefits. All through that time, after having been among the first to submit their thorough application for a Downstate Small Business Stabilization Grant, they waited to receive this emergency assistance from DCEO.
Now, more than two months after the stay-at-home order began, the City of Dixon was notified that just 4 of the 52 applications were approved by DCEO. Even though sole proprietors were originally said to be eligible, several Dixon applications were denied simply because “no employees.” Others were denied because they had “negative cash flow” in previous years — precisely the kind of business that you would think needs stabilization during a pandemic. Other businesses were denied because they had “insufficient length of business operation” — again, a fledgling local business would typically be exactly the kind of business you’d want to support when a statewide emergency strikes. Other businesses were denied for their entire grant request with a note that they received other assistance, despite the fact that DCEO guidance explicitly states that application for CARES or other assistance does not impact their ability to qualify for downstate stabilization grants.
Furthermore, many of these denial notes carry dates of late April or early May, meaning DCEO reviewed these applications more than a month ago and made small business owners wait in vain until June only to find out that the financial assistance they hoped for would not be coming.
Now, on June 5, the Pritzker administration has announced that just $1.3 million of the original $20 million has been awarded, and that only 65 businesses in the entire state will receive a grant.
I strongly urge the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Pritzker administration to reconsider these grant applications and truly support small businesses in Dixon and throughout downstate Illinois.
I want to apologize for my delay in addressing you about the recent protests and, more importantly, the underlying reason for them. Part of why I delayed was that I needed time to process my own anger and the thoughts that arose from it.
In my journey to become Attorney General, I was advised along the way to control my anger and not to let it inform my words and actions. Some of this advice was helpful, but at other times it failed to acknowledge the reality with which I live.
As an African American male who has had my own negative experiences with law enforcement, I’m angry.
As an African American male who has felt myself to be the subject of profiling for most of my life, I’m angry.
As the father of two black children whose wellbeing I worry about, I’m angry .
I’m angry because even to this day, at this stage in my career, I get nervous when I walk or drive by a police officer. I’m angry because when I walk into a store, I have to go out of my way to demonstrate that I’m there lawfully, to buy and not to steal. I’m angry because when I walk down a sidewalk or get in an elevator, I have to think about how to show I’m not a threat to someone’s purse.
As I reflected on my anger, I found it important to identify the person I’m angriest at - myself. I’m angry at myself because I’ve accepted the burden of making these adjustments in my daily life as an African American man, rather than confronting the reasons for my fear and discomfort.
So I’ve challenged myself and our senior staff to look at the work we do in the Office of the Attorney General with an eye to how we may have tolerated inequities and, as a result, contributed to the circumstances we have all witnessed.
We are having this discussion, born of our outrage over the death of George Floyd, only because a 17-year-old girl had the presence of mind to record the horrific act of a law enforcement officer purporting to be working in the line of duty. This is far from the first time we have risen up in resonse to police conduct caught on tape. I feel good about having led efforts, prior to assuming the role of Attorney General, to set protocols for the use of body-worn cameras and dash cams, and to have clarified that Illinois law allows members of the public to record officers in the performance of their duties. But I’m angry at myself for having accepted pats on the back for such reforms, knowing that most abusive policing is not recorded. Part of the reason I sought the position of Attorney General was to take on the challenge to do more.
We’ve been engaged in the implementation of a consent decree designed to change the patterns and practices of the Chicago Police Department. We have also recognized that the same communities that suffer disproportionately from law enforcement abuse also experience more heavily the trauma of normalized violence. This is why we’ve enhanced our crime victim services, taking a wider view of who is a victim. At the same time, we are actively reviewing legislation to further reform the way policing is done in this state.
Additionally, I know this time of public health crisis has been stressful for us all. I cannot express to you enough how deeply I appreciate your adjustment to working remotely while handling increased workloads. I also acknowledge that as I have struggled to process my thoughts and emotions concerning recent events and their relation to my lived experiences , so many o f you have felt the direct impact. I encourage you to take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program through which you can access free, confidential counseling services. You can reach them at (866) xxx-xxxx, 24/7, 365 days a year.
I also want you to know that I - and this office - stand in support of you.
The pandemic and both its health and economic effects have disproportionately harmed certain communities. Now, we witness livelihoods being destroyed - in many cases by outsiders - at a time when small businesses were already barely clinging to survival and people were just beginning to go back to work. While we have an eye toward assisting neighborhoods affected by this destruction, we will not allow our focus to be pulled away from our responsibility to look in the mirror and promote ethical, responsible and constitutional law enforcement in all areas that we touch .
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued a statement regarding implementation of a consent decree between the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois that requires the city to implement wide-ranging reforms of the Chicago Police Department (CPD). In a status hearing today regarding the consent decree and the CPD’s response to protests taking place throughout Chicago, attorneys from Raoul’s office argued that the city has failed to implement the consent decree in a timely manner.
“My commitment to enforcing the consent decree between the city of Chicago and state of Illinois has never wavered. If anything, the horrific murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two in a long list of black lives lost at the hands of police, have strengthened my resolve to do my part to end pervasive police violence against our black and brown residents.
“We cannot let another day go by where the CPD hides behind a broken accountability system, inexcusably misses dozens of court-ordered deadlines with no plan in place to catch up, and fails to take the necessary steps to remedy the problems outlined in the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2017 report. The city owes the community it serves meaningful reform, not lip service, not Band-Aids, and not politics.
“I am calling on the city to recommit to implementing structural change within the Chicago Police Department, to publicly reject systemic racism, and to truly and transparently commit to gaining the trust of communities of color. I look forward to the independent monitor’s upcoming special report that will give us a more complete picture of how the CPD is responding to the protests that are continuing throughout Chicago. The protests are proof that the residents of Chicago are tired of waiting. I am calling on the city to do the hard work it assured people would be done to end systemic racism and restore accountability.
“I was pleased to hear Mayor Lightfoot’s recent comments acknowledging that implementation of the consent decree has been too slow. After several months of missed deadlines, one would be hard-pressed to disagree.
“The obstacle to implementation has never been the consent decree; rather, it has been the Chicago Police Department’s failure to prioritize the consent decree by committing sufficient resources to implement the court-ordered reforms. The city and the Chicago Police Department must finally take meaningful steps to implement the consent decree with the sense of urgency this moment in time demands. As tens of thousands of Chicagoans raise their voices to mourn and cry out for change, the city’s leadership owes them no less.”
Raoul is urging the city to deliver to the court, the monitor, and the Attorney General’s office a plan detailing when and how it will meet all of the consent decree deadlines missed.
To find more information, visit the Attorney General’s consent decree website.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city will not tolerate vigilantism after groups of mostly white men patrolled the streets of Bridgeport on Wednesday night in response to a nearby city protest.
Multiple streets were blocked in the Bridgeport neighborhood Wednesday night as nearby protests dispersed. Near West Pershing Road, water gushed from an open fire hydrant as small groups gathered on corners. Some of the men held bats. One wore a shirt that said “All Lives Matter,” one sipped a beer and another waved at an officer as he drove by. Additional groups of people, some armed with bats, lined West 31st Street.
Asked about the situation in Bridgeport, a diversifying neighborhood that served as an Irish American power base for the Daley political family, Lightfoot said, “It is absolutely not appropriate for people to take up arms, bats, pipes, whatever in patrolling neighborhoods.”
“We’ve seen that end with tragic results across the country and we’re not about to allow that practice to happen here in Chicago. If there’s an issue, call 911,” Lightfoot said. “I absolutely support neighbors being vigilant as to what’s going on on the streets and in their blocks but taking up arms, that leads to chaos and we’re not supporting vigilantism in the city of Chicago under any circumstances.”
* Second City Cop excerpted the above story and responded…
Really? Anyone remember Groot denouncing the Hispanic gangs that certain aldercreatures heaped praise on for “protecting” their businesses from being looted?
Let me just say this. What we don’t need, what we don’t need is gang members thinking that they are now the police and trying to take matters into their own hands. And I’ve had a lot of conversations with local aldermen about that very issue. These are young men that grew up in the neighborhood. They are known. And what we don’t need is for them to be out, and I heard from one alderman [about] a bunch of young men sitting and drinking all day and then pulling out their weapons at night. We don’t need that, we’re not going to tolerate that. The police are the public safety force in our city, not gang members.
The Chicago Police Department issued a requirement that all on duty personnel wear CPD-issued surgical masks and gloves anytime they are out of their vehicle in public. Over the last week, there’s been scores of officers, according to this question, at protests without these masks. Can you tell us why this is happening and what your office is doing to get officers to comply with this basic public health requirement in the middle of COVID-19?
This was an issue that we saw way before this week. We’ve spent a significant amount of money and resources to make sure that our officers are safe in discharging their responsibilities every day, including PPE, masks, gloves, cleaning supplies. And the superintendent I know has issued a number of reminders and directives, and I’ve told him that our patience with this has to be and end. If officers are not complying, if they are not wearing the mask and protective gear that we provide, they need to be disciplined. And that was an issue that we were dealing with way before the events of this week. But clearly no officer should be going out engaging with members of the public. It’s for their protection, as well as members of the public, and we expect them to abide by the directives that have been issued, and if not, then disciplinary action shall be taken.
She also said she’s seen the photo circulating on social media of a CPD officer flipping the bird to protesters and said the officer ought to be stripped of his police powers.
What I’d like to say is, in talking to people all over the city about the events of this week, what I’ve heard from people in neighborhoods is that they want more police protection, not less. And I certainly understand the concern about the amount of money that we spend on policing, not just in Chicago but across the country. But I think in this time where people are feeling physically insecure, it would dishonor those real expressions to be talking about reducing the amount of safety that we’re going to be bringing today to bear.
Jim Rowe is the Kankakee County State’s Attorney, and he is white. He is also embarrassed, frustrated and more than a little angry.
Rowe expressed those feelings before a crowd of about 650 people at the Tuesday evening Community Rally at the Kankakee County Fairgrounds regarding racism and police abuse.
Rowe’s embarrassment, frustration and anger come by the response of those in the white community who “spew racist ignorance and hate” in the aftermath of the George Floyd arrest and subsequent death at the hands of a Minneapolis, Minn., police officer.
“The response to Black Lives Matter is not All Lives Matter. Let’s be honest. Have all lives really ever mattered in the minds of those who say that?” Rowe asked near the conclusion of the nearly 90-minute rally. “Did all lives matter in our country when slaves were inhumanely transported like livestock in the bottom of ships? Did all lives matter when they were lynched by the thousands at the hands of the KKK? Did all lives matter when they were attacked by dogs as they protested for the equal rights they still don’t share today?
“… Did George Floyd’s life matter when he was murdered in broad daylight, on camera, while those charged with protecting and serving watched?” he asked. “The response to Black Lives Matter is not to say ‘Well, what about black-on-black crime?’ We know the difference, we know the difference between swift and fair justice and when it is not.
“Do not be vocal about the looting, but silent about the murder. … Do not say you’re afraid of these protests and criticize their peaceful chants, but embrace the protesters of a few weeks ago on the courthouse lawn simply because they were white. … Shut up and realize that a man was murdered and there is still no justice,” he said. “When you look at the anger and the revolt and the destruction, do not forget the ‘Why?’ This stops only when the world takes the proper steps to fix the matter at hand.”
I was born in Kankakee and grew up hearing stories about race riots and racism in that town.
Protesters marched in Taylorville Thursday evening, speaking about racial injustice and the death of George Floyd.
“Until we all come together, nothing’s gonna change,” said organizer Chadwick Workman. “I don’t understand why we are so divided, when America started as the melting pot, so I want to help bring people together.” […]
Law enforcement officers were also on scene, not only providing public safety, but actually participating in the march.
“This is people’s 1st amendment right, to get out and protest, and let their voices be heard,” said Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp. “I want to be part of that. I want the public to know that our police officers are just sickened by what happened in Minnesota. We are absolutely sickened by what happened.”
Christian County is 97 percent white. And Sheriff Kettelkamp ain’t exactly liberal.
Nearly 200 people marched peacefully Thursday through Anna’s city streets to bring attention to police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police custody. […]
Anna’s march was one of many in small towns through the region — a rally in Carterville drew about 150 people Wednesday — but it is especially significant here because of the city’s history as a haven for racism.
What started as a small group of about 50 to 60 demonstrators in Anna’s city park grew to nearly 200 as it made its way downtown. Gathered in a parking lot, demonstrators recited familiar chants of “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace.” […]
There were moments of tension, but the only people taken away by police were instigators attempting to argue with demonstrators.
* I have four brothers. One is a hardcore Bernie Bro, two others are solidly conservative Republicans, another leans liberal Democratic with a southern bent. I am in no way responsible for their viewpoints. And Rep. Halbrook shouldn’t have to answer for his brother…
Community leaders around Illinois are responding to comments a state representative’s brother put on social media.
Brad Halbrook represents the 102nd District, which covers parts of Central Illinois.
On a post allegedly referring to looters, someone wrote baiting is illegal in the state to which Brian Halbrook responded, “That’s why u can’t hunt ’em in a watermelon patch either.”
His brother, Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), is a member of a group known as the Eastern Bloc. Members of the group have called for Chicago to become its own state and filed a lawsuit against the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Rep. Halbrook said his brother’s comments do not reflect his views. He said in a comment:
I have had some conversations with my brother about his social media posts, and I have expressed my deep concerns about the nature of those comments to him. Having said that, he is a private citizen and not an elected official. Unfortunately, because I am his brother and I hold an elected office, he has become a target.
* The only thing I would point out is this Halbrook comment from last year…
“I didn’t know we had a white nationalism problem in Champaign County or Shelby County or Edgar County,” @BradHalbrook says after warning audience they wouldn’t like his answer. Some in crowd gasp, others groan and boo. He says Congress should address it at federal level. pic.twitter.com/fq2BXcyfmU
The virus that has raced around the globe and killed more than 100,000 in the U.S. alone has yet to reach one small community in Illinois.
Scott County, with a population of about 4,951, is the only one of Illinois’ 102 counties that has not yet reported a single case of COVID-19.
The mayor of Winchester, the 1,458-population county seat, suspects it’s because so few people move in and out, lowering the risk of anyone bringing the virus in.
The local public health official thinks they might have actually had a few cases early on, but no one was getting tested back then.
Some residents — particularly the younger crowd — think the whole pandemic has been overblown.
“We think it’s more political than anything,” said Dalton Schoenfelder, 20, a laid-off factory worker. “It’s not as bad as people portray it out to be.”
* This is some of what I told subscribers last week…
Excess deaths is a phenomenon that has been widely reported in other states and countries. The number of deaths since the pandemic began has exceeded the total of average expected deaths plus the number of known COVID-19 deaths, sometimes by huge amounts. [Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike] said [a few weeks ago] that a review would eventually be conducted here which averaged death counts from 2018 and 2019 and then compared that number to deaths this year.
So, that’s what we did. We FOIA’d data from IDPH on a county-by-county basis for March and April of 2018 and 2019, added in known COVID-19 deaths per county in those two months and came up with 1,893.5 excess deaths in Illinois, or 10.5 percent above the number of average expected deaths plus coronavirus deaths.
What that means is, almost 1,900 more Illinoisans passed away in those two months this year than can be accounted for. And nobody yet knows why.
The biggest percentage increases were all in Downstate. The highest such increase was in tiny Scott County (population a bit over 5,000), which saw a 200 percent increase above 2018/2019 average deaths. But the base numbers are so small that I can’t be sure they mean anything. The county is one of only two with no reported COVID deaths in March and April (or May, for that matter), but its average deaths over the last two years was 3, and this March and April it recorded 9 deaths. Could those extra 6 actually be coronavirus deaths? Could they be an anomaly? Could it be something else?
