* I may have told you this story, so pardon me if this is a rerun. When my daughter was just a kid, we pulled up to a strip mall parking lot and this song came on the radio. We cranked it up to 11, banged our heads, pumped our fists and shouted out the lyrics while passers-by gave us strange looks. Good times.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about my kid all day, so I dialed up this video, turned it up to 11 and rocked away…
* Gov. Pritzker said today that several IDPH regions are becoming more worrisome this week. The Metro East’s Region 4 is back up above an 8 percent positivity rate as of today, for instance. Three days of sustained 8 percent positivity triggers mediation measures, and Region 4 only recently emerged from a long ordeal with those regulations.
Region 9, which encompasses Lake and McHenry counties, has seen its average positivity rate hover in the upper 7’s for the past few days and is now at 7.7 percent. Region 8 is now at 9.4 percent, with available hospital beds down to 25 percent. A 20 percent surge capability for hospital beds triggers mitigation.
Region 1, in northern and northwestern Illinois, cannot get its act together and is at 11.7 percent today. Region 7, which is Will and Kankakee counties is at 9.2 percent. Suburban Cook is at 7.3 with its hospital bed availability down to 23 percent. And Chicago is at 7 and hospital bed availability is down to 22 percent, just two points above the danger zone.
* IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike cried for several minutes at the podium today as she literally begged Illinoisans to take this virus seriously. “Let’s please think beyond ourselves,” she said. “For those seven, eight days that you may be shedding the virus, you’re unknowingly, unwittingly infecting people in your path.”
“The people of Illinois are her patients,” Gov. Pritzker explained after Dr. Ezike finished speaking. He also said the director has been subjected to “verbal attacks” and that protesters have shown up at her home.
“I’m desperate to find a message that will work,” Ezike said. “The virus has caused this and instead of pitting one group against another, we need to get that and fight against the virus. We have a mask and we’re asking people to use that and I don’t know what else to say.”
…Adding… Got busy and forgot to post this…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 51 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Fifty-one counties are currently reported at a warning level – Adams, Bond, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Edwards, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Henderson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Macon, Macoupin, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rock Island, Saline, Shelby, Stephenson, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Wayne, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, and Winnebago.
Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with gatherings in people’s homes, weddings and funerals, bars and clubs, university and college parties as well as college sports teams, family gatherings, long-term care facilities, correctional centers, schools, and cases among the community at large, especially people in their 20s.
Public health officials are observing businesses blatantly disregarding mitigation measures, people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. Mayors, local law enforcement, state’s attorneys, and other community leaders can be influential in ensuring citizens and businesses follow best practices.
Several counties are taking swift action to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, stressing the importance of testing to providers, hiring additional contact tracers, working with schools, and meeting with local leaders.
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two of the following metrics triggers a warning.
New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Tests performed. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
Many Republicans like to vote on election day. Not this year!
With Governor Pritzker putting new COVID-19 restrictions on predominately Republican counties, we are anticipating an election day surprise limiting the number of voters in a polling place. The Democrats, know that Republicans “like to see their vote counted” as opposed to the Democrats who have voted by mail for years.
This is a way to further suppress the Republican vote.
Don’t let this happen - VOTE NOW!
Whatever works, I suppose. Gotta get those voters motivated one way or another.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 3,874 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 31 additional deaths.
- Adams County: 1 female 70s
- Christian County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 80s
- Clark County: 1 female 80s
- Clinton County: 1 male 90s
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 90s
- DeWitt County: 1 female 70s
- Jefferson County: 1 male 60s
- Kane County: 1 female 70s
- Kankakee County: 1 male 60s
- Lake County: 1 female 70s
- LaSalle County: 2 females 90s
- Macon County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
- Madison County: 1 female 80s
- McLean County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 90s
- Sangamon County: 1 male 70s
- Shelby County: 1 female 70s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 80s
- Vermilion County: 2 males 70s
- Warren County: 1 male 90s
- White County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 female 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 364,033 cases, including 9,418 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from October 16 – October 22 is 5.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 82,256 specimens for a total of 7,113,338. As of last night, 2,498 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 511 patients were in the ICU and 197 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Friday, Oct 23, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* I posted a document from the governor’s office on contact tracing on October 5th. I was apparently the only one to do that. So, the governor’s press secretary linked to my Google Drive upload…
Republican state Representatives from southern Illinois are on the road with stops across the state holding rallies for what they call the “Restore Illinois Bus Tour.”
They stopped in Springfield Thursday. […]
State Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, was at the Springfield stop. He told the crowd his efforts in the courts against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 executive orders are crucial to restoring Illinois, and he’s succeeding. […]
“This man has got to pay the price,” Bailey said. “He has devastated families, he is devastating businesses, he is destroying Illinois and I believe now every day that goes by the reasons and the proof of that grow.”
Bailey claims the governor is trying to destroy the state’s economy “to be first in line for a federal bailout.”
Defendant, Thomas J. Dart, Sheriff of Cook County (Sheriff), instituted employment disciplinary proceedings against plaintiffs, Matthew Goral, Kevin Badon, Michael Mendez, Milan Stojkovic, David Evans III, Frank Donis, and Lashon Shaffer, who were employed as officers for the Sheriff. The disciplinary charges against plaintiffs were filed with the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board (Merit Board) pursuant to section 3-7011 of the Counties Code (Code). Plaintiffs filed motions with the Merit Board to dismiss the disciplinary charges against them. While the administrative proceedings were pending, plaintiffs filed an action in the circuit court of Cook County for declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief against the Sheriff, Cook County, the Merit Board, and Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (collectively, defendants). In that lawsuit, plaintiffs asserted that the Merit Board was not legally constituted because several of its members had been appointed to and/or served terms that did not comply with the statutory requirements set forth in section 3-7002 of the Code.
On defendants’ motions, the circuit court of Cook County dismissed plaintiffs’ action on the ground that they had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. The appellate court reversed in part, holding inter alia that, since plaintiffs had challenged the authority of the Merit Board to address the charges, the “authority” exception to the exhaustion requirement applied. We allowed defendants’ petition for leave to appeal. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court and remand to the circuit court for further proceedings. […]
Defendants next contend that allowing widespread exceptions to the exhaustion doctrine would thwart the legislative intent of consigning certain disputes to agency specialists and would create “unworkable chaos” at the Merit Board. Defendants maintain that the decision by the appellate court imposes fact-finding burdens on the circuit courts that “fly in the face” of legislation about the role of courts in reviewing agency actions. According to defendants, the result reached by the appellate court would subject administrative agencies throughout Illinois to a wave of declaratory or injunctive lawsuits based on interlocutory procedural challenges to individual agency hearing officers. Defendants further contend that allowing plaintiffs to “skip over” administrative processes by filing claims in the circuit court is the opposite of judicial economy and efficiency. We do not agree. […]
Specifically, Rule 3.1 provides that “[a] lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein, unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not frivolous, which includes a good-faith argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law.” We are confident that the bar will adhere to that proscription. Thus, there are adequate safeguards in place to protect against the chaos that defendants allege.
The 4-3 majority apparently didn’t consider Darren Bailey’s example.
A narrowly decided state supreme court ruling Thursday could potentially leave Cook County taxpayers on the hook for millions in backpay for sheriff’s officers who were suspended while facing disciplinary proceedings. […]
The sheriff’s office bemoaned the decision, saying it will significantly increase the time it takes to discipline an officer for misconduct and make it more difficult to fire bad officers.
“Today’s Illinois Supreme Court decision is a catastrophic blow to law enforcement accountability,” sheriff’s office spokesman Matthew Walberg said in an emailed statement. “The decision rewards employees who engaged in criminal, unethical and despicable conduct at the expense of Illinois taxpayers.”
Jewish students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have endured “an unrelenting campaign of anti-Semitic harassment,” according to a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Those students and others supportive of Israel “have been subjected to an alarming increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism over the past five years,” according to a statement issued Friday by the Louis B. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which helped prepare the complaint.
Over that period, multiple swastikas have allegedly been scrawled across the campus; menorahs and mezuzahs have allegedly been vandalized; and windows of Jewish fraternities have allegedly been “smashed with bricks,” according to the statement. What’s more, pro-Palestine students have also allegedly glorified members of terrorist organizations, assailed Jewish students and their allies with epithets like “Nazi” and “white supremacist” and turned university diversity training “into anti-Israel indoctrination.”
The complaint alleges that university administrators have failed to provide “a discrimination-free academic setting” despite being notified of the “developing hostile environment.” The statement also claims that some university employees have “been complicit” in fostering that environment.
“Jewish students at UIUC have been targeted for years,” said Alyza D. Lewin, President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. “We gave UIUC seven months since the complaint was filed to address the ongoing harassment. In the face of continuous stall tactics and almost no action from the university, we decided to publicize our efforts. We hope public awareness of this dire situation will prompt the university to finally acknowledge and address the egregious anti-Semitic harassment it has swept under the rug for far too long.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Democratic Rep. Jonathan Carroll…
The Jewish Caucus has offered to work with and given the University of Illinois every opportunity to address this issue. Instead of taking this seriously, they’ve done absolutely nothing about it. We’ll continue supporting Jewish students throughout the state and stand up for their basic civil rights.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the university…
We have not been contacted by the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) regarding any official complaint against the university, but the lawyers who submitted it to OCR in March also submitted it later to an organization that accredits the university. We were asked this summer to respond to the complaint. After receiving our response, that organization determined that the allegations raised in the complaint do not indicate substantive noncompliance with their requirements and that no further review would be conducted.
Throughout this time, the university has been engaged in a long, meaningful and what we believed was a collaborative discussion about the concerns raised by the involved parties, so it is very disheartening that they chose to stop engaging with us. We are disappointed with the approach this group has taken to move our conversation to the media, but we are absolutely committed to an inclusive university community where everyone feels welcome.
One of our core institutional values is ensuring that people of all faiths, ethnicities, national origins and viewpoints can live, learn and thrive. We will never tolerate bigotry, racism or hate, and we condemn acts and expressions of anti-Semitism.
Robin Kaler, Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs
*** UPDATE 3 *** Democratic Rep. Bob Morgan…
I’m aware that antisemitism has been on the rise at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, my alma mater. I hope the university will take steps to immediately and meaningfully confront this dangerous trend. As a Jewish UIUC alum and former ISG president, I expect more from a school that means so much to me and all of Illinois.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Jewish United Fund…
It is with deep sadness that JUF has consulted on a U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights complaint against the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC) due to an increasingly hostile environment for Jewish students in violation of federal law.
Antisemitic harassment is expressly prohibited under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
JUF cares deeply about UIUC as the flagship public University of our state, approximately 8% of whose student body is Jewish. Those Jewish students deserve the same level of protections afforded to every student population which faces discrimination. That in our own backyard, UIUC has permitted a hostile climate to exist is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. JUF will always stand up for Jews when our safety and security is threatened.
Even after five years of intensive discussion with JUF, UIUC has consistently chosen to turn its back on the Jewish community and allowed a hostile climate to fester. Incidents ranged from swastikas scrawled on campus dorms and a university-sponsored training with antisemitic content to repeated BDS campaigns and concomitant harassment of Jewish students on campus and in social media.
JUF calls on the University to do the right thing to swiftly rectify the current situation and return to being a place of pride for our community. We will continue to work with the University and will also continue to support active Jewish life through our Illini Hillel Cohen Center for Jewish Life.
As residents gear up to cast their vote this election, WIFR wants to help you get to know the names you will see on the ballot.
One race to look out for is State Representative in the 67th District. Democrat incumbent Rep. Maurice West joined Courtney Sisk on 23 News First at Four to discuss his run for a second term.
Rep. West said he’s proud of the work he’s already done, including bringing $2 million in funding to the district to provide job training to young adults. For the first time publically, Rep. West said if he’s reelected, he will not be voting for Speaker Madigan.
“I am hoping that there’s a strong state representative that I could vote for. Someone who believes in term limits for leadership like I do. Someone who will be an advocate for strong, immediate ethics reform so that we can regain trust in our government. Someone who believes in bipartisanship. So I’m looking forward to another option.” Rep. West said.
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin slammed Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker as “a shameless master of personal tax avoidance” Thursday in an email to his Chicago employees that criticized the governor’s push for a graduated-income tax rate amendment. […]
“I am not willing to stand by as, once again, spineless politicians try to sell a trick disguised as a solution. Particularly not from a governor who, having inherited a great deal of wealth, has worked so diligently to avoid paying taxes himself,” Griffin wrote in an email obtained by the Tribune, which was verified by a company spokesman. […]
“Pritzker–a shameless master of personal tax avoidance–is well aware that many of the state’s top taxpayers will soon be decamping for states with more attractive tax policies. Under our federalist system, each state is free to compete to encourage companies and employees to join its community. Governors of Florida, Texas and other states have made compelling pitches for businesses – like Citadel – to leave Illinois,” Griffin wrote. […]
In his email, Griffin said he was troubled by protesters who demonstrated outside Citadel’s Loop office and “misrepresented my deep commitment to the youth of our city.” He said his firm has “brought countless families to the state, led important philanthropic and community initiatives and, together, have made Illinois a better place to live and raise a family.”
As Illinois smashed another daily record with 4,942 new coronavirus cases reported Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker threw down the gauntlet to suburban bar and restaurant owners threatening to flout his latest restrictions on indoor drinking and dining.
The Democratic governor issued his harshest warning yet to potential scofflaws before his indoor dining ban goes into effect Friday in Will, Kankakee, Kane and DuPage counties, where COVID-19 infection rates are soaring to new highs.
But some owners say they will still seat customers inside, arguing the latest rollback means a “death sentence” for their businesses after months of struggling to stay afloat while following guidelines and avoiding outbreaks.
“If people are going to force us, because they won’t follow the mitigations, and they’re going to let people get sick in their business, then we’re going to take this very seriously,” Pritzker said at a downstate coronavirus briefing. “If we have to stop them from doing business because they’re helping to spread this disease and get people sick, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
“We are now seeing the entire state is moving up in terms of hospitalizations, in terms of ICU beds, ventilators and death,” Pritzker said, pointing to “dozens of studies” showing bars and restaurants have proven to be fertile grounds for COVID-19 transmission.
“It is very serious right now, folks, and if we need to close down restaurants and bars, or take away their liquor licenses, take away their gaming licenses, we will do that,” Pritzker said during his daily coronavirus briefing at the St. Clair County Health Department in Belleville. “Because we are now heading into a peak that is beyond, potentially, where we were in March and April.”
Pritzker said the Illinois State Police will issue warnings and citations to businesses that don’t adhere to the rules, and the state will use its authority over liquor and gambling licenses if necessary.
“I think you know I’ve been reluctant to do this before because it has a very serious implication for the future of a business,” Pritzker said. “I want businesses to stay in business. I want them to survive.”
Pritzker’s warning came just after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced her own clampdown, including a 10 p.m. curfew starting Friday on nonessential businesses and the suspension of indoor service at taverns and taprooms that don’t serve food
Just hours after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced new restrictions on businesses in response to rising COVID-19 cases, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx cautioned that closing public spaces won’t be enough to stop the illness’s spread.
Birx said it’s possible some of the recent spread is happening in people’s homes, during family gatherings, as the weather gets colder. She spoke at a news conference following a private meeting with leaders from Rush University System for Health, Northwestern Medicine and the Illinois and Chicago departments of public health at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Thursday.
“It won’t be as simple as closing public spaces because public spaces … were very safe over the summer and probably remain safe,” Birx said. “This is really something that has happened in the last three to four weeks. What has happened in the last three to four weeks is that people have moved their social gatherings indoors.”
A growing body of research has concluded that the steep drop in economic activity last spring was primarily a result of individual decisions by consumers and businesses rather than legal mandates. People stopped going to restaurants even before governors ordered them shut down. Airports emptied out even though there were never significant restrictions on domestic air travel.
States like Iowa that reopened quickly did have an initial pop in employment and sales. But more cautious states have at least partly closed that gap, and have seen faster economic rebounds in recent months by many measures.
Economists say it is hard to estimate exactly how much economic activity is still being restrained by capacity limits, social-distancing rules and similar policies, many of which have been lifted or loosened even in places governed by Democrats. In most states, restaurants, retail stores and even bars are allowed to operate.
Perhaps the most widespread government action that has hindered economic growth is the decision by many school districts to adopt virtual learning at the start of the school year, which appears to have driven many parents, particularly women, out of the labor force to care for young children who would otherwise be in class.
But as the pandemic flares again in much of the country, most economists agree this much is clear: The main thing holding back the economy is not formal restrictions. It is people’s continued fear of the virus itself.
Questions about state finances, taxes, economics and policy are all around us lately. My good friend @ChrisCrisanti recently started a website for just that kind of things. Please give it read. https://t.co/YsRuyogxHq
