* I have a ton of stuff to take care of on Monday (just routine things that I can’t get to on weekends), so I’m gonna take the day off unless all heck breaks loose.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,317 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 25 additional confirmed deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 151,767 cases, including 7,144 deaths, in 102 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 32,987 specimens for a total of 1,911,743. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 3 –July 9 is 2.9%. As of last night, 1,436 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 306 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
The trend is not our friend, but we’re still better off than a lot of other states. Even so, today’s positivity rate is 4 percent. That’s up a point and a half over the past week or so.
* Back on May 8th, Wirepoints was strenuously arguing against large IDPH regions…
The governor continues to impose a top-down lockdown strategy that makes no sense for most areas of the state. Some of his required conditions risk Illinois being shut down for an impossible length of time.
Individual counties and their respective health departments should be ready to set their own policies, suited to the particular risks and situations of their own communities. That’s particularly true now that the curve in Illinois has been flattened and the original emergency order has expired.
On May 8, IDPH reported 4,768 COVID-19 patients in the hospital (3.3 times as many as are in the hospital today) and 1,220 in the ICU (4 times as many as today). The curve was indeed “flattened,” but it flattened at a high plateau back then. They were flat-out wrong.
* Today, Wirepoints is now arguing for a single, statewide approach to reopening schools…
Full reopenings must be the standard. School districts should have the choice to do less, but anything other than a full reopening should result in a refund to taxpayers.
A Quincy woman has filed suit against the Quincy School Board over requiring face masks and temperature checks for her child to attend school.
Roni Quinn seeks an injunction barring the School Board from enforcing the mandates against her child, a fourth-grader attending Quincy Public Schools, and says the board overstepped its authority in issuing the requirements.
A hearing is set for 11 a.m. Thursday in Adams County Court. […]
“This is about our children’s right to an education and allowing decisions such as these to be left to the parents not our government/local officials,” Quinn said in a post on the Re-Open Adams County Illinois Facebook page.
“If you want to send your child to school in a mask, by all means you have that right. As it stands right now, no one has the right to choose to send their child to school without a mask. That is not ok. These rights belong to the parents.”
In the lawsuit filed Friday morning, Quinn alleges that she, and her child, will suffer irreparable injuries based on the implementation of the mask and temperature check mandates because they infringe on the child’s right to an in-person education within the public school.
Quinn’s lawsuit goes on to allege that the mandates are not lawful as they were not implemented by legislature.
Quinn states that the requirement of a face mask to be admitted to a public school building is beyond the board’s authority or otherwise in violation of Illinois law.
Quinn is being represented by attorney Thomas DeVore, who recently filed a lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker accusing him of abusing his emergency powers with his Stay-at-Home order.
* Meanwhile, here’s some background on our next story. From May…
A judge on Thursday sided against an Illinois organization that claimed restrictions implemented to combat the novel coronavirus made it impossible to gather the necessary signatures to place a constitutional amendment on November’s general election ballot. […]
The Committee for the Illinois Democracy Amendment is advocating for a constitutional change that would obligate the General Assembly to take roll call votes on bills proposing “stronger ethical standards for Illinois public officials.”
It would also allow residents to propose related bills by submitting a petition with at least 100,000 signatures.
One important question, when a plaintiff seeks emergency relief, is whether the plaintiff has brought the emergency on himself. The district judge concluded that Morgan had done so. During most of the time available to seek signatures, Morgan did absolutely nothing. He did not evince any interest in the subject until early April 2020, several weeks after the Governor began to issue orders requiring social distancing. The other plaintiffs did not do anything of substance until the suit was on file. Plaintiffs had plenty of time to gather signatures before the pandemic began. That’s a good reason to conclude that they are not entitled to emergency relief.
We add that plaintiffs also have not established that the Governor’s orders limit their speech. The orders concern conduct (social distancing), not what anyone may write or say. Orders regulating conduct often have incidental effects on speech, but this does not require courts to treat them as if they were regulations of speech. See, e.g., Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288 (1984). Plaintiffs do not question the propriety of those orders. Cf. Jacobson v. Massachuse=s, 197 U.S. 11 (1905); Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church v. PriJker, No. 20-1811 (7th Cir. June 16, 2020). Although the orders surely make it hard to round up signatures, so would the reluctance of many people to approach strangers during a pandemic.
One more consideration bears emphasis. The federal Constitution does not require any state or local government to put referenda or initiatives on the ballot. That is wholly a mafer of state law. If we understand the Governor’s orders, coupled with the signature requirements, as equivalent to a decision to skip all referenda for the 2020 election cycle, there is no federal problem. Illinois may decide for itself whether a pandemic is a good time to be soliciting signatures on the streets in order to add referenda to a ballot.
The order denying the motion for a preliminary injunc- tion is affirmed. The plaintiffs remain free to contend to the district court that a permanent injunction would be justified if social-distancing rules are indefinitely extended, but that long-term question does not require immediate resolution.
Former Gov. Pat Quinn, an attorney representing the committee, said in an interview Friday he and his clients are “disappointed.”
They brought this lawsuit, he said, because “it’s impossible” to comply with state law mandating petitions be circulated in person and with the governor’s social distancing order.
“The state should not be allowed to try to cancel out the rights of voters to circulate petitions to put issues on the ballot,” Quinn said. “It makes the whole process very dangerous. We’re going to keep fighting.”
Their options, he said, include appealing the decision — the committee is “free” to pursue the issues in this case in a district court, the judges wrote in their ruling — or attempting to change the law “so voters have the option to sign petitions electronically during the pandemic, which is not going away.”
“Will not hesitate “, “cut funding “, “comply”, are words and phrases from history that we should not forget.
Illinois needs a shakeup from top to bottom!
* If you click the link, there’s zero mention of funding cut threats in the story. However, if you pull up the Google cached version, you’ll see this…
…”If a certain school district or individual school disobeys these measures meant to ensure safety, ISBE will not hesitate to move forward with funding cuts and additional measures to ensure that our students and faculty remain protected from COVID-19″ the statement read.
* I asked Jackie Matthews at the ISBE why the board changed its statement…
ISBE tracks all of our correspondence regarding COVID-19 to media and others. We have no record of ever providing the statement that was originally quoted in the article, and we wouldn’t have, as it did not reflect our current or any past position.
The news outlet was not able to show how, when, or from whom they sourced that statement. I reached out this morning with the accurate information and they updated their story.
Wow.
* So, I called the station and talked with the boss. He said the story was posted by a reporter he’d hired a week ago. The reporter claimed that he got a statement from ISBE. But, the executive said, “I looked back at our emails, and I’m not saying he’s lying, but I found no confirmation that he got a statement from them.”
Yikes.
Meanwhile, ISBE is being inundated with furious phone calls and emails over what is literally (and deliberately) fake news.
* In other news, this is causing a huge uproar in the Anna area. WSIL TV…
The Union County Fair Board has issued a full statement explaining why they canceled the Union County Fair.
During a special board meeting by the Union County Fair Board on July 7, 2020, a motion was made to cancel the upcoming 2020 Union County Fair. […]
The Board stated in late June they were notified that all food vendors were not being issued permits in the state of Illinois and carnival vendors received the same news in early July.
According to the Board, after trying to get permits from the state, they received a call from the Governor’s office telling them to cancel the fair. The Board told the office they were still attempting to have the annual event. Members say they were told if the fair was held, they would lose funding for the remainder of the Governor’s term.
With all of our dealings to the State of Illinois in the attempt to get vendors permits, we must have caught the attention of the Governor’s office. We say this because not 10 minutes after trying get permits issued, a board member received a call from Governor Pritzker’s office. The caller stated that we will need to cancel our fair. Our board member proceeded to tell him that we WOULD be having a Union County Fair one way or another. His response was quickly met with a statement that we will paraphrase for you:
If you attempt to have a fair……in any way……then your funding from the State of Illinois will be cut……not only for this year, but for the remainder of Governor Pritzker’s term and if re-elected, that term too.
* Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office…
The Governor’s Office has no record of a call with Union County representatives where these alleged comments were made. Counties around the state have made the tough decision to cancel their fairs to protect the health and safety of their residents and the Governor understands how unfortunate it is to have to cancel an event that people look forward to all year because the administration was also forced to cancel the Illinois State Fair. The virus knows no borders and the Governor’s top priority is ensuring the people of this state stay healthy.
So, I called the number listed for the Union County Fair’s board. I spoke with the board’s secretary, Dale Moreland. Mr. Moreland said he did not receive the call, the board president did. Moreland didn’t have the name of the person who was allegedly from the governor’s office because the board president didn’t catch it.
We talked some more (some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around the Iroquois County Fair, so we have several things in common), and it became apparent that this probably wasn’t somebody from the governor’s office who made that call.
As you know, a lay person may just say “governor’s office” when they mean somebody at a state agency. And Mr. Moreland after a bit said, “I don’t know if he was from the governor’s office. He probably was in the permit division.”
Whatever the case, state employees shouldn’t be making these sorts of threats. Whoever it is ought to be found and harshly sanctioned.
The Illinois Auditor General has released a two year compliance report for the state’s Department of Employment Security.
While the audit addresses issues with finances and equipment records, the biggest takeaway is weakness in cybersecurity. The report only covers issues within the department from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019. So, it does not include the massive data breach within the IDES unemployment system discovered this May.
Auditor General Frank Mautino wrote IDES is responsible for computer systems with large collections of confidential information: names, addresses, social security numbers and tax information. However, the audit explains the Department failed to classify data to ensure that information would be protected from cyber attacks.
“Department officials indicated due to the nature of the work done by the Department, almost all data sets are classified as high risk,” stated Jim Dahlquist, Administrative Manager for the Auditor General’s office. “However, this documentation could not be provided during the engagement, which resulted in the finding.”
Thousands of people are continuing to call the Illinois Department of Employment Security, hoping for a different result. Tira Clement has been on that merry-go-round since she was laid off in early May. Within days, she applied for unemployment but was rejected. She then applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), but was told to try for regular unemployment instead.
“I kept trying to call in, kept trying to call in, it was always busy; and then the system would just hang up on you, so you could never actually speak to someone regarding the problem,” she explained. Finally, she heard back.
“I get a call on a Saturday morning, from someone and they said that yes, I was eligible for PUA, they didn’t know why the system was doing this. They said that it was a glitch and that they had to put a ticket in with their supervisor,” she explained. She was told that, in about a week, she should be able to apply. But instead, nearly two weeks later, she’s still couldn’t get anywhere.
“We’re calling ourselves the PUA Illinois glitchers. There’s a whole group of us who are in this situation.” Clement says she’ll likely be brought back to work in the fall, but she’s afraid of what will happen in the meantime. “Savings is running out, and I need someone from IDES to look at what’s going on with me and tell me what I’m supposed to be doing. I have no idea, and no one to talk to.”
Nearly 5,000 educators responded to a member-wide Chicago Teachers Union survey, issued in mid-June, which asked them to begin thinking about the conditions required for Chicago Public Schools to safely re-open in the fall without risking the health of students and their families, and school staff and communities. Caught between the gross ineptitude of Donald Trump’s U.S. Department of Education, and the uncertainty from Chicago Public Schools, more than 85 percent of CTU member respondents feel they should not or might not go back to work in the fall without a detailed plan and resources that will help guarantee the safe re-opening of our schools. […]
The Union is currently in negotiations with CPS on guarantees that schools will have what is necessary to open safely when appropriate. More than two-thirds of members surveyed said they would not return to work without masks, gloves and other PPE provided by the district, and required for everyone who enters a school building; the daily sanitizing of every surface in the building; a plan that would limit the number of students physically present in classrooms; class sizes that allow for students and staff to always be six feet apart; and multiple hand-washing stations throughout a building.
More than 85 percent of CTU member respondents feel they should not or might not go back to work in the fall without a commitment to school-based safety teams providing input on safety needs and plans; daily COVID-19 testing and temperature screening for everyone entering the building; a nurse or other health professional in every school, every day; remote learning options for particularly vulnerable students and staff; a transportation plan for students that involves distancing on school buses as well as Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains; and a social worker or counselor dedicated to helping students and staff in every school, every day.
Ninety-six percent of members said adequate devices and Internet connectivity for every student must be in place before returning to school, highlighting the digital void that exists for many Black and Brown students on the South and West sides of the city. Nearly 70 percent of rank-and-file members were not at all comfortable or mostly uncomfortable with the idea of medically compromised educators being forced to work in-person, in school in the fall.
Members in more than two dozen positions, from clinicians, social workers and special education, to art, Pre-K and PSRPs, submitted to the Union detailed concerns about what a return to in-person work must look like for their particular job and job duties.
Clinicians, for example, cited adequate space to meet with students (“i.e. not a closet”); special education teachers spoke of the need for PPE working in therapy situations or with students who do not comprehend social distancing (“Keeping students with autism or cognitive disabilities six feet apart will be a problem”); speech/language pathologists must have a way for their mouths to be visible to students so they can provide articulation therapy with speech sound errors; and primary teachers noted that “little people want to hug and they need a teacher’s touch,” while in Pre-K, keeping preschoolers social distant from one another may negatively impact them educationally, socially and emotionally.
School clerks, often in the most trafficked part of the building, should no longer be required to perform nurse duties of administering medicine or tending to injuries and illnesses.
The DuPage Regional Office of Education (ROE) announced that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have partnered with BloomBoard, a leading platform for educator advancement, to support DuPage County schools in providing effective blended instruction. The partnership will make BloomBoard’s Fall Readiness Program available to DuPage County school districts.
“As our schools make decisions on how best to educate students this fall, we welcome the opportunity to partner with BloomBoard to provide DuPage educators with a comprehensive professional learning option to prepare themselves for blended instruction,” said Darlene Ruscitti, regional superintendent of DuPage County Schools.
The advantages of BloomBoard’s programs will be two-fold: its Fall Readiness Program will coach educators to up-level their blended learning instruction to meet students’ academic and personal needs during this pandemic, and its micro-credentialing framework will provide districts a customizable continuing education program that can align with each districts’ needs long-term, support teacher growth, and lead to improved student outcomes.
At their first in-person school board meeting since March, United Township High School Board members voted to approve a Return to Learn plan that will see students both on campus and learning remotely.
Administrators presented their plan Wednesday at a special meeting. Superintendent Jay Morrow said the blended learning approach would deliver high-quality education while prioritizing staff and student safety.
Administrators said they had been working since March to develop plans that prioritized as much face-to-face instruction while also adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. […]
Morrow said busing would continue, with about 24 students, one for each seat, on each bus. Morrow said state guidelines allowed for 50 individuals in one space, but the district did not feel comfortable with that. He said he felt confident the district could manage with the reduced capacity.
Nearly 95 percent of parents surveyed with children in Morton schools intend to send their children back to class in August despite the COVID-19 pandemic — according to the school district.
The results of that survey were shared with the school board on Tuesday by Superintendent Jeff Hill — where more than three-quarters of students had parents participate in the poll, upwards of 2,400 in all out of a total school population of approximately 3,100.
Hill said more than 64 percent of parents indicated that their children will return to school, without conditions. Another 30 percent said their kids would be present with certain stipulations.
According to the release, of that 64 percent, more than half said they felt strongly that students should be permitted to take a break from the mandatory wearing of masks at some point during the school day.
[Illinois State University President Larry Dietz] rolled out a list of safety measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, including a requirement for students, staff and faculty to wear face coverings in all campus facilities. The university will have a mix of classes that are online, face-to-face or a hybrid of both. […]
The fall semester will begin Aug. 17 and end Dec. 11, but all classes will be online after Nov. 20.
“This decision is being made in an effort to provide students who can stay home with the opportunity to do so and to de-densify campus immediately following fall break and the Thanksgiving holiday — when many students, faculty and staff visit with friends and family, as well as travel,” said Dietz.
To anyone considering taking in this weekend’s Greek Reunion activities, University of Illinois officials have a request: Don’t.
Danita Young, the UI’s vice chancellor for student affairs, wrote a lengthy letter to students detailing her concerns in advance of the annual event, set for today through Sunday.
“The continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic makes any large gatherings a significant risk for the spread of this deadly virus,” Young wrote.
The Greek Reunion has no status as a university-endorsed event. It isn’t sanctioned by the UI and has no ties to the school’s Fraternity and Sorority Affairs programming.
Almost four months after the college sports world halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, another seismic change happened Thursday.
Illinois, along with the rest of the Big Ten, will play a conference-only schedule with its fall sports teams this upcoming school year. That is, if it’s able to do so.
Those are the words from the Big Ten, which released a lengthy statement Thursday afternoon announcing the news but offering up no specifics.
No revised game schedules were released. No updates about whether fans would be able to attend said sporting events — again, if they even happen.
What’s happening in your own school districts and colleges?
A 16-year-old boy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, died this spring after workers pinned him to the floor at the residential facility where he lived — after he’d thrown a sandwich at lunch. While held on the ground, he told them: “I can’t breathe.”
At least 70 people have died in law enforcement custody in the last decade after saying the words “I can’t breathe,” a recent New York Times investigation found. But just as adults have died after being restrained, so have children.
And though we encountered no fatalities, we also repeatedly saw those words among the 50,000 pages of school incident reports on restraint and seclusion that we reviewed for The Quiet Rooms investigation, published last year. School workers documented they had restrained a child in a face-down, or prone, position and the student pleaded to be let up, saying he or she couldn’t breathe. […]
The Quiet Rooms investigation, published by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois, found that in 100 public school districts, children were physically restrained more than 15,000 times between August 2017 and December 2018.
School employees often took detailed notes on these incidents; they wrote down that students said “I can’t breathe” while being restrained at least 30 times over the time period we investigated, according to our analysis of the records. It likely happened more often than that, as we didn’t track every incident in which it was noted that students had trouble breathing.
We found that in about 1,800 of the restraint incidents we logged, school workers used face-down restraints, which at least 31 other states have banned at schools.
At the Southwest Cook County Cooperative for Special Education in Oak Forest in August 2018, a boy who refused to finish his classwork and kept repeating “I want to die” was sent to a seclusion room.
He tried to get out of the padded room by throwing himself against the door. Workers then restrained him because he did not “get his body under control,” according to the incident records.
“Oh my God, I can’t breathe, ow. God, I swear to God you broke my right arm,” school employees recorded him saying.
The school has since stopped using prone restraint, the executive director, Gineen O’Neil, said.
Electric vehicle startup Rivian says it has raised another $2.5 billion in funding from accounts advised by investment firm T. Rowe Price.
The company has a contract with Amazon to build 100,000 electric delivery vans starting next year at the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal. Rivian also is rolling out a pickup truck and an SUV for sale to consumers next year.
The company said Friday that investors in this round include Soros Fund Management, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research, and Baron Capital Group. Amazon and hedge fund BlackRock have invested previously and also are part of this round, Rivian said.
Rivian’s all-electric product plans, which were delayed several months due to the coronavirus pandemic, include the R1T pickup, R1S SUV as well as a line of vans, which Amazon pre-ordered 100,000 of last year for its delivery fleet over the next decade.
The all-electric pickup and SUV are expected to launch early next year, while Amazon expects to have 10,000 of the vans in its fleet by 2022. Rivian has said the pickup and SUV, which debuted in late 2018, will achieve a driving range on a single charge of more than 400 miles – in-line with Tesla’s top Model S Long Range Plus.'’
Rivian will produce the vehicles at a former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal, Illinois, which was purchased for $16 million in 2017. The company is spending more than $750 million to equip, renovate and expand the facility ahead of production.
The fact that Rivian already has the 2.6 million-square-foot plant, including a paint shop that’s nearing completion, puts it ahead of others such as Nikola and Tesla, which has yet determine a location for production of its Cybertruck.
The bottom line, via Axios transportation reporter Joann Muller: Rivian is biting off an extraordinary series of manufacturing challenges all at once for a startup that has never built a vehicle. Even experienced automakers struggle to launch new vehicles smoothly.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan released the following statement Thursday:
“While reading Sidney Blumenthal’s book ‘All the Powers of Earth’ concerning the pre-Civil War period a few months ago, I learned of Stephen Douglas’ disturbing past as a Mississippi slave owner and his abhorrent words toward people of color. I advised my staff to research and confirm the history to support removing the Douglas portrait from the House chamber.
* The Question: What book should Madigan read next? Explain.
The DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Department earlier this week announced four new cases of the coronavirus in DeWitt County.
Three share a household and live in Farmer City. They include a 44-year-old female and her two sons. Contact tracing is at a stand-still due to a lack of cooperation.
The Illinois Municipal League (IML) and state business leaders today called on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to amend a proposal that would prevent local governments from directly receiving millions of dollars in federal funds to support economic development and help businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
The move by DCEO would limit economic recovery in communities across the state by diverting federal funds away from cities, villages and towns where local leaders are best equipped to make decisions for their communities. Downstate and suburban communities that did not qualify for direct federal aid are particularly at risk, as the state will be able to reallocate these funds elsewhere.
This decision goes against provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that allows local governments to provide economic support to businesses during the pandemic, which passed Congress with overwhelming support and was backed by every member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. It also defies the intent of state lawmakers who believed they were sending direct aid to local governments and employers when voting for this year’s budget package.
“Local officials know their communities best. It’s disappointing the state wants to take away their ability to decide how federal dollars are spent to support economic development, especially as they watch shops, restaurants and other businesses close around them at an alarming rate,” said Brad Cole, IML Executive Director. “This decision undermines federal efforts to keep local economies afloat during the pandemic and demonstrates how out of touch state officials are with the needs of communities across Illinois.”
Under the CARES Act, local governments can use federal relief funds to provide economic support to businesses that have struggled during the pandemic. However, DCEO recently filed rules with the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules that would prevent economic development expenditures from being eligible for reimbursement. These guidelines would be more restrictive than those put in place by the federal government and will prevent municipal leaders from providing support to local businesses at a time many are struggling to survive. This economic assistance program is especially important in downstate and suburban communities, as only larger governments including Chicago, Cook County and DuPage County received direct funding under the CARES Act. DCEO also wants to shorten the timeframe for which municipalities are eligible for reimbursement of funds used to respond to the pandemic by 60 days, creating additional burdens to receive help.
Joining the IML in opposition to these harmful and unnecessary restrictions are leaders of the state’s business community, including the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA).
“Retailers large and small have been devastated by the pandemic, with many struggling to make ends meet. Without this help, many local stores, restaurants, taverns, and entertainment venues may close for good,” said Rob Karr, President and CEO of IRMA. “The retail sector employs one-fifth of workers in Illinois, is the largest sales tax revenue generator for local governments and the second largest revenue generator for the state. Failure to help revive the retail sector will harm our state and communities for many years to come.”
“The state has repeatedly noted throughout this pandemic that local officials are best positioned to make judgements about what their communities need, and this must be extended to decisions regarding local economic development,” said Mark Denzler, President and CEO of IMA. “We are calling on the administration to rescind these restrictions to ensure federal relief funds are properly invested in our communities, including manufacturers who have stepped up during the pandemic to produce personal protective equipment, medical devices and ensure our food supply remains strong.”
* From the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity…
The claim that the state is preventing local governments from receiving federal funds is simply false. The General Assembly created the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (Local CURE) Support Program to deploy $250M in Federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to reimburse local governments for the costs they’ve incurred to address the COVID-19 pandemic beginning this month. The State separately created the $636 million Business Interruption Grant program to directly support businesses with grants to cover losses due to the pandemic. In developing the Local CURE reimbursement program, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) sought input by various local government groups including IML on how to fairly and equitably deliver the funds to cover ongoing costs for COVID response. At the same time, the State created the BIG program to directly support businesses for losses they’ve experienced.
* Background from DCEO…
• The Local CURE program was developed to help local governments by reimbursing emergency costs incurred since March and draws upon funding appropriated to the department for use as a local government support program. This program has always been intended to mitigate costs for local government operations; it is not a relief program for businesses, which the state is addressing separately.
• It is the administration’s intent to release Local CURE funds in a way that addresses the needs on the ground – which is why this program is formula based and looks to release funding equitably per capita as well as with a needs based approach determined in partnership with IDPH to grant relief to communities with higher concentration of COVID-19 cases.
• DCEO has begun working with local governments to prepare for reimbursement, including issuing an application for other units of local government to submit their request. Despite what IML is saying, DCEO intends to distribute all of these funds to local governments. Local CURE program contemplates a reallocation ONLY if a local unit of government does not present costs eligible for reimbursement. DCEO has determined costs eligible for reimbursement in accordance with US Treasury guidance, and those include: public safety related costs, public health, PPE materials, and more.
• The state statute established Local CURE as a reimbursement program for costs incurred. Adding economic development to this via rules would require local governments to stand up new grant programs with their own funds, an impractical outcome given the difficult fiscal circumstances local governments are in. This would also result in an extended review period for applications to Local CURE, ultimately resulting in a delay in local governments seeing their reimbursements.
• Local CURE contemplates reimbursement for eligible costs submitted by nearly 100 counties and thousands of other local units over governments and is aligned with US Treasury guidance for allocating CRF. The average County allotment for reimbursement is $532,183; and the average municipal allotment for reimbursement is $132,599.
• BIG allocates 2.5 times the CRF money for BIG and applies it exclusively for economic development. The historic $636 million BIG program just closed its first round of funding applications this week. The administration is working diligently to ensure these funds are expedited for purposes of economic recovery, and the program places priority on communities and businesses hit hardest.
* From Jordan Abudayyeh…
Supporting economic development and ensuring local governments have the resources they need to fight COVID-19 are top priorities for the governor. The General Assembly created programs to support local governments through the pandemic using federal dollars and the Governor continues to call on Congress to pass additional state and local funding to ensure continued support throughout the pandemic response.
Background..
The $250 million Local CURE program reimburses local governments for additional spending related to COVID-19 and DCEO is charged with administering the program within the confines of state statute.
Similarly, the General Assembly also created the $650 million BIG program to ensure businesses were supported during this unprecedented time.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan released the following statement Thursday:
“While reading Sidney Blumenthal’s book ‘All the Powers of Earth’ concerning the pre-Civil War period a few months ago, I learned of Stephen Douglas’ disturbing past as a Mississippi slave owner and his abhorrent words toward people of color. I advised my staff to research and confirm the history to support removing the Douglas portrait from the House chamber. I became more resolute in my decision to remove the Douglas portrait as we witnessed the tragic killing of George Floyd and the bravery of so many who have stood up and spoken out against injustice that has never been fully addressed.
“So today, I am taking the first important step of removing this unnecessary reminder of our country’s painful past. When the Illinois House returns in the fall, I will offer a resolution to be voted on by the House to authorize removal of the Douglas portrait and be replaced with a portrait of President Barack Obama, a more fitting representation of the modern-day Democratic Party. In the meantime, I am looking into ways the portrait can be covered immediately.
“Memorializing people and a time that allowed slavery and fostered bigotry and oppression has no place in the Illinois House, where the work of all Illinoisans is conducted. We can only move forward in creating a more just world when these symbols of hate are removed from our everyday lives.
“I am calling for the removal of the Douglas and Pierre Menard statues from the Capitol grounds, as well as moving the statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. to a location of more prominence and honor. I ask that the Office of the Architect move expeditiously on this matter to take a vote in the coming days to remove these statues. Further, I am asking the Office and its board to work with all Illinoisans to conduct a thorough review of all statues, portraits and symbols on the Capitol grounds to ensure any inappropriate fixtures are removed and all feel welcome.
“Of course, removing these images does not erase our history, but it is one more step in acknowledging the suffering of so many and committing to creating a better Illinois for everyone.”
*** UPDATE *** Senate President Don Harmon…
Stephen Douglas’ role in Illinois history does not warrant commemoration today with a statue on the statehouse grounds.
I believe it’s a good time to review exactly who’s being honored and why in both the Capitol Building and on the surrounding grounds, and then make some changes.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,018 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 20 additional confirmed deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 3 males 70s, 4 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s
- Kane County: 1 female 90s
- Kendall County: 1 male 50s
- McLean County: 1 female 80s
- Out of State: 1 female 50s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 150,450 cases, including 7,119 deaths, in 102 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 36,180 specimens for a total of 1,878,756. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 2 –July 8 is 2.6%. As of last night, 1,507 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 317 patients were in the ICU and 153 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
There were 1,326 COVID-19 patients in the hospital on July 4. Cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up. 7-day positivity rate is still fairly steady, however.
* Meanwhile…
Here are the changes the IHSA has made to Stage 4. It’s significant. All the basketball leagues and football 7 on 7’s will have to be canceled for now. pic.twitter.com/P5roieBOjC
This is just my personal interpretation and hope - not as an insider or even as a Superintendent.
If the guidelines in place from @IHSA_IL are in place for all of Phase 4 - we should flip football and soccer to the Spring and move track, base/soft ball to the Fall
At least 26 legislators and 10 others who work at Mississippi’s Capitol have tested positive for the coronavirus, a public health official said Wednesday, as the governor implored residents to take precautions amid a rapid rise in confirmed cases statewide.
The 174-member Legislature ended its annual session July 1, and many people in the Capitol did not wear masks or maintain distance between themselves and others during the last few weeks. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn are among those who publicly acknowledge testing positive for COVID-19. They are now quarantined at home.
The number of people infected at the Capitol could actually be higher. The reported number only reflects those who were tested recently in Jackson, said the state’s top public health official, Dr. Thomas Dobbs. Some legislators have also been tested since returning to their hometowns.
* IDES has had acting directors, Thomas Chan and Gustavo Giraldo before him, since early 2019. The agency has been under extreme fire throughout the pandemic. Richards was Senate President John Cullerton’s chief of staff and was inherited by Senate President Don Harmon. Harmon has had what some folks call a “shadow” chief, Jake Butcher, since his election…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced his decision to appoint Kristin Richards, current Chief of Staff to the Senate President, to serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
“I’m proud to appoint an 18-year veteran of state government with deep experience and commitment to lifting up Illinois families to be our state’s next IDES Director,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Kristin Richards is keenly aware of the economic hardship too many are facing and has dedicated her career to improving the lives of all our state’s residents. As Illinoisans have faced unimaginable hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Employment Security has processed a historic number of claims. These are not normal times, and I remain committed to doing everything in my power to support our residents when they need it most. I want to thank Thomas Chan for leading IDES during a period of unprecedented volume and need for the people of Illinois. I appreciate his dedication to public service.”
“After almost two decades in public service, I have seen up close and personal how state government can help our residents overcome challenges and create opportunities for their families,” said Kristin Richards, Incoming Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to lead this vital state department, and I look forward to joining the Pritzker administration as they continue to enact policies that lift up working families across the state.”
Richards has served two governors and two senate presidents during her 18-year tenure in public service, overseeing nearly two dozen state agencies and seven state budgets. Since 2016, Richards has been the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Senate President, where she leads a 120-member office and serves as management adviser for 40 Senate district offices. She’s provided guidance through the Covid-19 pandemic on issues ranging from health care to unemployment, established a robust HR infrastructure that protects workers, and partnered with the Senate president and minority leader to develop the bi-partisan plan that ended the two-year budget impasse. Prior, Richards served as the office’s Policy and Budget Director from 2009 to 2016. During the seven-year period, she prepared, negotiated and passed the state’s annual operating and capital budgets, which surpassed $426 billion in combined state and federal spending, and collaborated with federal and state officials to create the $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! capital program. From 2007 to 2009, she was the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor, serving as the policy development lead on P-20 education and capital planning. As a Policy Adviser from 2003 to 2006, Richards oversaw eight state agencies, including Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Corrections; Illinois EPA; and Illinois State Police. She began her career in public service as James H. Dunn Fellow in the Governor’s Springfield office. Richards earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.
Congratulations to Kristin Richards on being chosen as director of IDES! I commend Gov. Pritzker for seeking out talent with proven experience. I’ve enjoyed working with Kristin in her various management roles with previous administrations and most recently as President Cullerton’s chief of staff. I look forward to supporting her as she takes on this new challenge during this critical time. She’s a true public servant, an inspiration and a powerhouse of a woman. Shine on Kristin!
Richards is, indeed, incredibly capable.
…Adding… Senate President Don Harmon…
Kristin Richards has been a phenomenal chief of staff. I don’t know how we would have gotten through our recent legislative session without her leadership and pragmatic attention to detail in the midst of a public health pandemic. Her work has been behind all the recent success we have had in the Senate.
What most people don’t know is that since we adjourned, she has thrown herself into working on the unemployment system, personally handling casework for senators and providing a human, caring touch in helping people navigate the bureaucracy during this economic crisis.
I have complete confidence in her ability to successfully take on these responsibilities and wish her the very best.
* Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) was on an Effingham radio station yesterday and was asked by the host: “I keep hearing that you’re running for governor, that that’s the end game. True or not?” Bailey’s response…
I want to be a part of the solution, first of all. Governor Pritzker needs to be held accountable, second of all. Thirdly, as people know me and get to know me, they know that I am a terribly passionate person. So I think that’s what we have something here that nobody else has seen before. They’ve seen, they’re witnessing and me someone who believes in literally what they’re doing. So to be accused of grandstanding, a stunt or something, I don’t do that. I do this for a very specific reason. […]
So, whatever I can do, wherever I can be of service, wherever I can exert my influence, if I got the permission from God and my family, I’ll move forward. And if that’s a cheesy answer, I’m sorry, but it’s a sincere answer.
He’s in a serious bubble if he actually believes he could accomplish that statewide goal.
* He also had this to say about mask-wearing in schools...
So, number one, we’re being told currently schools gonna open. Number two, we’re being told that schools gonna open and the students and staff are expected to wear masks.
Teachers can get by without masks, maybe they need to wear face shields. But there’s also some print that allows for a doctor’s permission not to wear, it doesn’t necessarily say a medical condition, it says if you have a problem with, so that can be anything. Because honestly, for a small student or a small child, I’d be very concerned about, too many people have been passing out because of, you know, breathing their own CO2 all day.
The State Board of Education says face shields aren’t acceptable. Also the CO2 thing is a myth. Also, so nice of him to look for loopholes so parents can evade the mandate.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) raked in more than $731,000 this quarter.
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) raised more than $203,000 during the same time period. The personal campaign committees of both leaders are currently the strongest they’ve ever been. […]
House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) has also been fundraising during the pandemic. The four campaign accounts he controls have raised more than $857,000 collectively in the last quarter, according to state campaign finance records. The combined current cash on hand for the four committees is over $23 million.
The House Speaker’s personal committee has the most cash on hand it’s ever had at nearly $14 million. Madigan in August donated $100,001 from his personal bank account to his campaign committee, triggering a campaign fundraising loophole allowing him to raise unlimited funds for the 2020 election cycle.
According to Hannah, Durkin had $2.25 million in his personal account and Brady had $1.1 million. Senate President Don Harmon had $4.26 million in his personal account and $1.3 million in the ISDF account.
* I’m told the governor’s office has been inundated with this formulaic email, mainly from suburban moms…
I am writing you as a resident of IL with 17 year old twins who are heading into their senior year of HS in one of the large Northwest suburban high schools [Redacted].
I have carefully read the Illinois Department of Public Health Phase 4 rules that were released yesterday. Gov Pritzker indicated that children can return to school this fall.
Sure, they can , technically under these rules. But the rules are so burdensome that they make returning to school nothing like school was Pre-C19.
In a large high school, the 50+ person limit will not allow for things such as Friday night football, pep rallies, homecoming dances, band, musicals, eating with friends in the cafeteria — all of which are important for a teen’s social development — which is a critical part of their education. Even “passing periods” in the hallways will become a logistical nightmare.
Given these restrictions, it’s also becoming evident that there is no way that a high school could even have that many kids in the building at one time for purely academic learning. So that means some sort of hybrid plan of in-person vs. e-learning. I will not apologize for saying this, but anything but 100% in school learning is an unacceptable compromise for our children. E-learning was an abject failure this past spring and the thought of students continuing w/e-Learning in any capacity for this upcoming school year is unacceptable.
Our kids have already sacrificed a LOT for the greater good of society. It is time for their lives to be returned to them. All the research indicates that children are not severely impacted by this virus. So, let them go to school. They were “locked in” last spring to prevent the vulnerable in society from catching C19 so that our hospitals would not be overwhelmed. The hospitals met their goals, so let the kids get their lives back.
By keeping kids out of school, our government is making a mockery of promises that were made to society of doing our part to “flatten the curve”. I preached this loudly to my children last March and we all did our part. They now, rightly so, feel duped by our gov’t officials and feel that they’ve been lied to. I do, too.
I understand that some families might be uncomfortable sending their kids back. Perhaps they can work w/the school district for an e-learning plan. Additionally, some teachers might not feel comfortable either. Sounds harsh, but MANY people are returning to work and have to accept the risks associated with them. Why are teachers “special” in this regard?
Please remove these burdensome restrictions so that our local school districts can do “right” by our children,
President Donald Trump might want all schools to reopen their buildings this fall, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it’s too early to say what Chicago Public Schools will do, and she insisted the question of reopening must be left up to local school districts.
“This really has to be a localized decision. Candidly, I don’t put much weight into what President Trump says, particularly given his lack of leadership over the course of this pandemic, but making those kinds of decisions has to lie with the local school district, because we and they are the ones that know what’s actually happening in local circumstances,” Lightfoot said Wednesday morning.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Trump accused Democrats of plotting to keep schools closed before the November election, and threatened to “cut off funding” if schools don’t reopen in the fall.
If folks in DC were truly interested in reopening the schools, they would offer some financial and logistical assistance. But the White House does appear to be tapping into a strong sentiment from at least some parents that schools absolutely must be fully reopened.
* I did a quick search and didn’t see any July polling, but here’s one from June…
Overall, a combined 54 percent of American voters said they are somewhat uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with reopening K-12 schools for the beginning of the coming school year. Fifty-eight percent of voters said they’re uncomfortable with reopening day care centers, according to the online survey of close to 2,000 registered voters.
Forty-eight percent of voters said they were very or somewhat uncomfortable with reopening colleges and universities, while 43 percent said they were comfortable with the idea.
The survey also suggests Black voters hold some of the biggest worries about schools reopening. […]
A combined 73 percent of surveyed Black voters said they were somewhat or very uncomfortable with reopening day care centers. Forty percent of surveyed Black voters said they were very uncomfortable with reopening K-12 schools, while 27 percent said they were somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. Thirty-five percent of surveyed Black voters said they were very uncomfortable with reopening colleges and universities this fall.
With President Trump ramping up pressure on states and districts to return to normal school operations, many of the nation’s principals have deep misgivings that schools and districts can keep students and staff members safe when buildings reopen in the fall, according to a new poll of school leaders.
Twenty-nine percent of principals were “unsure” that they or their school district could keep students safe when schools reopen, according to a poll released Wednesday by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
And the remainder of the responders were nearly evenly split: 34.9 percent of school leaders said they were not confident they could keep students and staff safe and healthy while 35.2 percent felt confident they’d be able to do so, according to the poll.
Among those who responded to the poll, 15 percent said they were “not at all confident” that they could “preserve the health of staff and students” when buildings reopen this fall. Only 12.4 percent of respondents were “extremely confident,” while 22.8 percent were “somewhat confident.” […]
The survey of 1,450 school administrators was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday amid the calls from Trump and members of his administration to fully reopen schools.
For families, the most important assurances for return to in-person instruction:
1) Strict 6-foot social distancing and group size limits – 4,296 1 , 2,462 2 choice
2) Use of face coverings at all times even if social distancing is maintained – 2,907 1st choice, 2,099 2nd choice
3) Frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces – 1,464 1st choice, 2,385 2nd choice
4) Frequent adult-supervised hand-washing or sanitizing routines - 1,675 1st choice, 2,857 2nd choice
5) Clear protocols for communicating cases if COVID-19 – 1,695 1st choice, 1,070 2nd choice
6) No sharing of objects without disinfection before use – 441 1st choice, 1,607 2nd choice
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 38,897 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of June 29 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday.
While this number is based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.
There were 1,314,000 new claims filed across the U.S. last week.
Illinois’ unemployment claims decreased from the week prior, when 45,752 new claims were filed. This is the most significant decrease I’ve seen over the last month.
There were 1,427,000 new claims filed across the U.S. during the week of June 22.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot to post this IDES email, but it’s important because the agency is basically admitting that the current system is a mess…
Effective July 9, 2020, we have implemented the callback only model as a temporary solution to effectively honor the order in which callers attempt to reach the call center for assistance. This new model will be in effect for the following call centers: Claimant Services Center (800.244.5631), IllinoisJobLink.com (877.342.7533), Benefit Payment Control (800.814.0513) and Employer Hotline (800.247.4984). What this means to you is that rather than wait on hold or call multiple times, you will receive a call when you are next in line without losing your place.
When you call us, it is important that you select the appropriate numeric option that best describes the reason for your call. This ensures that you will be served in the order that we receive your call. You will be called back Monday through Friday. Call back hours are as follows:
Claimant Services Center- 7:30 AM -7:00 PM
IllinoisJobLink.com, Benefit Payment Control and Employer Hotline- 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
You can only have a single pending callback scheduled in the system at a time. The call you receive from IDES should display on Caller ID as 800-244-5631 under normal circumstances. In certain cases, this number could be blocked by your phone carrier.
It is important that you answer the phone when the callback is made. If you miss your callback, IDES staff will attempt to leave you a voice mail. We will call you again shortly after the first attempt. If you cannot be reached after the second attempt, you will be required to contact the call center to schedule another callback.
Just hope you’re not in the shower when they call.
Video gaming magnate Rick Heidner, who has been of interest to the FBI amid sprawling corruption probes that have wracked state and municipal politics, is not himself the target of an investigation, according to a letter obtained by WTTW News from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Heidner and his company Gold Rush Amusements, one of the state’s largest operators of video gaming consoles that dot the state, were listed in the search warrant executed during a raid of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s capitol office last fall as part of a bribery investigation.
The feds likewise sought records relating to Heidner and Gold Rush when they carried out searches days later in the villages of Lyons and McCook.
In a letter dated June 26, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch wrote: “In the context of a criminal investigation, a ‘target’ is a person who is linked by substantial evidence to the commission of a crime and who, in the prosecutor’s judgment, is likely to be charged.”
Lausch continues: “At this time, your client is not a target of this investigation.”
That may change, Lausch writes, and he makes explicit that the U.S. attorney “has made no other representations or promises.”
That’s a very unusual move by the US Attorney. But it also reminds me of that line in Syriana, “In this town, you’re innocent until you’re investigated.” Not everyone mentioned on a search warrant is a crook.
Denied a bid to open a suburban racetrack-casino and fighting state regulators’ effort to revoke his video gambling license, suburban developer Rick Heidner says an Illinois Gaming Board employee leaked mountains of his sensitive information to three federal agencies in a data breach revealed last month. […]
Heidner says it wasn’t until Jan. 31 that the Gaming Board told him it was his information that had been improperly accessed, including troves of sensitive financial records and personal information not only on Heidner and Gold Rush, but also on his wife, two of his children and dozens of business partners from among the 500-plus establishments statewide that house Heidner’s slot machines. […]
Heidner says the leaks started in October, the day after a Chicago Tribune report detailed his business ties to a banking family with mob connections. His name also surfaced in search warrants released that week revealing federal agents were interested in items related to Heidner and his gambling company last summer when they raided the offices of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who has since pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge.
That prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pull the plug on a racino plan Heidner had forged with Hawthorne Race Course president Tim Carey. They had appeared on path to state approval before Pritzker’s office refused to sell state land for the project in light of the revelations.
* Governor Pritzker held an event on the South Side today…
During a visit to a mobile testing site at Coles Elementary School, Governor JB Pritzker announced the expansion of the state’s mobile testing operation with twelve COVID-19 mobile testing teams operating throughout Illinois. These twelve teams will offer mobile testing to residents in hard-hit communities and visit facilities like homeless services centers and nursing homes. The mobile testing sites offer drive-through and walk-up tests free of charge to any Illinois resident who wants to be tested. In addition to the site operating at Coles Elementary, the remaining testing sites are located in Rock Island, Cicero, Brighton Park, Springfield, and East St. Louis.
“We now have 12 mobile teams that can be moved anywhere on any given day to mitigate and suppress emerging outbreaks, including places like meatpacking plants, nursing homes, migrant worker housing and other communities less able to access traditional testing clinics. That puts us on the cutting edge nationally in flexible testing to meet the demands of a more open economy – and I’m thrilled that Illinois is leading the way,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And to be clear, these mobile teams are in addition to our 11 free, state-run drive through and walk up testing sites across the state. Illinois has built one of the largest testing programs in the nation, and that’s partly the reason we have made so much progress fighting COVID-19 statewide. Performing nearly 30,000 tests per day allows us to monitor the progress of our mitigation strategies, target our testing toward vulnerable populations, and reduce the spread of this virus.”
Again, I appreciate very much all of you joining us here today. I’m happy to take any questions that any members of the media may have. And of course the elected officials behind me are also used to taking your questions, I’m sure they would be happy to answer any.
[Long pause]
Or, we don’t need to. [Laughter.]
Thank you very much. [Applause]
No questions? That’s pretty rare, especially since he made news today with his testimony to a congressional committee.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 980 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 36 additional confirmed deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 149,432 cases, including 7,099 deaths, in 102 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 32,742 specimens for a total of 1,842,576. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 1 –July 7 is 2.6%. As of last night, 1,518 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 331 patients were in the ICU and 151 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
Lots of testing is finding lots of cases, but the positivity rate is holding steady overall.
* Press release…
The Lake County Health Department is reporting an upward trend in new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases among teenagers and young adults in the past two weeks. Since June 25, 2020, cases reported in Lake County residents under age 30 have been rising while cases in the general population have remained steady.
“During our case investigations, we are finding that many young people who attended social gatherings with their friends have become infected with COVID-19,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, Medical Epidemiologist for the Lake County Health Department. “Youth are just as likely as adults to get and spread this virus, and your risk is higher if you and those you spend time with are not following social distancing, handwashing, and masking guidelines. We ask that everyone continue to take these risks seriously and contact the Health Department if you think you have been exposed. We need your help to keep this virus under control.”
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss Count I in a lawsuit brought by Rep. Darren Bailey against Gov. Pritzker.
Rep. Bailey, R-Xenia, filed a lawsuit in Clay County Circuit Court on April 23, claiming Pritzker had exceeded his authority and violated the civil rights of Illinoisans by issuing and extending the stay at home order. […]
In the motion filed Tuesday night, the Attorney General (AG) says the Clay County judge’s ruling on July 2 was a non-final and non-appealable ruling because one of the counts wasn’t resolved, Count I.
The AG is now asking for that count to be resolved.
If you like what’s happening with COVID-19 numbers in early-opening states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, you’ll love Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey and 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Michael D. McHaney. Be forewarned, though. They don’t much care about you or your safety. […]
But along the way, there are a couple of points that Illinoisans should consider regardless of where they live.
One is reflected in a McHaney statement from the bench that provides chilling insight into the legal mind that produced his ruling. The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports that during the two-hour hearing Thursday, the justice frequently questioned the credibility of public health experts and COVID-19 research and expressed doubts about both the number of positive COVID-19 cases and the virus-related death statistics in Illinois. His concern? “Illinois citizens cannot be mandated to cede their constitutional rights to some alleged experts,” he said,
“Some alleged experts.” Or, as other observers might put it, almost all of the leading infectious disease researchers in the world. Apparently Justice McHaney has his doubts about the validity of the scientific case underpinning the restrictions most states and all responsible Americans have undertaken to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered.
This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better.
“They literally gained nothing,” said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “It’s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.”
Despite Trump’s push for nation’s schools to reopen this fall, Lightfoot says the decision should be local
State extends deadline on expiring driver’s licenses, vehicle stickers to Nov. 1
Lightfoot marks kickoff of virtual Taste of Chicago amid coronavirus pandemic
For the 1st time since March, fans took in a live sporting event in Chicagoland with the Chicago Dogs home opener: ‘We just wanted to get on with our lives a little bit’
Chicago students earning stipends through online summer program
Demand escalates for pet food pantries during COVID-19 crisis: ‘We didn’t know how we were going to manage’
* Mark Maxwell interviewed Richard Guebert of the Illinois Farm Bureau after yesterday’s simultaneous press conferences called to oppose the governor’s graduated income tax proposal. Watch starting at the :50 mark…
Mark Maxwell, WCIA : Right now, Governor Pritzker and the House and Senate Democratic plan would start out by raising taxes only on the top 3 percent of income earners in Illinois. Those are people who earn more than $250,000 a year. It just so happens that some of the people speaking at these press conferences today fall into that category.
Richard Guebert, Illinois Farm Bureau: Those in that 3 percent tax bracket are gonna figure out a way not to pay the taxes and they have the resources to do that. And probably they may even leave the state.
Maxwell: Wouldn’t it raise your taxes?
Guebert: No. Not this, not under this proposal, it would not. But…
Maxwell: The 2018 990s for the Farm Bureau show that you make north of $300,000. [Image of the IFB’s 990 disclosure flashes on screen.]
Guebert: Um. Yes.
Maxwell: So wouldn’t this raise your taxes?
Guebert: Yes, it would.
Look, it’s no crime to make three hundo a year. Just cop to it. The extra tax he’d have to pay on income above $250K is pretty small anyway.
Follow-up questions have become a lost art with too many reporters. Maxwell would not be one of those reporters.
Also, farmers can’t just pick up their land and head to Indiana.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged federal lawmakers on Wednesday to adopt a nationwide face-covering requirement as the number of cases of COVID-19 increases in some states.
During a virtual hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday, Pritzker criticized the federal government for not implementing the Defense Production act early on in the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said states were bidding against each other to buy personal protective equipment.
“States were forced to play some sick hunger games game show to save the lives of people,” Pritzker said. “This is not a reality TV show. These are real things that are happening.” […]
“This might be the most important thing that we can do to save lives,” Pritzker said. “We need a national masking mandate. We instituted ours in Illinois on May 1, one of the first in the nation, and it aligns with our most significant downward shifts in our infection rate.”
Pritzker detailed the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic since March, a month when he issued sweeping measures that included closing down schools for in-person instruction and a statewide stay-at-home order.
The state’s coronavirus positivity rate at one point this spring stood at 23%, and is now 2.5%, Pritzker said.
”That isn’t to say that the cascade of decisions that got Illinois to this point were easy,” Pritzker said Wednesday. “In fact, every one of them has been a choice between bad and worse — muddled further by the White House’s broken promises on testing supplies and PPE deliveries.”
“It’s the federal government’s job to make sure that a nurse being properly equipped in Peoria, Illinois, doesn’t come at the cost of a doctor being ready for work in San Antonio, Texas. There was no national plan to acquire PPE or testing supplies, and as a result, people died.”
Pritzker also urged the Trump administration to take steps to bolster insurance for testing and federal funding for state and local governments.
“The federal administration also needs to provide clarity on insurance coverage or COVID-19 testing,” he said. “Testing is not a one-off tactic. We need regular testing across our population, and that means people need to know that their insurance will cover their testing, every time.”
Pritzker also described the impact COVID-19 could have on local governments after an economic recession resulted in severe losses in local and state tax revenues. He told members of Congress, “without help, there will be massive layoffs of public servants, teachers and firefighters.”
The Piatt County State’s Attorney’s office has filed misdemeanor charges against five of six county board members, alleging they violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act during an online meeting held May 13.
During the meeting, the Zoom conference was apparently disconnected when the board went into a closed session to discuss the salary of the Circuit Clerk position. Some members of the public said they were not reconnected when the board came back into open session to vote on the salary.
“There were several members of the public who contacted the state’s attorney’s office and reported that they had been either cut off from the conference call after waiting for the board to return from executive session, or been unable re-enter the meeting after the executive session,” said Piatt County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Dobson.
Judge Karle Koritz last week found that State’s Attorney Dana Rhoades had a conflict of interest when her office filed misdemeanor criminal charges against five county board members alleging that they violated the Open Meetings Act on May 13 when a county board meeting held via Zoom conference was apparently disconnected for a closed session. Some members of the public were not able to reconnect after the board returned to open session. […]
“The authority to appoint a special prosecutor lies solely with the court,” said Kortiz, who chastised Rhoades for not going through that procedure.
“The court is bewildered as to why a state’s attorney’s office that recognizes its own conflict would choose to file charges before seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor,” he wrote in his July 1 ruling.
In response to Carroll’s request for an independent prosecutor, the state’s attorney’s office conceded that they are witnesses and “would not and could not, serve as prosecutors.”
With that admission, Koritz wrote “then it would follow that it should not make a charging decision. The decision whether to charge an individual and what charge to file are the two most fundamental and powerful exercises of prosecutorial discretion. Having recognized that ‘it would not and could not serve as prosecutors,’ the state’s attorney’s office has nevertheless filed no petition to recuse itself.”
Judge Koritz appointed the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor to handle the case.
* I’m not saying, I’m just saying that what the Piatt County board did pales in comparison to what happened in the city…
The Better Government Association filed a lawsuit on Friday [June 12th] against the Chicago City Council over a recent series of conference calls that violate the Open Meetings Act.
The calls were arranged by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s staff and have been described as informational briefings between the administration and aldermen.
The meetings “violated nearly every meaningful OMA requirement, including the statutory obligation to provide notice of meetings, to allow public comment at meetings, and to make meetings ‘convenient’ and ‘open’ to the public,” according to the lawsuit.
“The Open Meetings Act ensures that the actions of our government are not conducted in improper secrecy,” said Josh Burday, an attorney with Loevy and Loevy, which represents the BGA. “Transparency in government is critical, and the right of the public to attend and speak at meetings ensures that transparency.”
Recordings of some of the meetings have been shared with reporters and circulated on social media. According to news accounts, the discussions focused on the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its handling of protests in Chicago following the death of George Floyd during an encounter with Minneapolis police.
The Open Meetings Act says citizens have a right to attend “all meetings at which any business of a public body is discussed or acted upon in any way,” except under limited and specific circumstances. Even if those circumstances exist, a meeting can’t be closed to the public without a majority vote, taken in an open meeting.
Orland Park bars, restaurants and other businesses could reopen to full capacity before the end of the month under a plan approved by village trustees. […]
Orland Park officials believe they have authority to offer their own guidelines for a local restoration of business activity after a southern Illinois judge last week voided the governor’s executive orders that restrict the activities of residents or businesses. […]
Trustees Kathy Fenton and Dan Calandriello said they were still concerned about the village sponsoring the concerts and Taste of Orland, which draws in the neighborhood of 40,000 people.
Calandriello said it would potentially increase the risk of transmission of the virus, and that maintaining social distancing would be virtually impossible.
“People are on top of each other” at Taste, he said.
* The Question: Got any suggestions for rebranding the 2020 Taste of Orland?
A coalition of advocacy groups is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to move residents from nursing homes and other congregate care settings into community settings, like hotels, to allow for proper social distancing and to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Gov. Pritzker and the state of Illinois have an opportunity to intervene and mandate people in nursing homes and other institutions are evacuated from dangerous living situations and transition into the community, where (they will) be safer and happier,” said Esther Sanders, a transition coordinator for the Progress Center for Independent Living and member of the Institutional Rescue and Recovery Coalition. […]
The coalition is not demanding nursing care facilities be completely emptied, according to Tobin.
“We want to reduce the population (of these facilities) so that two things happen: One is folks that are significantly at risk are removed from that more dangerous setting to (a community setting) like hotel rooms on an emergency basis and that reduces the population in a facility so it’s down to one person per room,” Tobin said. “So (residents) have the possibility of social distancing to stop the spread of the virus, (and) it makes residents who remain and those working in the facility safer.”
Misty Dion, CEO of Roads to Freedom Center for Independent Living, echoed that sentiment. “We are asking (the governor) to give people a choice, so they have the choice to self-isolate or social distance,” she said.
* Jordan Abudayyeh’s response…
The administration has always listened to advocates who come to us with serious input for discussion on how to protect our most vulnerable residents. But moving medically fragile people from their homes and placing them into hotels entirely unequipped to care for them, is not something public health experts endorse. Instead, the administration has worked to scale up testing at our congregate facilities, provide PPE to employees, and train them in infection control and best practices. Families are free to move their loved ones home if they see fit.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that expiration dates for driver’s licenses/ID cards and license plate stickers have been extended an additional month – from Oct. 1, 2020, to Nov. 1, 2020. This new Nov. 1 extension also includes those who have July, August and September expiration dates. As a result, expired documents will remain valid until Nov. 1 so customers do not need to rush into Driver Services facilities, especially during the current heat wave.
“Extending expiration dates until November 1 means people with an expired driver’s license, ID card or license plate sticker do not need to rush into a Driver Services facility immediately,” said White. “During this current heat wave, I would suggest residents consider delaying their visit to a facility. But if you must visit a facility, please come prepared to wait outside due to social distancing, which limits the number of people inside a facility at one time.”
White continues to urge the public to consider using online services when possible instead of visiting a facility due to heavy customer volume. Customers who can conduct business online may go to www.cyberdriveillinois.com to take advantage of online services – such as renewing license plate stickers – from the comfort of their own home. People who conduct online transactions will avoid waiting in line at a facility.
White noted that online transactions continue to flourish, with June 2020 seeing an increase of 110 percent in online license plate sticker renewals when compared to June 2019.
Through July 31, Driver Services facilities are serving ONLY new drivers, customers with expired driver’s licenses/ID cards and vehicle transactions. Face masks are required. Customers who must visit a facility are asked to be patient due to heavy volume and prepared to wait outside in various types of weather. This is due to social distancing, which limits the number of people inside a facility at one time.
In addition, customers who must visit a facility to renew their driver’s license or ID card are encouraged to first use the preregistration application at www.cyberdriveillinois.com, which will speed up their transaction while at the facility.
Governor JB Pritzker extended the Disaster Proclamation an additional month, which in turn extended the expirations for driver’s licenses/ID cards and vehicle registration stickers an additional month to Nov. 1.
* Scott County had been the only county in the state without a confirmed COVID-19 case until last week. Neal Earley with the Sun-Times headed over there to have a look around. It’s a good piece, so you should read the whole thing, but here’s one excerpt…
Like so many other parts of Illinois, the county is eager to return to normalcy, [Winchester mayor Rex McIntire] said.
But some restaurant owners say they’re not seeing a return to that normalcy. In Winchester, many townspeople are still wary of returning to indoor dining.
At the Pitt Stop, a restaurant along the main square in Winchester, business remains slow. Owner Jeff Pittman attributes it to coronavirus concerns and summer heat keeping customers away.
Pittman, who serves as an alderman in Winchester, said he mostly closed his restaurant to indoor seating. He was the only one working at this restaurant Monday night. […]
A few weeks ago, a visitor from the Chicago suburbs showed up at Winchester Bowl, a popular restaurant and bowling alley in town […]
But even back then, business was slow and has yet to pick-up, limited to carry-out food orders. Few are bowling. Around happy hour on Monday, Granger had just one customer.
It’s not the disaster proclamations, it’s the virus. People need to wear masks, keep their distance and use actual common sense until there’s an effective treatment and/or vaccination.
Throwing people to the zombies is not the answer here.
*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz has some national poll results from Harris…
Forty-three percent of those surveyed said mayors should make limiting the spread of COVID-19 the priority over reopening business, with 35 percent saying both should be equal priorities. Just 15 percent—about 1 in 6—said reopening should be the priority. […]
Asked specifically about reopening offices, 8 percent said workplaces should reopen immediately without restrictions, and another 56 percent said sometime this summer, with safety requirements in place. But 19 percent said offices should wait until “fall/winter” to reopen, and an additional 17 percent said offices should stay shut “indefinitely.” […]
Safety masks are popular, at least in theory. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed say they wear masks every time/most of the time when they are out in public. But only 49 percent say all or almost all of those they see out are doing so.
Illinois’ chief election authority told a federal appeals court Monday it wants to continue its appeal of looser election rules for third-party candidates.
If an appeals court agrees, the matter is unlikely to be settled before the July 20 petition filing deadline granted by Rebecca Pallmeyer, chief judge of the Northern District of Illinois. She extended the cutoff established by statute in response to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s election rules during COVID-19.
While the appeals court’s decision is unlikely to affect ballot access for third parties in the current general election cycle, its decision could have implications on future elections as the state continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its court filing, the Illinois State Board of Elections acknowledged that date is “quickly approaching,” but points out “it has not passed.” The issue presented in the case — “a District Court’s authority to rewrite Illinois’ statutory requirements that govern how the board conducts an orderly election during the COVID-19 global pandemic” — is one that might resurface.
* I don’t know if the season will happen, or even if it should. But you gotta love this heart…
Drafted by @whitesox traded several times and now a pandemic, Gio Gonzalez asked if he ever doubted he'd pitch for the Sox, he said yes. But now he has a simple goal: …"I just want to throw at least one pitch in a White Sox uniform — at least one pitch."
* Numerous folks here and elsewhere have been wondering why the UIUC saliva test isn’t being used throughout the state. Elyssa Cherney at the Tribune answers that question…
The directions are simple: Step into a tent on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, drop dribbles of saliva into a test tube and wait for the results within about 24 hours.
The new COVID-19 test, developed by researchers at UIUC, debuted Tuesday as students and faculty were invited to experience it for themselves. School leaders have set a goal of offering 10,000 tests per day by Aug. 24, when in-person classes start up again. […]
The ability to conduct a large volume of tests and process them quickly is a core feature of UIUC’s reopening plan, which aims to allow thousands of college students to return and safely resume their studies on campus amid the pandemic this fall. Students can choose to remain off-campus and take classes online.
But questions about the tests linger: It’s not clear if students will be required to undergo testing, and the school has yet to receive federal approval to expand testing beyond the university community, though one of its labs is certified to analyze results.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 587 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 37 additional confirmed deaths.
- Cook County: 2 females 50s, 2 females 60s, 4 males 60s, 4 males 70s, 3 females 80s, 2 males 80s, 1 unknown 80s, 2 males 90s, 1 unknown 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Kane County: 1 female 70s
- Kendall County: 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 female 70s
- McHenry County: 1 male 60s
- Peoria County: 1 female 70s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 90s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 50s
- Stephenson County: 1 male 80s
- Will County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 148,452 cases, including 7,063 deaths, in 102 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 26,994 specimens for a total of 1,809,834. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from June 20 –July 6 is 2.5%. As of last night, 1,385 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 320 patients were in the ICU and 153 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
Ever so slight downtick on the positivity rate. Hospitalizations are still stabilized.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday assailed plans by some local districts to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week and said schools must be “fully operational” even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Anything less, she says, would fail students and taxpayers.
DeVos made the comments during a call with governors as the Trump administration launched an all-out effort to get schools and colleges to reopen. Audio of the call was obtained by The Associated Press.
“Ultimately, it’s not a matter of if schools need to open, it’s a matter of how. School must reopen, they must be fully operational. And how that happens is best left to education and community leaders,” DeVos told governors.
Florida, the new US hotspot for coronavirus, will require schools to reopen in August.
The state’s Commissioner of the Department of Education, Richard Corcoran, issued an emergency order on Monday requiring all “brick and mortar schools” to open “at least five days per week for all students.”
Florida, which initially avoided the worst of the pandemic in its first few months, now has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the US at 206,000 and counting.
Under the order, schools must reopen in full to “ensure the quality and continuity of the educational process, the comprehensive wellbeing of students and families and a return to Florida hitting its full economic stride.”
* The Question: Should Gov. Pritzker mandate that all K-12 schools fully reopen on schedule, regardless of local school board opinions? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* I despise national politics, particularly the talking heads on the cable teevee. And I hate feeling like I need to post stuff like this, but I dinged Duckworth yesterday, so here we go…
Before launching a broadside against Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Fox News host Tucker Carlson acknowledged that it’s not easy to go after a Purple Heart recipient who lost both her legs while serving her country in Iraq.
“You’re not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she once served in the military,” Carlson said Monday night.
That didn’t stop him from calling Duckworth, a contender to be presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, “a deeply silly and unimpressive person” and suggesting that she and other Democratic leaders “actually hate America.”
“It’s long been considered out of bounds to question a person’s patriotism. It’s a very strong charge, and we try not ever to make it. But in the face of all of this, the conclusion can’t be avoided. These people actually hate America. There’s no longer a question about that,” Carlson claimed.
Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth remembers seeing a ball of flame after an RPG hit her helicopter, and wondering why her legs couldn’t work the control pedals.
“I found out later the pedals were gone, and so were my legs,” she said.
The 36-year-old Illinois Army National Guard pilot was returning from a mission Nov. 12 when the attack occurred. Before the attack, Duckworth said, she had flown more than 120 combat hours during her eight months in Iraq without incident.
But that day insurgents scored a direct hit on her Black Hawk, seriously wounding her and another guardsman inside. Doctors told her she lost nearly half the blood in her body and almost lost her right arm as well.
“I didn’t know I was hurt,” she said. “We had started taking some small-arms fire, and I turned to my co-pilot and said we could be in for some trouble. As the words left my mouth, there was a big fireball at my knees.”
To be clear, her records in politics and in government are totally fair game. Her political abilities ought to be questioned.
* Her response…
Does @TuckerCarlson want to walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?
* Let’s stipulate right off the bat that there’s a strong argument against the Illinois sex offender law’s prisoner release requirements…
After serving 10 years in prison for criminal sexual assault, Marcus Barnes was counting down the days until his release date on Dec. 17, 2018. […]
But when his release date finally arrived, he was told that the Chicago apartment he was planning on moving to was too close to a home day care facility. It would be a violation of housing restrictions imposed on him as a person on the sex offender registry, and, therefore, he would remain in prison. […]
Barnes’ family scrambled to find alternatives. They say they found 11 different housing options for him, only to have each of them rejected by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). And so, 16 months after his original release date, he was still at Graham Correctional Center when a guard there tested positive for COVID-19. […]
Now, a coalition of 45 local and national criminal justice reform organizations, led by the Chicago 400 Alliance, is calling on Gov. JB Pritzker to ease conviction-based housing restrictions for the duration of the pandemic. The move would allow people who have completed their sentences to finally leave prison. […]
She is hoping the governor will issue an executive order.
I doubt the governor has the power to override state law on this. Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort) has been working on a bill to streamline the mandated release process and federal judges have ordered the release of 33 sex offender inmates who should’ve been released earlier, but had trouble finding suitable housing under the state’s restrictive laws. That’s likely the better way to go.
Experts Gov. J.B. Pritzker is relying on to help him manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the state sent the governor’s staff emails in March that recommended coronavirus testing in prisons should be an area of focus, but a new survey released by a prison watchdog group found 89 percent of workers said they had not been tested prior to May.
Pritzker has said his management of the COVID-19 pandemic has been based on science and data from medical experts, including epidemiologists. Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show about March 21 at least three experts told the Pritzker administration that testing in prisons should be a focus.
Nigel Goldenfeld, a Swanlund Endowed Chair at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with appointments in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Genomic Biology, wrote in an email to Deputy Gov. Jesse Ruiz and senior counselor Mollie Foust that testing should be focused on nursing homes and congregate living facilities such as group homes and prisons, among other groups. At the time Goldenfeld sent the email, the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity was limited.
The emails encouraged testing to prevent “super-spreaders.” Among that group was “Populations that are necessarily high density and cannot practice social distancing, such as prison population,” the emails said. “These will also be hot spots if … a guard gets infected.”
On March 30, Illinois’ prison system announced the first death of an inmate from COVID-19. As of June 9, IDOC reported thirteen inmates have died from COVID-19. […]
The most recent data from the Illinois Department of Corrections showed 198 staff members had tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 171 had recovered. The department reported 324 confirmed cases for IDOC inmates. Of those, 251 had recovered.
The top medical officer for California’s corrections system has been replaced amid a growing coronavirus outbreak among the state’s inmates. […]
The move comes while more than 2,350 inmates are currently infected — more than half of whom are inside a single facility, San Quentin State Prison.
According to the state’s department of corrections, there are currently more than 1,300 active cases at San Quentin with nearly 70 percent of those cases popping up in the last two weeks. Six prisoners there have died from the virus, according to state data.
Some inmates were transferred to San Quentin after an outbreak at their own prison. Probably a bad idea.
* Related…
* Report: Conviction Registry Rules Cause Racial Disparity
* Jim Dey: Courts still grappling with details in juvenile murder cases
Thanks for bringing to my attention the hateful social media post by an Illinois resident who used the term “lynching” in his criticism of me and my office. Having attended college and played professional baseball in the south in the 1950s, I experienced the ugliness of racism firsthand and know how deeply it cuts. I’m saddened that in 2020 there are still people out there who knowingly or unknowingly use historically despicable terms like “lynching” to fuel the hate and divisiveness that are plaguing our country today. Frankly, I question whether the term “lynching” would have been used were I not African American.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was my minister while I attended Alabama State College and I learned from him not to dislike anyone because of their race, creed or color. I have lived my life adhering to this philosophy. I proudly served our country as a member of the military three times, worked as an educator and continue to help guide our young people as the founder of the Jesse White Tumbling Team. And to this day I continue to teach our children what Dr. King taught me many years ago.
I’ve been in elective office long enough to know that with the territory comes criticism. Since taking office we have made significant strides to streamline and improve customer services and office operations. Certainly the COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges to an office of our size, but we are providing services while also ensuring that safety precautions are in place to protect the public and employees. While we are doing our best under these challenging circumstances, I recognize not everyone will be satisfied. I do not have a problem with that.
However, I do have a problem with people who make disparaging and hateful comments intended to inflict pain in a racially provocative way. This needs to stop.
I’m especially troubled because there appears to be a resurgence of this type of hateful rhetoric in this country. To be clear, it is never acceptable to use any type of hateful language designed to hurt each other over our real, or perceived, differences. We are in this world together—only by treating each other with respect and human dignity will we make it a better place.
Jesse White
Illinois Secretary of State
Pritzker tagged AG Raoul in his own tweet, so they were alerted to it and are also taking a look at this.
Today, in an unprecedented coalition effort, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Farm Bureau, National Federation of Independent Business - Illinois, and Technology and Manufacturing Association joined together to urge Illinois voters to vote no on the Progressive Tax Constitutional Amendment. Leaders of the coalition held simultaneous press conferences at four locations throughout Illinois among the very people this tax would hurt most: small businesses, farmers, manufacturers, and workers.
Their message was heard loud and clear: Illinoisans are already overtaxed. Families, workers, seniors, and small business owners struggle under the weight of the highest overall tax burden in the entire country, yet politicians in Springfield are trying to hike taxes again. The progressive tax will do nothing to address our sky-high property taxes; will cost jobs, slow wage growth, and hurt Illinois workers; and will end up raising taxes on the middle class and the working poor. Illinoisans can’t afford another tax hike, especially as working families and small businesses struggle to recover from COVID-19.
Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Todd Maisch said, “The progressive tax increase is the same thing as leaving a huge bag of taxpayers’ cash at the backdoor of the statehouse and city hall. None of the money is dedicated to property tax relief, increased funding of education, public safety or pension debt relief. Politicians arrogantly demand that hard-working taxpayers trust them to spend the money wisely. We don’t.”
Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert, Jr remarked, “What this new progressive tax will actually do is take us down the same route that these proposals have gone in other states. To cover all of Springfield’s spending and debt, the tax brackets and rates will have to be changed to raise taxes on the middle class and even the working poor, with higher rates starting at incomes as low as $25,000 per year. So while proponents claim the progressive tax would only tax ‘the rich,’ many of whom are local leaders like family farmers who are investing in their communities and creating jobs, the truth is that this amendment will open up every Illinoisan to tax increases.“
National Federation of Independent Business Illinois Leadership Council Chair Cindy Neal commented, “Let us not forget that Illinoisans already pay the 2nd highest property taxes in the nation, and these local taxes increase every single year. We pay three to four times the property taxes of our neighbors in Indiana and Wisconsin, and our taxes go up every year even though property values are stagnant. This progressive tax will do nothing to address our biggest problem in Illinois: our sky-high property tax burden. It simply piles additional taxes onto already overburdened Illinois taxpayers. All of these taxes have serious and real-life consequences for our families and small businesses, especially as we struggle to recover from COVID-19.”
Technology and Manufacturing Association President Steve Rauschenberger noted, “The progressive tax will cost jobs, slow wage growth, and hurt Illinois workers when we’re already facing the highest unemployment since the Great Depression due to the coronavirus. Our Illinois economy continues to lag our neighbors and the rest of the country because of high taxes. The progressive tax will further hurt our economy, costing Illinois up to 286,000 jobs and $43 billion in economic activity. This means fewer jobs for Illinois workers, slower wage growth and higher costs for families, and less opportunity for our children at a time when we can least afford it.”
About the Vote No on the Progressive Tax Coalition:
Leading small business and pro-taxpayer organizations from throughout Illinois have formed a grassroots coalition to defeat the Progressive Tax Amendment because Illinoisans are overtaxed. Families, workers, seniors, and small businesses struggle under the weight of the highest overall tax burden in the entire country. Illinois’ Progressive Tax Amendment proposal does nothing to address our sky-high property taxes, will cost jobs, slow wage growth, and hurt Illinois workers, with the result being a tax increase on the middle class and the working poor.
* Press release…
Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks released the following statement in response to this morning’s press conference from a self-described grassroots organization against the Fair Tax:
“Today’s press conference was the height of hypocrisy, put on by a group masquerading as a grassroots organization whose sole purpose is to protect the millionaires and billionaires who have benefited from Illinois’ unfair tax system for far too long. It’s despicable that they’re trying to capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic to protect the wealthiest Illinoisans, while so many families are struggling to make ends meet. Sadly, it comes as no surprise given these organizations have spent decades advocating for policies that decimated critical services, left our education system criminally underfunded, and hurt our nurses, grocery store clerks, paramedics, and other essential workers.
“Since the truth isn’t on their side, this press conference was filled with lies from start to finish. Contrary to what they say, the Fair Tax will only affect small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year in profit, while at least 97% of Illinoisans will see no income tax increase or a tax cut.
“Now more than ever, we need to change our tax system from one where our essential workers pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires to one that finally makes the wealthiest Illinoisans pay their fair share. It’s clear from today’s press conference that opponents of the Fair Tax can only use desperate lies to try and mislead Illinois voters to keep the status quo in place, and Vote Yes For Fairness won’t let them go unanswered.”
…Adding… Another press release…
Vote Yes for Fair Tax chairman John Bouman issued this statement:
“It’s no surprise that wealthy special interests like the unfair old way of taxing income in Illinois, because it’s given them a sweet deal for way too long.
“Working people overwhelmingly support the Fair Tax amendment because everyone who makes under $250,000 will get a tax cut or pay no more.
“Fair Tax reform also means fair funding for every community and the important services we need now more than ever. When wealthy people pay their fair share, our state will have $3 billion more to invest in health care, schools, human services and jobs to rebuild our communities stronger and more fairly than before.”
* I’ve told you before about how some folks are hypothesizing that the south and southwest are being hit so hard because the heat is driving people to the air conditioning at indoor venues. New York Times…
The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby.
If airborne transmission is a significant factor in the pandemic, especially in crowded spaces with poor ventilation, the consequences for containment will be significant. Masks may be needed indoors, even in socially distant settings. Health care workers may need N95 masks that filter out even the smallest respiratory droplets as they care for coronavirus patients.
Ventilation systems in schools, nursing homes, residences and businesses may need to minimize recirculating air and add powerful new filters. Ultraviolet lights may be needed to kill viral particles floating in tiny droplets indoors.
The World Health Organization has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets that, once expelled by infected people in coughs and sneezes, fall quickly to the floor.
But in an open letter to the WHO, 239 scientists in 32 countries have outlined the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations. The researchers plan to publish their letter in a scientific journal.
* Meanwhile…
The problem with air conditioning is that it doesn't provide enough fresh air to properly ventilate an indoor space. Most systems recirculate most or 100% of the air to reduce the cost of cooling.
Drawing on insights from another deadly airborne disease, tuberculosis, a Harvard infectious disease expert suggested Friday that air conditioning use across the southern U.S. may be a factor in spiking COVID-19 cases and that ultraviolet lights long used to sterilize the air of TB bacteria could do the same for SARS-CoV-2.
Edward Nardell, professor of medicine and of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and professor of environmental health and of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that hot summer temperatures can create situations similar to those in winter, when respiratory ailments tend to surge, driving people indoors to breathe — and rebreathe —air that typically is little refreshed from outside. […]
Germicidal lamps, a technology that Nardell said is almost 100 years old, have been proven effective in protecting against tuberculosis infection and are already in use in some settings to fight SARS-CoV-2. Compared with mechanical ventilation and portable room air cleaners, the lights, according to one study, have been shown to be up to 10 times more effective, Nardell said.
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the air is sufficiently likely that airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled. Changes to building operations, including the operation of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, can reduce airborne exposures.
Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air. Unconditioned spaces can cause thermal stress to people that may be directly life threatening and that may also lower resistance to infection. In general, disabling of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems is not a recommended measure to reduce the transmission of the virus.
New York malls will need high quality air systems that can filter out the coronavirus before they will be allowed to reopen, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.
“Any malls that will open in New York, large malls, we will make it mandatory that they have air filtration systems that can filter out the Covid virus,” Cuomo said at a press briefing.
High efficiency particle air filters, or HEPA filters, have been shown to help reduce the presence of Covid-19 in the air, according to a presentation from Cuomo.
Gov. Pritzker should give this serious consideration.
* In the meantime, wear a mask, particularly when you’re indoors to protect everyone else. Unfortunately for frontline workers, a national PPE shortage is looming once again…
The personal protective gear that was in dangerously short supply during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. is running low again as the virus resumes its rapid spread and the number of hospitalized patients climbs. […]
In a letter to Congress last week, the health department in DuPage County, Illinois, near Chicago, said all hospitals in the county are reusing protective gear “in ways that were not originally intended and are probably less safe than the optimal use of PPE.”
The DuPage County department is a supplier of last resort that steps in when facilities have less than two weeks’ worth of gear. As of Monday, it had only nine days of some supplies at the current request level. A rise in new infections could make the supply go much faster.
The American Medical Association wrote to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress calling for a coordinated national strategy to buy and allocate gear.
This is a national defense issue. We need a national response.
Employment of Illinois laborers. Whenever there is a period of excessive unemployment in Illinois, if a person or entity is charged with the duty, either by law or contract, of (1) constructing or building any public works, as defined in this Act, or (2) the clean-up and on-site disposal of hazardous waste for the State of Illinois or any political subdivision of the State, and that clean-up or on-site disposal is funded or financed in whole or in part with State funds or funds administered by the State of Illinois, then that person or entity shall employ at least 90% Illinois laborers on such project. Any public works project financed in whole or in part by federal funds administered by the State of Illinois is covered under the provisions of this Act, to the extent permitted by any applicable federal law or regulation. Every public works contract let by any such person shall contain a provision requiring that such labor be used: Provided, that other laborers may be used when Illinois laborers as defined in this Act are not available, or are incapable of performing the particular type of work involved, if so certified by the contractor and approved by the contracting officer.
The law comes into effect following two consecutive months of a state unemployment rate above 5 percent. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic increased from 4.2 percent in March, to 17.2 percent in April, and 15.2 percent in May. Given the unanticipated and large unemployment increase, IDOL wants to alert public bodies to the details of the law.
“As we all deal with the far-reaching impact of this pandemic, the Illinois Department of Labor wants to remind public officials and employers of the requirements of this law, which has not been triggered in recent years due to low unemployment,” said IDOL Director Michael Kleinik.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul pledged to work with IDOL to enforce the law.
“As the nation faces record levels of unemployment, the people of Illinois should be assured that government is using all available tools to put Illinois residents back to work,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. “The Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act requires contractors on public works projects to prioritize Illinois workers, and my office stands ready to work with the Department of Labor to enforce the law and ensure that public works projects – which are funded by Illinois taxpayers – are completed using the best workforce in the country.”
The above press release was issued last week and I missed it. A subscriber sent it to me this morning.
Illinois’ general funds revenue was off by $1.135 billion at the end of FY 2020 as compared with FY 2019, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s monthly report published last week. The total drop was close to what COGFA and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget had predicted for the state when Illinois’ revenue estimates were adjusted due to the state’s screeching halt in economic activity due to Covid-19, but slightly exceeded expectations. Moving Illinois’ deadline for income taxes from the traditional April 15 to July 15 to match the federal tax delay accounted for some but not all of the $765 million net drop-off in personal income tax revenue for FY 2020. Gross corporate income taxes dropped $308 million net, sales taxes were off by $154 million net from last year’s levels, according to COGFA. In the next six months, Illinois will borrow up to $5 billion from the Federal Reserve to make up for lost revenues through a first-of-its-kind program set up by the Fed this spring and borrowing authorized by the General Assembly in the budget approved during the legislature’s four-day special session in May.
Only a few revenue sources experienced increases for the month. As indicated above, gross personal income taxes fared well, rising $173 million, or $150 million net. Again, it is assumed that some final payments [which usually would have fallen in April] have instead been spread over May/June and will extend into July to coincide with the revised deadline. Public utility taxes increased $12 million in June, while other sources grew $12 million and inheritance tax receipts $7 million.
Despite the overall monthly gain, most revenue sources suffered declines in the last month of the fiscal year. Gross sales taxes fell $83 million, or $74 million net. Gross corporate income taxes were down $48 million, or $33 million net. Insurance taxes continued a very volatile pattern of receipting by dropping $44 million. Cigarette taxes were down $19 million for the month, corporate franchise taxes were off $10 million, and interest income dipped $3 million.
Overall transfers grew $26 million for June. Other miscellaneous transfers posted a $60 million gain, but was partially offset by a $9 million decline in lottery transfers and $25 million loss in riverboat transfers [as casino and video gaming was temporarily halted until July 1st]. As mentioned earlier, federal sources had a strong month, rising $184 million. That gain was made possible due to proceeds from June’s short-term borrowing being directed to reimbursable Medicaid spending.
The “Big Three” revenue sources felt the brunt of COVID-19. For the fiscal year, gross personal income taxes fell $947 million, or $765 million net. Gross corporate income taxes dropped $430 million, or $308 million net, while gross sales taxes were off $206 million, or $154 million net from last year’s levels. In total, the combined net drop of the “Big Three” was $1.227 billion.
Most of the other revenue sources experienced a down year as well, with all other revenue sources dropping a net $255 million.
Aided by gains associated to Refund Fund and Capital Projects Fund transfers, overall transfers to the general funds managed to grow $396 million. That gain was significantly muted by COVID’s impact on the lottery as well as riverboat gaming activities. Federal sources, despite ending the year with a flourish, experienced wide monthly swings in performance this fiscal year and finished down $49 million.
Benjamin Varner, a senior analyst and economic specialist for COGFA, said the Illinois and national economies have shown signs of improvement, but the danger is not over.
“Although the improving economy may have seen a trough and begun to expand again, it does not mean that the economy is in a good place or could not tumble further,” he said. “The economy remains well below its peak. It will need continued strong growth to return to previous levels.”
That outlook was seconded by Comptroller Susana Mendoza in a recent interview with Capitol News Illinois. She told the news service that managing the current state budget may be even more challenging than dealing with the budget impasse because the state must now deal with the effects of less revenue.
Illinois lawmakers approved a budget for the current fiscal year that avoided steep cuts to state programs. Instead, it relies on the state borrowing up to $5 billon from the Federal Reserve in order to keep state government operating. It is relying on further assistance from the federal government to ensure the budget is balanced.
Today, Vote Yes For Fairness launched its digital advertising program with a statewide digital ad campaign to educate Illinoisans on why we need the Fair Tax. The seven ads highlight how our current tax system is broken and fundamentally unfair, forcing our essential workers like nurses and grocery store clerks to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires. The Fair Tax will set things right, while bringing our tax system up to date with the one used by a majority of states and the federal government and ensuring at least 97% of Illinoisans see no income tax increase.
The seven new ads will run across digital platforms and devices, including Facebook, YouTube, Hulu, and a number of news sites. […]
“It’s long overdue that Illinois had a tax system that works for all Illinoisans, not only the wealthy few. That’s why we need to pass the Fair Tax in November,” said Quentin Fulks, Chairman of Vote Yes For Fairness. “Nothing is more important to the future of our state than passing the Fair Tax, and Vote Yes For Fairness is dedicated to ensuring Illinoisans know the facts about how the Fair Tax will help our families, our communities, and our state.”
Remember, these are digital ads. They’re different than TV ads.
Pritzker on June 26 contributed $51.5 million to the Vote Yes for Fairness committee, according to campaign finance records. He previously kicked in $5 million in December. Pritzker donated a record-setting $171.5 million to his own gubernatorial campaign.
Vote Yes for Fairness spokeswoman Lara Sisselman said the ads are not in response to critical TV ads paid for by the dark money group, Illinois Rising Action. She said efforts by her group have been stalled by the pandemic.
“We felt the most important thing we could do as an organization was get information out to Illinoisans on the resources out there and safety precautions they should be taking,” Sisselman said. “If you take a look at our social media channels, you’ll see the overwhelming majority was COVID-focused over the last 4 months.”
The group also launched IllinoisVotes2020.com and IllinoisVota2020.com to encourage voters to vote-by-mail in November.
* Yeah, he’s a conservative Republican. But the forgivable loan was for payroll. The idea was to keep people working during the most momentous economic downturn in American history. He didn’t pocket the money…
A dairy owned by Illinois Republican congressional candidate Jim Oberweis received a loan worth $5 million to $10 million from the federal rescue package aimed at helping small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released Monday.
Oberweis Dairy, the North Aurora-based business where Jim Oberweis is chairman, was approved for the Paycheck Protection Program on April 8, according to Treasury Department data.
Oberweis won the March GOP primary to challenge Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood for a Chicago-area congressional district that is one of Republicans’ top targets this fall. The businessman, who also is an Illinois state senator and an investment manager, has loaned his campaign $1.1 million so far this election cycle, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. His campaign has repaid $500,000 of that money, FEC reports show.
Oberweis bought the family business from his brother decades ago. The company operates over 40 ice cream stores and restaurants and has over 1,200 employees, according to his campaign website. The business is currently operated by Oberweis’ son, who is the company president. Oberweis says his role with the company is advisory and he does not receive a salary. His campaign website says his wife also works for the family business.
Oberweis said in a statement Monday the loan was used to pay for salaries and benefits for employees.
And, yes, a whole lot of small business owners, including lots of people of color, were locked out because their banks focused on big clients. And some companies applied for the money simply to avoid depleting huge reserves. But just because somebody’s name turns up on a list doesn’t mean they’re automatically bad. You do what you gotta do to keep the doors open. You may have a different take, and I’d love to hear it.
Now, if Oberweis opposes helping others after his own company was assisted and doesn’t have a sound explanation, that’s a different story and makes him fair game.
* Some major media outlets also applied for and received the loans…
Chicago Public Media, the nonprofit that operates WBEZ, got $2.8 million in PPP funding, a spokeswoman said. Federal help “enabled us to avoid layoffs or furloughs for any staff members during these past few months,” the spokeswoman said in June. Chicago Public Media ultimately laid off 12 employees.
The publishers of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald also got loans of between $2 million and $5 million, as did many other familiar names in local business and culture, including:
Schiff Hardin law firm in Chicago received between $5 million and $10 million. The firm counts Maggie Hickey as a partner — the attorney monitoring how the Chicago Police Department complies with a court order laying out reform.
Forde & O’Meara LLP, which represented Rahm Emanuel’s residency case when he first ran for mayor; and Finkel, Martwick, Colson P.C., where Sen. Robert Martwick works when he’s not in Springfield, are also on the PPP list.
And though House Speaker Mike Madigan’s law firm is listed, his spokeswoman tells Playbook that the Democratic Party leader withdrew his loan request so “no PPP funds were received.”
* Madigan spokesperson Eileen Boyce…
This SBA list represents applications submitted and approved, not loans processed. Like many businesses, an application for a PPP loan was submitted, but was withdrawn at the request of Speaker Madigan and Bud Getzendanner. No loans were processed and no PPP funds were received.
According to a Sun-Times analysis of all PPP loans in Illinois:
174,745 were below $150,000.
14,965 ranged from $150,000 to $350,000.
8,487 ranged between $350,000 to $1 million.
2,558 ranged between $1 million to $2 million.
1,147 ranged from $2 million to $5 million.
255 ranged from $5 million to $10 million.
Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, which says it “educates taxpayers on the true cost of government” and “the realities of costly government programs,” received between $150,000 and $300,000 in loans.
In a statement, Americans for Tax Reform claimed it “never opposed” the PPP program and defended the foundation’s decision to take government loans, which it said allowed the foundation to “maintain its employees without laying anyone off” after it was “badly hurt by the government shutdown.”
But ATR founder Grover Norquist has criticized the unemployment insurance provision of the CARES Act, which he said “delays recovery,” and signed a letter urging lawmakers not to approve a second stimulus bill.
The Ayn Rand Institute, named for conservative philosopher Ayn Rand, received a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million, which it called “partial restitution for government-inflicted losses.”
“It would be a terrible injustice for pro-capitalists to step aside and leave the funds to those indifferent or actively hostile to capitalism,” Ayn Rand Institute board member Harry Binswanger argued in May, stating that the organization would “take any relief money offered us.”
It’s clear that policy adjustments are not enough to breathe vigor back into the economy. “The virus is the boss,”says Austan Goolsbee, an economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. A study he conducted with colleague Chad Syverson found that state and local shutdown orders were not the main reason for the plunge in consumer traffic to stores and other businesses.
“The vast majority of the decline was due to consumers choosing of their own volition to avoid commercial activity,” they write. And the more COVID-19 deaths occurred in a given county, the bigger the decline.
Governors and mayors obviously need to strive to tailor rules to local conditions and make them no tighter than necessary. But if they ease up too much, fueling the pandemic, they are likely to scare consumers into staying home and curbing their expenditures, at a high cost in sales and jobs.
The pandemic will be a serious obstacle to economic recovery until we get a vaccine, cheap mass testing or extensive contact tracing, if not all three. A lot of businesses that thrived before won’t survive, and businesses geared to the changed commercial landscape won’t sprout up immediately.
The collapse of economic activity in 2020 from COVID-19 has been immense. An important question is how much of that collapse resulted from government-imposed restrictions on activity versus people voluntarily choosing to stay home to avoid infection. This paper examines the drivers of the economic slowdown using cellular phone records data on customer visits to more than 2.25 million individual businesses across 110 different industries. Comparing consumer behavior over the crisis within the same commuting zones but across state and county boundaries with different policy regimes suggests that legal shutdown orders account for only a modest share of the massive changes to consumer behavior (and that tracking county-level policy conditions is significantly more accurate than using state-level policies alone). While overall consumer traffic fell by 60 percentage points, legal restrictions explain only 7 percentage points of this. Individual choices were far more important and seem tied to fears of infection. Traffic started dropping before the legal orders were in place; was highly influenced by the number of COVID deaths reported in the county; and showed a clear shift by consumers away from busier, more crowded stores toward smaller, less busy stores in the same industry. States that repealed their shutdown orders saw symmetric, modest recoveries in activity, further supporting the small estimated effect of policy. Although the shutdown orders had little aggregate impact, they did have a significant effect in reallocating consumer activity away from “nonessential” to “essential” businesses and from restaurants and bars toward groceries and other food sellers.
