Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin released the following statement on the U.S. Attorney’s announcement of indictments against Speaker Madigan’s allies including Mike McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker and Jay Doherty:
“Today’s news makes it abundantly clear that the Democratic Party of Illinois, chaired and controlled by Speaker Madigan also known as Public Official A, is a corrupt organization that has run its course. For the past many months and years, Madigan’s apologists from the Governor to the rank-and-file House Democrats have turned a blind eye to his corrupt practices. Speaker Madigan and his long list of defenders need to be removed from power, and that starts with Chairman Welch reconvening the Special Investigating Committee immediately.”
JUST IN: @RayLong just got the exclusive react from Mike McClain's lawyer, the charges were “the result of a misguided investigation and misapplication of the law driven by an obvious desire to find some way to criminally implicate” Speaker Madigan.
The goal, according to Cotter, was the apply “maximum pressure on Mike McClain” in order to get to Madigan, something he is unwilling to help with. “Mike McClain cannot agree to allegations that are untrue, even to escape the crippling weight of the government’s attacks."
"After enduring months of baseless innuendo and misinformation, Pramaggiore … is confident a review will reaffirm her unwavering adherence to the highest ethical standards and finally put to rest the damaging speculation that any actions she took constitute illegal activity."
From Jay Doherty's attorneys, Mike Gillespie and Gabrielle Sansonetti: "Mr. Doherty was just made aware that he’s been indicted. He intends to plead not guilty because he is not guilty of these charges."
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the full McClain statement from Pat Cotter…
During his career of more than 50 years, Mike McClain has served the people of the State of Illinois both as a public servant and an advocate. He is an honest and honorable man – as everyone who has worked with him well knows.
The charges filed today by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois are the result of a misguided investigation and misapplication of the law, driven by an obvious desire to find some way to criminally implicate a current elected official, who happens to be Mike McClain’s longtime friend.
In its zeal to find any evidence of criminal misconduct by that official, the Government is attempting to rewrite the law on bribery and criminalize long-recognized legitimate, common, and normal lobbying activity into some new form of crime. The goal of these meritless charges is clear: to apply maximum pressure on Mike McClain, and others, to help the Government in its efforts against his friend. But Mike McClain cannot agree to allegations that are untrue, even to escape the crippling weight of the Government’s attacks.
Mike McClain absolutely denies that he has committed any crime, and he will fight these charges as long as it takes, and as long as his age and health allow, to restore his well-earned honest and honorable reputation.
Former Commonwealth Edison executives, including the former Chief Executive Officer, conspired with outside consultants to corruptly influence and reward a high-level elected official for the State of Illinois to assist with the passage of legislation favorable to the electric utility company, according to an indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The indictment charges four individuals with bribery conspiracy, bribery, and willfully falsifying ComEd books and records:
· MICHAEL McCLAIN, 73, of Quincy, Ill. McClain worked as a lobbyist and/or consultant for ComEd after serving in the Illinois House of Representatives in the 1970s and early 1980s.
· ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, 62, of Barrington, Ill. Pramaggiore was CEO of ComEd from 2012 to 2018, and later served as a senior executive at an affiliate of Exelon Corp., of which ComEd was a subsidiary.
· JOHN HOOKER, 71, of Chicago, Ill. Hooker served as ComEd’s executive vice president of legislative and external affairs from 2009 to 2012, after which he worked as an external lobbyist for ComEd.
· JAY DOHERTY, 67, of Chicago, Ill. Doherty owned Jay D. Doherty & Associates, which performed consulting services for ComEd from approximately 2011 to 2019.
Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.
According to the charges, the defendants’ efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official – identified in the indictment as “Public Official A” – began in or around 2011 and continued through in or around 2019. During that time, Public Official A controlled what measures were called for a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives and exerted substantial influence over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation affecting ComEd, the indictment states. The charges allege that the defendants conspired to corruptly influence and reward Public Official A by arranging for jobs and contracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers, even in instances where those people performed little or no work that ComEd purportedly hired them to perform. The defendants allegedly created and caused the creation of false contracts, invoices, and other books and records to disguise the true nature of some of the payments and to circumvent internal controls at ComEd.
In addition to the jobs and contracts, the indictment alleges that the defendants undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including causing ComEd to retain a particular outside law firm favored by Public Official A and to accept into ComEd’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward associated with Public Official A. Pramaggiore and McClain also allegedly took steps to have an individual appointed to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A and McClain, the indictment states.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
An ex-powerful Springfield lobbyist and confidant of House Speaker Michael Madigan has been charged with bribery in a criminal case in Chicago, along with the former ComEd CEO, a top ComEd lobbyist and the ex-head of the City Club.
Named in the indictment are Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker and Jay Doherty.
More…
The indictment also alleges the four falsified ComEd's books and records. And here it says they referred to Public Official A — known to be House Speaker Michael Madigan — as "our Friend" or "a Friend of ours" rather than use his true name. pic.twitter.com/2yMveTnGRB
corruptly solicit and demand, and to accept and agree to accept from another person things of value, namely, jobs, contracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and contracts, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associates, intending that Public Offlcial A, an agent of the State of Illinois, be influenced and rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving things of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(aX1)(B);
to corruptly give, offer, and agree to give things of valu6, nameiy, jobs, contracts, and monetary pa;rments associated with those jobs and contracts, for the benefit of Public Offlcia] A and his associates, with intent to influence and reward Public Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving things of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(2); and
knowingly and willfully to circumvent a system of internal accounting controls and to falsify any book, record, and account of Exelon and ComEd, in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(bX5) and 78ff(a).
It was part of the consplvacy that, for the purpose of influeneing and rewarding Pubiic Official A in connection with his offrcial duties as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and to assist ComEd with respect to the passage of legislation favorable to ComEd and its business and the defeat of legislation unfavorabie to ComEd and its business, the conspirators (i) anranged for various associates of Public Official A, including Public Official A’s political allies and individuals who performed political work for Public Official A, to obtain jobs, contracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and contracts from ComEd and its affiliates, even in instances where such associates performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired to perform for ComEd; and (ii) created and caused the creation of false contracts, invoices and other books and records to disguise the true nature of certain of the payments and to circumvent internal controls.
* And then there are specific instances. Here are some headlines with a little context…
Hiring of Publie Official A’s Associates as Vendor “Subeontraetors” Who Performed Little or No Work for ComEd
Public Official A and McCLAIN sought to obtain from ComEd jobs, vendor contracts and subcontracts, as well as monetary payments for various associates of Public Official A, including Public Official A’s political allies and individuals who performed political work for Public Official A, such as ward precinct captains who worked within Public Offieial A’s district.
Retention of Law Firm A
[Appears to be Victor Reyes’ law firm which got its hours cut]
Thirteenth Ward Interns
It was further part of the conspiracy that potential Thirteenth Ward interas identified by McCLAIN did not need to compete against the general intern applicant pool, and instead, received more favorable treatment when it came to assessing their qualifications for a position within the ComEd Internship Program. … It was further part of the conspiracy that ComEd’s minimum academic requirements for intern candidates, such as a minimum required grade point average, were waived at times for certain Thirteenth Ward intern candidates who did not meet those requirements.
Apoointment to ComEd Board
[Juan Ochoa]
Hiring of Other Individuals
It was further part of the conspiracy that, in order to conceal the nature and purpose of their conduct, conspirators often referred to Public Offlcial A as “our Friend,” or “a Friend of ours,” rather than using Public Official A’s true name.
* “Overt Acts”…
On or about each date set forth below, defendants caused payments to be made to [Jay D. Doherty & Associates] in the approximate amount set forth below, with a substantial portion of each payment intended for associates of Public Official A […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to [the Alderman for the Thirteenth Ward from in or around 1994 until on or about Aprii 30, 2011] in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $256,000 […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to Individual 13W-2’s [13th Ward precinct captain] company in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $325,000 […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to Individual 13W-3 [13th Ward precinct captain] in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $144,000 […]
On or about February 25, 2015,McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez, in which he wrote, “Our Friend’s ward? Summer interns? 10 jobs or 12 or what is the ceiling? Best, Mike.”
On or about April 2, 2015, in response to an email asking whether there was pressure to hire a prospective intern associated with the Thirteenth Ward, or whether the intern could simply be “fairly considered” for the ComEd Internship Program, Marquez wrote an email that said, “There is pressure to hire Hope she interviews well.”
On or about April 29, 2015, Marqaez forwarded an email to MeCLAIN, advising that a candidate McCLAIN had referred to ComEd for the ComEd Internship Program had been hired.
On or about January 20, 2076, McCLAIN wrote an email to PRAMAGGIORE and HOOKER that said the following: “I am sure you know how valuable [Lawyer A] is to our Friend,” and then went on to write, “I know the drill and so do you. If you do not get involve [sic] and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he wilI go to our Friend. Our Friend will cail me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through? For me, Hook and I am sure you I just do not understand why we have to spend valuable minutes on items like this when we know it will provoke a reaction from our Friend.”
On or about January 20,2016, PRAMAGGIORE wrote an email to McCLAIN, in response to the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) and responded, “Sorry. No one informed me. I am on this.”
On or about January 20, 2016, PRAMAGGIORE forwarded the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) to Marquez.
On or about January 20,2016, PRAMAGGIORE forwarded the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) to an employee in ComEd’s legal department.
On or about February 25, 2016, McCLAIN wrote an emaii to Marquez, in which McCLAIN advised that “the 13th Ward may not want these people in their column,” in reference to ComEd counting interns that returned to the ComEd Internship Program against the number of spaces allotted to individuals from the Thirteenth Ward.
On or about April 15,2016, McCLAIN wrote an email to ComEd’s project manager for FEJA with the subject heading, “[Lawyer A] law firm?!”
On or about May 22,2016, the project manager for FEJA wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department that asked, in reference to Law Firm A, “Are we closed out on this topic?”
On or about May 24,2016, McCLAIN wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department, HOOKER, and the project manager for FEJA, in which MeCLAIN proposed terms for the renewal of Law Firm A’s contract with ComEd.
On or about December 2, 20L6, McCLAIN wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department, in which McCLAIN followed up on a prior email concerning Law Firm A, and asked “After you catch a couple of good nights [sic] sleep can we put this item to bed?”
On or about December 3,2016, PRAMAGGIORE sent an email to McCLAIN in which she assured McCLAIN that she would resolve outstanding issues relating to Law Firm A’s contract, by noting, “Fidel and I are meeting on Monday to make our list. This will be on it.”
In or around January 2017, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract, PRAMAGGIORE signed a false and misleading document, known as a “Single Source Justification,” in support of the renewal of JDDA’s [Doherty’s] contract and caused it to be submitted to Exelon Business Services. This Single Source Justification form made it falsely appear that the large amount of money to be paid to JDDA under the contract was on account of, among other things, JDDA’s “unique insight & perspective to promote ComEd and its business matters to further develop, execute and manage its Government Relations presence” and did not indicate that a substantial amount of the fees that would be paid to JDDA was intended for third parties in an effort to influence and reward Public Official A.
On or about February 9, 2017, McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez’s assistant, in which McCLAIN wrote that it was his understanding that the Thirteenth Ward would be provided ten positions in the ComEd Internship Program: “[F]or as long as I can remember it has been ten interns??”
On or about February L2,2018, Marquez caused an email to be sent by his assistant to McCLAIN, in which the assistant wrote, “Confirmed with Fidel we will work to provide you 10 slots.”
On or about May 2,2018, McCLAIN placed a call to Public Official A, and advised Public Official A that PRAMAGGIORE was experiencing push-back to the appointment of Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors, and had proposed finding a job that would pay Individual BM-1 the same amount of money as a board member. [Emphasis added because this seems to be new.]
On or about May 16, 2018, McCLAIN placed a telephone call to PRAMAGGIORE, during which call PRAMAGGIORE advised McCLAIN that (i) she had instructed Marquez to “hire” Individual2SW-1 after checking with DOHERTY; and (ii) she would, at Public Official A’s request, “keep pressing” to appoint Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors.
On or about May 16, 2018, McCLAIN placed a telephone call to Marquez, during which McCLAIN explained why certain individuals were being paid indirectly through JDDA, by making reference to their utility to Public Official A’s political operation, and advised Marquez that Individual23W-1 should be paid $5,000 a month.
On or about June 29, 2018, DOHERTY caused an email to be sent to a ComEd employee, which made it falsely appear that the justification for an additional $5,000 a month sought underJDDA’s revised contract was because JDDA would assume an “expanded role with Cook County Board President’s office and Cook County Commissioners and Department Heads,” when in fact the additional $5,000 a month in compensation sought was intended for pa;rment to Individual 23W-1, who performed little or no work forJDDA or ComEd.
On or about September 7,2018, MeCLAIN and PRAMAGGIORE parbicipated in a telephone call, during which PRAMAGGIORE assured McCLAIN that PRAMAGGIORE was continuing to advocate for the appointment of Individual BM-1 to ComEd’s board of directors and explained “You take good care of me and so does our friend and I witl do the best that I can to, to take care of you.”
On or about December 6,2018, McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez and others at ComEd, in which McCLAIN advised, in reference to the ComEd Internship Program, “f am pretty sure the ‘ask’ will be to ‘put aside’ or’save’ ten summer jobs for the 13th Ward.”
On or about January 29, 20L9, HOOKER traveled to the Union League Club, in Chicago, Illinois for the purpose of meeting with Marquez to discuss the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 7,2019, McCLAIN traveled to a restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, for the purpose of meeting with Marquez to discuss the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 13,2019, DOHERTY met with Marquez in Chicago, Illinois, and discussed how to present information to ComEd’s chief executive officer concerning the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 18,2019, PRAMAGGIORE participated in a telephone call with Marquez, during which call, afber she was told that the subcontractors associated with DOHERTY just “collect a check” and that Marquez needed to brief the chief executive officer of ComEd coneerning the JDDA contract, PRAMAGGIORE advised Marquez not to make any changes to the contract, because “we do not want to get caught up in a, you know, disruptive battle where, you know, somebody gets their nose out of joint and we’re tryrng to move somebody off, and then we get forced to give ‘em a five-year contract because we’re in the middle of needing to get something done in Springfield.”
In or around March 2019, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract, the defendants caused the preparation of a false and misleading document, known as a “Single Source Justification,” in support of the renewal of JDDA’s contract, and the submission of this form to Exelon Business Services. This Single Source Justification form made it falsely appear that the large amount of money to be paid to JDDA was because, among other things, “Consultant has specific knowledge that cannot be sources [sic] from another supplier/contractor,” and did not indicate that a substantial amount of the fees that would be paid to JDDA was intended for third parties in an effort to influence and reward Public Official A.
On or about March 5,2079,McCLAIN met with a ComEd executive and Marquezfor the purpose of explaining why the JDDA contract and the payments to Individual 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual 23W-1 should be continued for another year.
On or about March 17,2019, DOHERTY caused a representative from Exelon Business Services to execute a contract containing false representations and promises that the compensation paid to JDDA was in return for providing ComEd with advice on legislative issues, when in fact a significant portion of the compensation to be paid to JDDA was intended for Individual 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual 23W- 1 [former Ald. Zalewski], who in fact did little or no legitimate work for ComEd.
On or about April }I,?}L},PRAMAGGIORE advised McCLAIN by text message, “Just sent out Board approval to appoint [Individual BM-l] to ComEd Board.”
On or about April 26,2019, ComEd filed a notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Individual BM-1 had served as a director of ComEd since April2019.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371and2.
* Count 2…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a contract for Law Firm A and monetary payments associated with that contract, for the benefit of Public Offrcial A and his associate, Lawyer A, with intent to influence and reward Pubtic Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(a)(2) and2
* Count 3…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE JOHN HOOKER, and
JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the renewal of
JDDA’s contract for 2077;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(bX5) and 78ff(a), and
Title L8, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 4…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfuIly falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in eonnection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract for 2018;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 5…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd and Exelon to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a position on the ComEd board of directors and monetary payments associated with that position, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associate, Individual BM-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(aX2) and2.
* Count 6…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, payments of $5,000 a month, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associate, Individual 23W-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Offrcial A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,Iegislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, united states code, sections 666(aX2) and2.
* Count 7…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingiy and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the amendment of JDDA’s contract for 2018;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 8…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a new annual contract for JDDA and monetary payments associated with that contract, for the benefrt of Public Official A and his associates, Individuai 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual2SW-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Offlcial A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, united states code, sections 666(a)(2) and}.
* Count 9…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract for 2019;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
In Chicago, 18th Ward Republican precinct committeeman Devin Jones said on election day he saw improper handling of ballots, poll workers trying to change ballots and Dominion machine malfunctions.
“They had ballots all over the place,” Jones said in an interview. “They had ballots on the desk where people checked in, they were eating chicken with the ballots sitting right there. They had ballots on a chair, under someone’s coat.”
“At this one particular precinct they were trying to redo the ballot, like remake the ballot [after someone left], which is not the proper process,” Jones said.
“I know we use Dominion in Chicago and I know that at more than half the predictions there were issues with the counter, the machine that you slide the ballots in which is how these people were able to have all these ballots laying around at different places,” Jones said. “A lot of the stuff I saw was these counter machines not working.”
Jones said he reported his findings to authorities but says he never got any follow up.
* I checked with the Chicago Board of Elections’ Jim Allen and asked if the report had actually been made…
No such complaint was filed with the Board. The Board keeps a database of all calls received on Election Day. Not one even resembles these allegations.
This did not happen and here’s why:
The ballot scanner captures an image of each ballot at the time the ballot is cast by the voter.
If anyone were to try to “remake” ballots after voters left or make additional ballots, that would not erase the original scanned images of the voters’ ballots. Instead, it would add scanned images and votes — and then create a discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the applications for ballots (both paper and electronic poll book).
No such discrepancy occurred.
Further, that kind of a discrepancy would stand out like a sore thumb even more so this election, because more than two-thirds of the ballots in Chicago were cast before Election Day via Early Voting and Vote By Mail — and less than one third were cast in the precincts on Election Day. As detailed in the attached turnout report, that pattern held true in the 18th Ward. The turnouts in the 18th Ward also were comparable to turnouts in surrounding wards and the rest of the city.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 8,922 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 140 additional deaths.
- Adams County: 1 male 90s
- Bureau County: 1 female 90s
- Champaign County: 1 female 100+
- Clinton County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Coles County: 1 male 90s
- Cook County: 2 males 30s, 1 female 40s, 2 males 40s, 2 females 50s, 4 males 50s, 7 females 60s, 13 males 60s, 10 females 70s, 9 males 70s, 6 females 80s, 13 males 80s, 6 females 90s, 4 males 90s, 1 male 100+
- DeWitt County: 1 female 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s, 2 males 90s
- Effingham County: 1 male 90s
- Fayette County: 1 male 80s
- Franklin County: 1 male 90s
- Greene County: 1 male 90s
- Jackson County: 1 male 70s
- Kendall County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 90s
- Knox County: 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 90s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 female 90s
- Livingston County: 1 male 60s
- Logan County: 1 male 80s
- Macon County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 90s
- McDonough County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- McHenry County: 1 male 70s, 2 females 90s
- Ogle County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 90s
- Peoria County: 2 females 80s
- Sangamon County: 1 male 80s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 70s
- Stephenson County: 1 female 80s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 90s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 70s
- Warren County: 1 female 80s
- Wayne County: 1 male 90s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
- Williamson County: 1 male 70s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 606,771 cases, including 11,014 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 103,569 specimens for a total 9,359,227. As of last night, 5,953 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,146 patients were in the ICU and 547 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from November 11 – November 17, 2020 is 11.9%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from November 11 – November 17, 2020 is 14.2%.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Today would’ve been Steve Schnorf’s 76th birthday. I never met anybody who knew more about the operation of state government than Steve. Man, we could use a man like that today.
He was also incredibly kind-hearted and took great pride in mentoring young people.
I met a lady on a plane last year who told me a great Schnorf story. She was working at a Springfield hotel many years ago and Schnorf was a guest. On one particularly cold day, Schnorf walked out to his car then returned to the lobby and asked the manager if he could get some help starting his car. His battery was dead and he needed a jump. The manager gruffly refused, but the woman behind the counter (the lady I met on the plane) said she’d lend a hand.
They got Schnorf’s car started and he drove off. The lady said she was a bit miffed that he didn’t even thank her.
Later, Schnorf approached the same lady and asked if she liked her job at the hotel. Oh, yes, she said. She loved her job. Schnorf then asked if she’d like to work at the secretary of state’s office (he was a Jim Edgar bigwig at the time). She said yes, and he set her up with a gig and she worked for him the rest of his time in government.
She told me she eventually asked Schnorf why he offered her a job. He said something along the lines of: “If you could enjoy working for that [expletive deleted] manager, I figured you’d do fine working for me.”
* I think of Steve almost every single day. Oscar loved him, too. From 2016…
I’m asking for help for my good friend Mbanna Kantako who lost EVERYTHING he owns due to a house fire. He is an amazing friend, father, uncle, brother and much more. He is a positive role model in the community. He has given back over and over again. He started better life better living for kids a non-profit organization that did tons of stuff for the children in our community. He also organized a clean up the east side project amongst many others. Now he needs you! He has worked very hard to put himself through school in which he earned a masters degree. He has a 1 year old son and a baby due any day. He lost EVERYTHING. Please donate to help this wonderful man any amount will help. He has to start all over with nothing but the clothes on his back! LET’S SHOW HIM SOME OF THE LOVE HE SHOWS EVERYONE ELSE
Mbanna is Sen. Emil Jones III’s legislative assistant. He could really use your help, so let’s do what we always do here and help him and his family recover from this. Please, click here.
With the coronavirus spreading uncontrolled across nearly the entire country, many public health experts are urging Americans to cancel their Thanksgiving gathering plans.
But not everyone is taking this advice to heart: Roughly 40 percent plan to attend a Thanksgiving gathering with 10 or more people, according to a recent survey commissioned by Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.
Peer-reviewed risk assessment data produced by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that many of those big events may become coronavirus super-spreaders. Drawing on public data sets, the Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool produces daily county-level estimates of the odds of encountering at least one coronavirus-positive person at a gathering of 10 or more people.
There is no scientific data that supports lower occupancy limits or for keeping restaurants closed to indoor dining.
Joe, the more people who are in an enclosed space, the more likely it is that somebody will catch a virus - any virus, not just COVID-19. It’s not just science, it’s simple common sense, man.
On the same day local enforcement began of COVID-19 mitigations aimed at bars and restaurants, the Sangamon County Department of Public Health released contact tracing data Friday showing where people who tested positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts had been the two weeks prior to the positive test.
A Highland, Illinois attorney who has been giving Governor J.B. Pritzker grief with multiple lawsuits around the state appeared in Jacksonville last night at Bogart’s Banquet Hall to explain to bar & restaurant owners their rights according to their businesses and the state’s ability or inability to close them under current executive orders. There were approximately 70 people in attendance from Morgan, Cass, Greene, Sangamon, and Macon counties – many of whom were bar & restaurant owners. […]
DeVore said near the end of the presentation that bars and restaurant owners should stay open whether ticketed or not and continue moving forward. He implored businesses to not give into what he called fear tactics and shoddy statistics surrounding COVID-19 being distributed by the media and state government, and to take their fights to the courts if they have to.
1) If “giving Governor J.B. Pritzker grief” equals “losing a bunch of cases, then that lede is spot on;
2) Following DeVore’s sage advice to remain open resulted in the ordered closure of several of his restaurant clients yesterday…
A Sangamon County judge Tuesday granted the Sangamon County Department of Public Health a temporary restraining order against four Springfield restaurants operating without food permits.
Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow’s ruling goes against D&J Café , also known as DJ’s Café, 915 W. Laurel St.; Charlie Parker’s, 700 W. North St.; Fox Run Restaurant & Lounge, 1130 Legacy Pointe Drive and Sweet Basil Café , 4241 Conestoga Drive. All four restaurants had their food permits suspended by Public Health Sunday. […]
All five were serving indoor diners Sunday in defiance of the mitigations prohibiting indoor dining that went into effect Friday.
Three of the restaurants, D&J Café, Fox Run and Sweet Basil, had been fined also last week.
Wilhite confirmed that the owners of the suspended restaurants have requested hearings with the board of health, though their doors will remain shut in the meantime.
* Gov. Pritzker’s chief of staff Anne Caprara on Twitter yesterday…
I want to take a moment today to talk about how the right wing misinformation machine works, how it churns up outrage, how supposedly “civil” Republicans fuel it…and what the real world consequences are for innocent people caught in its trap.
Last week a ton of people sent me a screenshot from a Twitter/Instagram account called @deuxmoiworld. They track supposed celebrity sightings - basically a completely unverifiable gossip account.
The particular post in question claimed to be a picture of the daughter of @GovPritzker
at a restaurant in Chicago seated outside in a large group of people for a birthday party. Only problem is that’s not the Governor’s daughter (and doesn’t even look like her.)
I dutifully clarified this for people sending me the picture but, like clockwork, it soon made its way to the army of Twitter trolls invested in combatting the Governor’s Covid mitigations. Kicked off with tweets like this…
Putting aside the absurdity of the statements made in this tweet and the fact that this account self identifies as a “parody” account - the right wing media machine took the picture and ran with it as fact.
Our friends at a local “news” radio show trolled Chicago doctors trying to correct misinformation with the fake picture. The statewide network of propaganda publications (recently profiled by the @nytimes for their spread of disinformation) posted this article…
Real news publications mostly ignored this or helped debunk it - but unfortunately their reach is much more limited than the right wing online outrage machine.
And then there is GOP state Senator-elect Darren Bailey who shared the “news” on his Facebook page - truly helping spread the lies about the Governor’s daughter to a whole new reach of people.
And so over this past week, @GovPritzker HIGH SCHOOL age daughter started getting hateful and threatening DM’s on her social media accounts directly linked to the pic - prompting her parents to spend the weekend trying to make hard decisions about her safety & welfare.
Which brings us to [Monday] when the Governor got a (legitimate) question at his press conference about where he was celebrating Thanksgiving. He’s human, he & the First Lady hadn’t made a decision yet about how they were dealing with Thanksgiving, & he gave an unsure answer.
Here is where the right wing outrage machine really grinds into action, breaking through to “mainstream” Republicans. @RodneyDavis - who likes to talk a lot about “civility” - posted this after the presser yesterday
This is from the Congressman’s official Twitter account. It’s nice how he added the coda about where he will be celebrating - just to really twist the knife. Super civil. Lest you think this is an errant tweet - his account reposted it today
Then there was this FB post from the ambulance chasing lawyer who has gone all around IL trying to invalidate the Governor’s Covid orders (unsuccessfully - he’s been beaten in almost every case) - offering $1000 bounty for pics of the Gov celebrating Thanksgiving with his family
A bounty. A BOUNTY. For pics of the Governor’s family. In a post that was shared over 1000 times. Who do you think that incites?
I see the threats that come in to our office ever day. The governor is like every other father who loves his children, and hurts when they hurt and gets angry when his children are threatened.
I agree wholeheartedly that the Governor (and his family) should live by the rules he sets for the state. But notice how no rules have been broken here, just a lot of lies and innuendo that by the time it reaches Joe Q. Citizen look real.
And given credence and validity when - say - the Illinois GOP’s official Twitter account posts things like this:
I realize people think every single thing an elected official does is scripted down to the moment. It’s not. And right now, in the middle of this pandemic, we are lucky if we find time for meals - much less the full time image machine some folks seem to expect.
Notice also how supposedly responsible office holders jump to spread the innuendo - and will do nothing to correct the spread of lies when they are called out. Notice how we went from a fake picture to “GOVERNOR PRITZKER IS BREAKING THE RULES!!”
At the heart of this is a kid. A teenager. Who has every right to expect privacy no matter who her Dad is. This didn’t used to be controversial! When did we lose the common decency to keep kids off the table??
There is also a sentiment amongst some political folks and journalists that elected officials need to just ignore these things. That they should expect social media attacks on their family. And that they shouldn’t do anything to try & combat them bc that just fuels the machine.
That might have been true at some point - but it isn’t anymore. I’ve seen firsthand how things have gotten out of control. Elected officials can’t be silent anymore - we are charging towards a dangerous place. And we need to start calling a spade a spade.
I don’t have great answers for how we solve this. But we at least need to start combatting it aggressively and stop pretending that the misinformation spread online doesn’t matter or doesn’t hurt people.
“I can handle people throwing my face up on anti-Semitic picket signs likening me to Hitler,” he said. “This kind of vitriol is apparently what I have to deal with to keep the state and its people safe, but my kids are off limits.”
Pritzker’s comments drew support from Republicans circles, too. Rep. Grant Wehrli tweeted: “I do not agree with Gov. Pritzker on much. I do 100% agree with him that a politician’s family is off limits. They are not in the arena and already have a difficult task. They should damn well be left alone by everyone.”
Also on Tuesday came the revelation that four more House lawmakers — Reps. Deb Conroy (46th), Robyn Gabel (18th), Rep. Anna Moeller (43rd) and Rep. Ann Williams (11th) — recently sent a letter to Madigan telling him it was time for new leadership. Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax blog first reported it.
A source tells Playbook that the foursome didn’t intend to go public with their message to Madigan, and they still aren’t releasing the letter.
Instead, they issued a statement Tuesday saying: “Ensuring that the voters have confidence in their elected leaders at all levels of government is of the utmost importance to us. The conversation about the leadership of the Illinois House is a critical one, especially during this time of unprecedented crisis in the state of Illinois. We will continue to work internally within the House Democratic caucus to determine the future of our leadership while working to restore public trust.”
The four reps join eight others who have already said they aren’t backing Madigan. The opponents to Madigan expect one more representative to step forward. That would leave Madigan with a 60 to 13 vote, if it were held today.
I think there’s more than one, but we’ll see who steps forward and when. And we’ll see where this latest twist goes.
The four reps did not make public the text of their letter, which reportedly stops short of explicitly saying they’ll vote for someone else for speaker in January if Madigan, now 78, seeks a new term. The letter was first reported by Capitol Fax. […]
Springfield insiders I’ve spoken with say it’s too early to count out Madigan, who retains strong support from organized labor and most members of the black and Latino caucuses, despite Madigan being under federal investigation in the ComEd bribery probe.
But they also indicate that his rule is in real jeopardy.
“He’s got nine lives, so he’s not gone yet,” one veteran House member told me. Still, that source added, the letter “is not great for his prospects.”
* Posted in the order they were received. Press release…
Joint Statement on Murray Developmental Center COVID-19 Cases
The following statement can be attributed to State Senator Jason Plummer, State Representative Charles E. Meier, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Clinton County Health Department:
The health, safety, and well-being of the residents and employees at Murray Developmental Center are of the utmost importance.
The 56 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 19 days, which include 24 residents and 32 Murray Developmental Center staff, are deeply concerning and news we take very seriously. We are taking every precaution for the individuals receiving care and for the staff working at the Murray Developmental Center who have tested positive for COVID-19 – for their families and for their fellow residents and colleagues.
Together, we are urging everyone in Clinton County to work collaboratively in the public interest to limit further spread of COVID-19. We know that Murray Developmental Center is in Illinois’ COVID Region 4, which currently has a 7-day rolling average positivity rate of 16.1%. Currently, the COVID-19 positivity rate in all of Clinton County is 19.5%, exceeding the State target for containing the virus.
To protect the residents and staff of Murray Developmental Center – as well as their families and others in our community – we remind everyone, outside of your home and household: please wear a face covering, wash your hands, and practice social distancing measures.
These actions can save lives and prevent short- and long-term health problems.
* Press release…
Joint Statement on Ludeman Developmental Center COVID-19 Cases
The following statement can be attributed to State Senator Patrick J. Joyce, State Representative Anthony DeLuca, and the Illinois Department of Human Services:
The health, safety, and well-being of the residents and employees at Ludeman Developmental Center are of the utmost importance.
The 46 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 18 days, which include 19 residents and 27 Ludeman Developmental Center staff, are deeply concerning and news we take very seriously. We are taking every precaution for the individuals receiving care and for the staff working at the Ludeman Developmental Center who have tested positive for COVID-19 – for their families and for their fellow residents and colleagues.
Together, we are urging everyone in Cook County to work collaboratively in the public interest to limit further spread of COVID-19. We know that Ludeman Developmental Center is in Illinois’ COVID Region 10, which currently has a 7-day rolling average positivity rate of 15.9%. Currently, the COVID-19 positivity rate in all of Cook County is 15.9%, exceeding the State target for containing the virus.
To protect the residents and staff of Ludeman Developmental Center – as well as their families and others in our community – we remind everyone, outside of your home and household: please wear a face covering, wash your hands, and practice social distancing measures.
We will continue to urge area residents to follow the recommendations set forth by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the CDC. These actions can save lives and prevent short- and long-term health problems.
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) has released the following statement regarding the statewide Tier 3 mitigations issued today by Gov. J.B. Pritzker:
“The Tier 3 mitigations announced today by Gov. J.B. Pritzker strikes the right balance between allowing access to retail services and the need to adjust safety measures in response to the latest science about how to address this virus. While additional capacity restrictions will impose significant hardship on retailers already devastated by the pandemic – especially during what is usually the busiest shopping time of the year – we are glad customers will continue to have numerous safe shopping options,” said IRMA President and CEO Rob Karr. “It is our hope the same science that provides for safe shopping can soon be applied to restaurants and bars so they can again allow inside dining, albeit at a reduced capacity. Finally, we look forward to the support of the Pritzker Administration and legislators in ensuring the beleaguered retail sector is best positioned to regain full strength. As the second largest revenue generator for the state and the largest for local governments, without a fully revived retail sector, Illinois faces a more dire future.”
* IHA…
“The Illinois Health and Hospital Association and our member hospitals and health systems across the state commend Governor J.B. Pritzker for his exceptional leadership in this extraordinary time, including his decisive action today to address and mitigate the alarming surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
“Hospitals in every area of the state now have higher caseloads of COVID-19 patients than they faced during the spring surge. While hospitals and health systems are continuing to ramp up their capacity and manage their caseloads, the surge in infections and hospitalizations will soon present significant challenges to the healthcare delivery system.
“We support the Governor and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike as they take important and necessary steps so Illinois’ hospitals and their 285,000 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals can continue their heroic work every day to serve their patients and save lives.
“Hospitals, doctors, nurses and all healthcare providers on the front lines are asking Illinoisans to help stop the spread of the virus. We urge everyone to follow these simple but very effective public health measures: wear a mask, watch your distance, wash your hands, avoid large family and social gatherings, and get a flu shot. All of us must act now and work together to protect our families, friends, neighbors, and the healthcare workers who are selflessly serving our communities.”
* IMA…
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association released the following statement regarding the new statewide mitigations issued today by Gov. JB Pritzker:
“As our state and nation continue to grapple with this virus, Illinois manufacturers remain committed to leading the way forward. Manufacturers are developing life-saving vaccines and treatments, producing needed personal protective equipment, keeping store shelves stocked with important goods and nutritious foods, and powering our homes and businesses,” said Mark Denzler, president & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We remain committed to working with state officials and health experts to ensure the protection of all workers, customers and our communities. Indeed, manufacturers have proven they are not only vital to our response to this pandemic but will also be critical to our recovery as they look to hire more workers and pour billions of dollars into our economy.”
* INA…
The Illinois Nurses Association supports Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s statewide COVID-19 mitigation measures. Nurses are on the front lines of the state’s health care system and a spike in COVID-19 cases puts them at heightened risk and jeopardizes the health care system’s ability to care for all Illinois patients. Two nurses died earlier this Spring from COVID-19 and even now, nurses continue to test positive. Stringent mitigation measures based on sound science and public health practices are called for to ensure we reduce the infections from COVID-19.
* IPHCA…
-The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) commends Governor Pritzker for making the tough decision to move our entire state into Tier 3 mitigation to combat surging COVID-19 cases. Over the course of the last several weeks, we have seen an exponential increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases, the rate of hospitalizations, and the rates for which patients have been admitted to ICUs and put on a ventilator. Additionally, and more disheartening, we are also seeing an unacceptable increase in the death rate.
Our ability to effectively combat this pandemic is being jeopardized by the number of sick and those requiring hospital-level care. If we do not take immediate action, the consequences will be devastating. It is up to all of us, every resident, business, health care organization, and community leader to combat this COVID-19 surge by staying home whenever possible, practicing social distancing, and wearing a mask.
IPHCA understands the Governor’s decision to move all of Illinois into Tier 3 mitigation was not made easily, but that it was done in an effort to keep our communities safe and to save lives. Community health centers across the state are committed to doing our part, in collaboration with state and local leaders, to fight back against this pandemic.
* IllinoisPIRG…
“The past few weeks have seen COVID-19 surge across the country, with Illinois and the Midwest among the hardest hit areas. As the weather gets colder and people spend more time inside, we are at a critical point. The decisions made by our leaders today will determine how many lives we can save and help us get through the winter as safely as we can. By rolling back some of the most high-risk activities where people gather indoors, Governor Pritzker is protecting public health.
“While the governor’s action is welcome, given how quickly and widely the virus is spreading, more action is needed right away. The quickest way to lower cases dramatically is to issue a temporary stay-at-home order and close non-essential businesses until we effectively curb transmission.
“Two things are as clear as they’ve been for months: It’s in our power to save lives, and taking measures to do so quickly will help, not hurt the economy long-term.”
…Adding… SEIU Healthcare Illinois…
Members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois support Gov. Pritker’s call for increased mitigation strategies as our state confronts the rising number of Illinoisians contracting and dying from the Covid-19 virus.
Our members – many of whom are frontline, essential workers who deliver vital care to patients in hospitals and nursing homes – find it necessary to navigate Covid environments every day. They go to work fearing that they could contract the virus and bring it home to their families.
These workers are predominantly female and mostly women of color who are predisposed to having underlying conditions. When many in the public are cavalier about a life-threatening virus, it endangers the lives of the essential healthcare workers that society depends on to save them.
If we as a society follow safety protocols, we can get through this pandemic with fewer illnesses and loss of life.
* IAMHP…
Illinois has seen a rapid increase in new COVID-19 cases and positivity rates. Since the October 1, new cases are up 516% and the number of Illinoisans hospitalized with COVID-19 has grown by 235%. While deaths are a lagging indicator, statewide data show that COVID-19 deaths are up 260% and we are now averaging 81 deaths per day.
The members of the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans (IAMHP) collectively serve over 2 million Illinois residents. The state of Illinois has entrusted these health plans with caring for Illinois’ most vulnerable residents and improving the health of families across the state.
For these reasons, IAMHP appreciates the Governor’s leadership and supports his tough decision to implement mitigations efforts to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. We recognize that these decisions were not taken lightly, and they are not without a cost, however, we believe they are necessary to save lives.
The Medicaid Health Plans recognize the economic impacts of COVID-19 have put extreme pressure on the already limited publicly available community-based services. In order to assist with this, health plans invested more than $56 million of their 2020 quality payment with providers and community organizations. Of that $56 million, $27.6 million, nearly 50% of the total, was spent in disproportionately impacted area zip codes across the state of Illinois.
During these challenging times, Medicaid health plans will continue to support their members, provider partners and community-based organizations through community reinvestment projects.
* IARF…
“Today Governor Pritzker announced a series of statewide mitigation efforts to try and bring Illinois’ COVID outbreak under control. As developmental disability and mental health service providers across the state are grappling with the impact of COVID-19 on staff and individuals they serve, we support the Governor and his Administration’s move.”
“A recent study by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine noted that persons with developmental disabilities who contract COVID-19 face a higher risk of dying than other populations. With that in mind, we applaud provider agencies across the state that have done their level best to meet their missions of service and prevent the spread of this virus to-date. Unfortunately, the virus has spread rapidly in the past several days and the challenges of meeting our shared goals of maintaining health, safety, and community integration have escalated substantially.”
“The Illinois Department of Human Services sent out further information/guidance late today, which is under review by our team. As we all work diligently to mitigate the spread of this virus, we hope the resources that have been provided to the social safety net so far to ensure providers have the tools and quality staff they need can be maintained – they continue to be needed.”
“IARF stands with efforts to alleviate COVID infection rates and reduce the burden on our decimated health care system. The Governor’s measures are necessary to stem the tide, and all of us must do our part. If we do not, more people will needlessly die. We should all know the drill by now: stay at home if you can, maintain social distance and wear a mask if you cannot.”
* IAC…
llinois Action for Children supports Governor Pritzker’s difficult but necessary decision to issue the order for some nonessential businesses in Illinois to close and/or reduce capacity as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to rise exponentially throughout our state. The order also asks all people who can work from home to do so for the duration of these Tier 3 mitigations.
From the beginning, the Pritzker Administration has taken a science- and public health-based approach to the COVID-19 crisis. This order announced today is the next step in that approach, as it is necessary to stop the uncontrolled spread of the virus throughout our state.
Child care is deemed an essential business in this order, as workers for other essential businesses that must continue to operate—grocery stores, essential retail, health care, teachers, among others—will still need access to child care to support the community and fight this pandemic.
Early childhood programs and the child care workforce will need additional support to meet their community’s needs during this time—this includes financial support for personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and hazard pay for providers who stay open. Additional support is also needed to keep programs afloat while demand for child care diminishes during this order. Providers and caregivers should have flexibility to decide if they can remain open or shut down as community spread of COVID-19 remains high throughout the holiday season.
We thank the Governor for taking the steps needed to help mitigate the spread and devastation of COVID-19 in an effort to keep our children, families, and communities safe, all while supporting the critical early childhood workforce as they serve essential workers during the pandemic.
* ISMS…
he doctors of the Illinois State Medical Society support Governor J.B. Pritzker’s actions today to hit pause for the sake of protecting our public health.
If no action is taken we are on a trajectory that more people will get sick, deaths will increase and our health care delivery system will quickly become overrun.
We want people to stay healthy and we need to make sure medical care is available for all patients. When health systems are overloaded with COVID-19 patients they can’t treat other emergencies and urgent care needs.
It’s important to note many preplanned medical services and surgical procedures remain available in most settings. Illinois doctors, medical clinics and many hospitals will continue to provide timely care during this challenging time. Doctor’s offices remain open and telehealth can be an option for certain patients and treatments.
As the Governor said, hope is on the horizon with the news of the COVID vaccine trials, but we have a way to go until the treatment is available. We will get through this together. To do so it’s important that we wear masks and avoid gatherings. And if able, stay home!
* IHSA…
“The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recognizes that today’s announcement (November 17, 2020) by Governor Pritzker will temporarily pause the IHSA’s winter sports season. We remain optimistic that these new mitigations, coupled with the emergence of a vaccine, will aid in creating participation opportunities in the New Year for IHSA student-athletes in winter, spring, and summer sports. The IHSA Board of Directors will meet as scheduled on November 19, 2020, to continue plotting out potential paths for IHSA sport and activity participation through the remainder of the school year. Although representatives from the Governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health will be unable to attend the meeting, today’s updated guidance from Governor Pritzker will aid the Board’s decision-making. We have asked Deputy Governor Ruiz and Dr. Ezike to engage with us in the near future, so that we can collaborate on developing a plan to safely conduct IHSA sports and activities as soon as possible. IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic and we hope that non-school programs will hold themselves to the same standard as we all put the long-term health and safety of our fellow citizens ahead of short-term athletic competition.”
* The Affordable Assisted Living Coalition…
“As the association representing Supportive Living Communities for seniors and persons with disabilities throughout Illinois, AALC’s mission is to help residents and their loved ones live with the peace of mind that they have high-quality, affordable health care and safe living environments,” said AALC Executive Director Karin Zosel.
“We know that seniors and people with underlying health conditions are the population most at risk for infection. Therefore, with the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases and positivity rates in every region of the state, we welcome additional steps to protect the health and safety of our Supportive Living Communities.
“With increasing community spread occurring statewide, we must protect both our residents and our staff who are working overtime to keep our residents healthy and safe. We fully support the governor’s mitigation efforts to help curb this virus and prevent future hospitalizations and deaths. We recognize that these are difficult choices, but know they are needed to protect those around us.”
Before I take questions today I want to discuss my personal plans for the Thanksgiving holidays.
I think you all know that I try very hard to keep my high school-aged children out of the spotlight. They were not elected to anything. They did not choose this public life. And I have a reasonable expectation that their privacy will be protected.
I was taken aback by yesterday’s question about my family’s holiday plans, in part because my wife and I were in the process of making the very hard decision that we may need to celebrate Thanksgiving apart from one another for the first time ever, and it was weighing heavily on my mind.
I will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Chicago with our son.
Our state is at a crisis point when it comes to the COVID pandemic. And as leader, I believe that the situation is simply too grave for me to be elsewhere.
My wife and daughter are in Florida, and they will remain there indefinitely. Let me tell you why.
Last week, my daughter came under attack. In an attempt to have some political effect on me, a parody Twitter account posted a picture of a group of individuals eating outside at a Chicago restaurant, supposedly breaking the COVID rules the city put in place. And the person posting the photo claimed one of the people in it was my daughter. That was a lie.
It wasn’t her. But the picture falsely identifying her started making the rounds on social media, helped along by the trolls who permeate these social media platforms these days. My office put out a statement making clear this wasn’t my daughter. But that didn’t stop republican elected officials, a network of propaganda publications in the state and some radio shock jocks from telling people that the picture was of my daughter, despite knowing that this was a lie.
Which lent permission to a slew of strangers who sent hateful, threatening messages to my daughter over the subsequent few days. If that wasn’t bad enough, then a well-known lawyer who cares more about headlines than winning cases posted a bounty on his Facebook page, offering money to harass my family at Thanksgiving [click here]. An actual cash bounty, including my kids, harassing them. My high school-aged kids.
Put yourself in the shoes of a high school girl who is being weaponized against her father by his political opponents. Weaponized with lies.
Put yourself in my shoes. We have threats that stream into my office daily while we have watched the kidnapping plot against the Michigan governor unfold just a state away.
I’m the governor, I was elected to this job and while I don’t think it should come with a fear for my health and safety. I accept that sometimes it does. I’m an adult. And I can handle people throwing my face up on anti-semitic picket signs likening me to Hitler. This kind of vitriol is apparently what I have to deal with to keep the state and its people safe.
But my kids. My kids are off limits.
Among elected officials and people in positions of responsibility. That didn’t use to happen. There was a time in American politics when the rule was sacrosanct: Kids are off limits.
This should not be controversial. So I’m appealing to our collective sense of decency and our fundamental understanding of right and wrong to keep my child out of political disagreements, and to understand that I’m going to fight like hell to protect her privacy.
I ask that you all respect that privacy. I’m willing to make the hard decisions that sometimes brings on vitriol from political opponents, but my children shouldn’t have to come under attack. Just like all of you, I want to be with my family for the holidays. And just like all of you, because of COVID, my family is having to make sacrifices to stay safe.
This is not a political fight. This is a fight to save people’s lives. Let’s remember that as we enter the holiday season.
As always, please pardon any transcription errors.
With a new wave of COVID-19 surging across the state of Illinois, the Midwest and the nation, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced additional COVID-19 resurgence mitigations will take effect in every region across the state in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Tier 3 mitigations build on the Resurgence Mitigation Plan released in July to suppress the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overrun. This latest round of mitigations aims to limit gatherings and encourages residents to stay home as much as possible and follow proper safety measures when out in public. The mitigations carefully balance the paramount goal of saving lives while preserving the option for in-person learning for children and protecting as much of the economy as possible from the continued impacts of the virus.
The Tier 3 resurgence mitigations will take effect statewide at 12:01 am on Friday, November 20, 2020.
“To stop this spread and preserve some semblance of the holidays, all of us need to do more than just wear our masks now – though masks are mandatory throughout the state. The simple fact is that COVID-19 is spreading so quickly and so widely, and our hospitals are beginning to experience real strain and at the current infection rate they will be overwhelmed. So whenever possible, we need you to stay home,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m hopeful that by limiting our in-person interactions, we will succeed at avoiding a stay at home order like what we had in the spring – when the choice between saving lives and saving livelihoods was even more stark. Tier 3 may allow us to do both. Like in other states like Michigan and California and Washington, it’s our best effort to avoid a stay-at-home order and save lives.”
The first tiers of the Resurgence Mitigation Plan initially suppressed the virus and protected the progress Illinois made towards bending the curve during the Spring, while allowing each of the state’s eleven regions to progress through the phases based on local metrics. But with COVID-19 spread now exponential in every region of the state, our statewide positivity rate at record highs and hospitalizations already surpassing our Spring peak, an additional tier of more stringent, statewide mitigations is required to combat the surge and preserve hospital capacity.
“There is no denying that the state is headed in the wrong direction with increased cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “There also is no denying that reducing the opportunities for the virus to spread can reverse our direction. This includes staying home as much as possible, wearing a mask and keeping social distance when we do have to go out, and not gathering with people outside our households. Until a vaccine is widely available and people understand the importance of being vaccinated, we must continue to take preventive actions to stop the transmission of the virus. Right now, our preventive actions are the best way to prevent new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.”
While this latest round of mitigations does not include a stay at home order, if the mitigations are not adhered to and cases continue to rise in the weeks ahead, another order may be required. For all regions, additional mitigation measures taking effect Friday, November 20th include guidance for the following settings and industries:
Retail
Personal Car Services
Health and Fitness Centers
Hotels
Manufacturing
Bars and Restaurants
Meetings and Social Events
Offices
Organized Group Recreational Activities
Indoor Recreation, Theater, Cultural Institutions
As they have since the start of COVID-19, grocery stores across the state will remain open and available. Child care facilities may continue to operate subject to guidelines from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. School districts and officials should continue to follow the extensive guidance released by the Illinois State Board of Education in August to make decisions related to in-person and remote learning at the local level.
To prevent the further spread of COVID-19, Illinois residents are urged to stay home as much as possible and celebrate upcoming holidays with members of their household. Illinoisans over the age of two years are required to wear a face covering when out in public and social distancing is not easily achievable. Anyone exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have been in contact with someone exhibiting symptoms should seek out testing and quarantine at home; anyone who has tested positive for the virus should isolate at home as directed by their physician or local health department.
IDPH will continue to track the positivity rates and hospital capacity metrics in regions over a 14-day monitoring periods to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place. In order for a region to move back to Tier 2 mitigations, a region must experience less than 7-day 12 percent test positivity average for three consecutive days AND greater than 20 percent available intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital bed availability for three consecutive days AND declining 7-day COVID hospitalizations average in 7 out of the last 10 days. Follow the latest regional metrics at: https://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
In response to the rising test positivity rate statewide, the administration continues to strengthen its nation-leading testing operation. Last week, the state reported a record high of 114,370 tests within a 24-hour period, now averaging more than 97,800 tests per day. Although the administration continues to build upon this progress, the state’s rate of growth in positivity is outpacing the growth in testing. It is critical to get tested before developing symptoms, as testing remains free to all Illinois residents and readily available throughout the state. To find a testing center near you, please visit DPH.Illinois.Gov/Testing.
More in a minute.
…Adding… Here are the mitigations. Bars and restaurants…
• All bars and restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
• No indoor service
• All bar and restaurant patrons should be seated at tables outside
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed) • Tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• No tables exceeding 6 people
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table
• Indoor gaming terminals must suspend operations
• Includes private clubs and country clubs
* Health and fitness centers…
• Operate at no more than 25% capacity
• No indoor group classes
• Face coverings must be worn at all times, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing
• Reservations required
• Locker room areas should be closed
* Hotels…
• Hotel room occupancy should be limited to registered guests only, with the maximum allowance being the number of individuals permissible per existing fire code for each applicable guest room
• Fitness centers should be closed, or operated only on a reservation model with capacity limited to 25% of the maximum occupancy for the room
• Grab and go food allowed
• Event and meeting space closed
* Indoor recreation, theaters, cultural institutions (e.g. casinos, bowling, arcades, movie theaters, museums and zoos)…
• Gaming and casinos close
• Indoor recreation centers, including theaters, performing arts centers and indoor
museums and amusement centers, close
• Live streaming of performances encouraged with social distancing of performers and minimum operational staff
• Outdoor activities allowed at 25% capacity or less
• Outdoor group activities limited to 10 persons or less, participants/guests must
wear face coverings at all times
• Reservations required for each guest for outdoor activities
* Manufacturing…
• Additional COVID training for all employees required even if previous training occurred
• Operators should coordinate with IDPH to implement testing protocols and contact tracing, upon request, consistent with available testing supplies
• All employees must wear face coverings at all times unless eating or drinking. Exemptions only for safety purposes.
• Only manufacturing staff and key personnel allowed in facilities. Non-production employees must work remotely. Non-essential staff and visitors are not permitted. Exemptions only for critical equipment repairs, supply deliveries and safety reasons (“critical visitors”).
• All critical visitors must have an Employee Health and Safety (EHS)-approved risk-assessment done in advance, including travel history, tracking, and temperature check prior to entrance.
• Implement additional workstation realignment when feasible
• Stagger and space shifts, and designate shift entrances and exits (when
possible) to minimize interactions of employees across unique shift groupings
• Station sanitation required at beginning and ending of shifts
• Operators must suspend COVID-related incentive pay and promote staying
home when sick or showing symptoms
• Implement temporary leave policies to accommodate workers who are sick
• Develop and implement safety protocols for employee travel vans to promote spacing, require face coverings, temperature checks, air circulation, and vehicle sanitization
* Meetings, social events and gatherings (including weddings, potlucks, etc.)…
• Limit in home gatherings to household members
• Meeting rooms, banquet centers, private party rooms, private clubs and country
clubs may not host gatherings
• No party buses
• Funerals are limited to 10 family members of the decedents, not including staff, see IDPH guidance
* Offices…
• All employees who can work remotely should work remotely
* Organized group recreational activities (sports, indoor sports and activity facilities, etc.)…
• Pause all indoor group sporting and recreational activities including youth and adult recreational sports, individual training may remain (with facility reservation) Includes park districts and travel leagues
• Outdoor sports and recreation allowed
• Participant groups and practices outdoors limited to 10 persons or less with social distancing
• Face coverings required for all activities at all times
• Locker rooms should be closed
* Personal care service…
• Operate at lesser of 25 clients or 25% capacity
• Face coverings must be worn at all times by clients and service providers
• Suspend services where a face covering cannot be worn (e.g. facials, beard
trims)
• Physical, occupational and massage therapy allowed as deemed necessary by a medical provider, but appointments must be spaced by a minimum of 15 minutes and facilities should take steps to sanitize and circulate clean air through service rooms before and after each service
• Virtual consultations recommended
* Retail (including service counters)…
• Operate at no more than 25% capacity, including general merchandise stores, “big box” stores that offer groceries and pharmacy, and convenience stores
• Grocery stores and pharmacies may operate at up to 50% capacity
• Encourage delivery or curbside pickup options wherever possible
• When in-store shopping is necessary, promote efficient trips and consistent circulation
* More…
The provisions above apply to industries/sectors with Restore Illinois Phase 4 guidance or other mitigations. Other functions (i.e. infrastructure, governments, logistics and warehousing, etc.) that previously have not been subject to specific guidance may continue regular operations but are encouraged to voluntarily take proactive steps to support new mitigation strategies wherever possible. In these areas, customer serving functions should be limited to 25% capacity, aligned with retail mitigations, and maximize work from home wherever possible.
IDPH will continue to track the positivity rates and hospital capacity metrics in regions over 14-day monitoring periods to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place. In order for a region to move back to Tier 2 mitigations, a region must experience less than 12% 7-day average test positivity rate for three consecutive days AND greater than 20% available intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital bed availability for three consecutive days AND declining 7-day average COVID hospitalizations for 7 out of the last 10 days.
In one of the most aggressive actions taken to confront the looming crisis, Philadelphia officials on Monday ordered a ban on “indoor gatherings of any size in any location, public or private,” except among individuals who live together. […]
In neighboring New Jersey, one of the hardest-hit states in the early phase of the pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy said he was ordering indoor gatherings of individuals from different households to limit to 10 people, down from 25, while the mandatory cap on outdoor gatherings will be lowered next week to 150 from 500. […]
Under Newsom’s announcement, [California’s] commercial and social restrictions will be tightened starting Tuesday in 40 of the state’s 58 counties, covering the vast majority of its 40 million residents.
The crackdown means no indoor service in bars and restaurants and more restrictions on many other businesses and public gatherings. California is also strengthening its face covering guidance to require individuals to wear a mask whenever outside their home, with limited exceptions, Newsom said.
In Ohio, where daily case tallies have increased by 17% and total hospitalizations by at least 25% in the past week, the state’s health department issued a revised order to limit mass gatherings starting on Tuesday, Governor Mike DeWine announced.
I’ve often noted that Gov. Pritzker has never been the first one to take shutdown actions, going back to March.
* The Question: Do you think that now is the time for Gov. Pritzker to impose additional mitigations statewide? If so, what would you have him do? If not, why not?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 12,601 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 97 additional deaths.
- Bureau County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Cass County: 1 female 80s
- Coles County: 1 female 80s
- Cook County: 1 female 30s, 2 females 60s, 3 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 4 females 90s, 1 male 90s, 1 male 100+
- DuPage County: 1 female 40s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Franklin County: 1 male 80s
- Greene County: 1 female 80s
- Hancock County: 1 male 80s
- Iroquois County: 1 female 70s
- Jefferson County: 1 female 80s
- Jo Daviess County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 100+
- Kane County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- Kankakee County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- Knox County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 40s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Logan County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
- Macon County: 2 males 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Madison County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 female 90s
- Marion County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Morgan County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Ogle County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Peoria County: 1 female 60s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 90s
- Tazewell County: 2 males 70s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s
- Warren County: 1 male 60s
- Wayne County: 1 female 80s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 70s
- Will County: 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
- Williamson County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 597,849 cases, including 10,875 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 94,205 specimens for a total 9,255,658. As of last night, 5,887 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,158 patients were in the ICU and 545 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from November 10 – November 16, 2020 is 12.5%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from November 10 – November 16, 2020 is 14.5%.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Also…
Bad news: Another record high for Illinoisans hospitalized with COVID. (Numbers always reported as of 11:59 p.m. last night).
There are 5,887 COVID patients hospitalized in Illinois.
Of those, 1,158 are in ICU beds (getting close to that spring record).
* Several of my friends live in the South Loop and one of them sent me this grainy video early in the pandemic of people in her neighborhood lifting each others’ spirits by shouting, turning their lights on and off, shooting off fireworks and playing music…
* If you pay attention to the very beginning of the video, you’ll see this building right across the street…
The man in the window with his dog is my friend’s husband. He’s quarantining in a hotel after contracting COVID-19.
Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers joined together in a social media video to encourage everyone across the region to remain safe heading into the holiday season.
“For eight months, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated American families everywhere. To fight this virus, governors across the country have listened to medical experts, stepped up, and worked around the clock to protect our families, the brave men and women on the front lines, and our small business owners. And no matter the action we take, we understand that our fight against COVID-19 will be more effective when we work together,” the governors said. “That is why this group of bipartisan governors is joining forces today to urge families across our region, and Americans everywhere, to do their part to protect themselves and their families from the spread of COVID-19. When it comes to fighting this virus, we are all on the same team.”
Over the past month COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed across the Midwest and medical experts are advising people not to host Thanksgiving with people from outside of their households. Together, the governors each addressed the families in their region on how they can protect their loved ones, the frontline workers, and small businesses owners from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joint Statement of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Jewish United Fund Chicago,
Illini Hillel, Hillel International, Illini Chabad, Arnold & Porter, and
the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Students who choose the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for their college education make that decision with an expectation that they will find the freedom and security to grow, to explore and to express their whole and best selves.
But, sadly, that is not the experience of all members of the student community. Anti-Semitic acts and expressions are all too common in our country and in our world, and examples of that intolerance have occurred at this university as well. This is unacceptable. While the university has taken measures in the past to address this problem, the university must do more.
Over the past several months, and especially over the past few days, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, leaders in the Jewish community and counsel for the Jewish students have engaged in meaningful and productive conversations. While we may not agree on all aspects of these complex and critical issues, we are united in a single view that our shared and common goal must be to support a safe and welcoming environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students at the University of Illinois that is free of discrimination and harassment.
We acknowledge and affirm our shared belief in the rights of all members of the university community to express their viewpoints, identity and lived experiences. Every student should have the opportunity to have a transformative and positive educational experience from the day they arrive to the day they earn their degree. But acts and expressions of anti-Semitism—in any form—actively undermine the educational process and are in direct opposition to our core values.
For many Jewish students, Zionism is an integral part of their identity and their ethnic and ancestral heritage. These students have the right to openly express identification with Israel. The university will safeguard the abilities of these students, as well as all students, to participate in university-sponsored activities free from discrimination and harassment.
We deplore anti-Semitic incidents on campus, including those that demonize or delegitimize Jewish and pro-Israel students or compare them to Nazis. This subjects them to double standards that are not applied to others. All Jewish students, including those who identify with Israel or Jewish campus organizations, should be able to participate in campus activities aimed at fighting racism and achieving social justice.
All Jewish students should be able to proudly display religious emblems without fear of being targeted by their fellow students. All Jewish students should feel confident that if they encounter a swastika on campus, the university stands with them in rejecting symbols of hate. Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at this university. We will stand united against all forms of anti-Semitism.
We agree that our mutual priority must be to continue working together to more rapidly advance clear, concrete and actionable steps to support Jewish students, staff and faculty so their lived experiences match the expectations that brought them to the university in the first place. As a result:
• The university will create an Advisory Council on Jewish and Campus Life that will consist of undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty and alumni, as well as representatives from the Jewish community committed to the principles set forth in this statement. This advisory group will assist the chancellor and university leadership to identify opportunities to enhance the campus environment for all students, faculty and staff, and to advance its commitment to an inclusive community where all feel welcome. The university expects to have the Advisory Council on Jewish and Campus Life in place before the beginning of the Spring 2021 semester.
• As part of its broader and expanding efforts to curb hate and intolerance, and in consultation with the Advisory Council on Jewish and Campus Life, the university will institute focused and regularly recurring educational programming regarding anti-Semitism.
• The university will review, evaluate and, when necessary, revise procedures and practices so they are appropriately aligned with shared values opposing discrimination and harassment on campus, including anti-Semitic actions.
Finally, we emphasize our shared commitment to the values of free speech and academic freedom. Freedom of speech is of paramount importance on a college campus. Also paramount is the university’s commitment to never tolerate harassment or discrimination, including against its Jewish students, and to enforce its nondiscrimination policy to the fullest extent. In this as well as all areas, the university is committed to complying with applicable federal, state and local antidiscrimination laws as a state and federally funded institution.
Though these steps will further our shared goals, they alone will not effectively dispel the environment that many Jewish students have felt to be unwelcoming. Thus, our collective and collaborative efforts will not end with these actions. The university, the undersigned organizations and Jewish students will meet before the end of the semester to discuss additional steps. We will work together to demonstrate that the University of Illinois is a place where people of all faiths, races, gender identities, ethnicities, national origins and viewpoints can live, learn and thrive.
…Adding… Rep. Jonathan Carroll…
This has been an issue for the past few years on UIUC’s campus as well as other schools around the country. I’m glad the school has agreed to take this more seriously, but to be very honest, I’m skeptical that the school will actually follow through. It took a PR campaign and lawsuit to get the school to agree to some changes, but as this story gets older, I’m concerned the school will ignore the blatant acts of anti-Semitism our Jewish students have been facing the last several years. I hope I’m proven wrong.
A Sangamon County judge on Monday ruled Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration has power under state law and the state constitution to issue executive orders that mandate public health measures at schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision, issued by Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow after a roughly two-hour hearing, relates to two lawsuits — Mainer v. Illinois Department of Public Health and Pritzker v. Board of Education of Hutsonville — that arose from Pritzker’s June executive orders regarding schools.
The governor’s executive orders apply to all public and nonpublic schools from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and they allow schools to reopen as long as they follow IDPH public health requirements, which include capping the number of people in gatherings, mandatory face coverings and temperature screenings.
In explaining her decision, Grischow cited her Aug. 18 order in Pritzker v. Board of Education of Hutsonville in which she issued a temporary restraining order requiring the schools to follow the state’s public health guidelines set forth in Pritzker’s executive orders.
“My client disagrees. I disagree,” attorney Tom DeVore tells us. “I don’t think the standard applied by the court was consistent with the law… I think they were more concerned about masks, the use of masks, and other safety precautions versus who has the authority to issue those safety measures. My client believes that is for the legislature and we are going to appeal.
* While this has been expected for some time, it’s just awful seeing it play out in real life….
Political writer and columnist Bernard Schoenburg and statehouse reporter Doug Finke have accepted buyouts and will be departing the paper on Dec. 1. Finke has worked at the SJ-R since the 1970s; Schoenburg’s first byline appeared in the paper in 1990.
Their departures will leave the daily newspaper with two news reporters and an equal number of sports reporters, presuming Finke and Schoenburg are not replaced before their departures and current staff isn’t reassigned. The paper, which has no fulltime courts reporter or police reporter or city hall reporter or education reporter, has posted jobs for a statehouse/politics reporter as well as a cultural, diversity and inclusion reporter who will “focus coverage on culture, diversity and inclusion trends across central Illinois,” according to a job listing posted by Gannett, the SJ-R’s parent company.
Gannett is under heavy financial pressure. Stock in the company was trading at more than $6.50 a share when GateHouse Media, which had owned the SJ-R since 2007, bought Gannett in 2019 and dropped the GateHouse name. The stock closed today at $1.74 per share. A $1.8 billion loan from Apollo Capital Management, a private equity firm that financed the GateHouse-Gannett deal, that came with an 11.5% interest rate is due in 2024.
The company is over-leveraged and has completely lost sight of its news mission.
* Hello again! Please keep it Illinois-centric and be polite to each other. Many kind thanks…
Caught the touch and go training from SPI flying through the scene of Abraham Lincoln sculpture being removed from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum pic.twitter.com/HlMt34z9ds
