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CHUCK TODD: Governor Pritzker, let me start with you, with happened overnight at O’Hare. And again, you weren’t the only airport, but every major international airport seemed to have a similar situation. Dr. Fauci seemed to say ‘look – that is what’s going to happen when you come back into this country.’ What do you believe should have been done that wasn’t done?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: Well, that’s not right, I mean – I have enormous respect for Dr. Fauci, but that’s just incorrect. We knew when the President gave the orders that European travel back to the United States was going to be cut off that there would be an influx of people, Americans and others, that would come before final cut off. So what should have happened, they should have increased the customs and border patrol numbers and they should have increased the number of CDC personnel on the ground doing those checks. They did neither of those. So last night as people were flooding into O’Hare Airport, they were stuck in a small area, hundreds and hundreds of people, and that’s exactly what you don’t want in this pandemic. So we have that problem. And then today, it’s going to be even worse. There are a larger number of flights with more people coming and they seem completely unprepared.
CHUCK TODD: So you have not gotten any reassurance from customs officials that they are going to have more folks on hand today?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER: Well, here’s what I got. I got a call at about 11 o’clock last night, after that tweet, from a White House staffer who yelled at me about the tweet. That is what I got. Now we’ve been talking to customs and border patrol officials directly on the ground at O’Hare. I’ve been working with the mayor and our senators to make sure that we are getting the federal government to pay attention to this problem because we can’t have it happen all day today.
His tweet thread is here. Harsh.
* Updated statement from the governor’s office…
The Governor has made it clear he believes the federal government needs to step up and put the health and safety of our nation first. Instead of being briefed about possible challenges at our airports, the Governor and other elected officials became aware of major issues at O’Hare on Twitter. Together with the Mayor of Chicago and Senator Dick Durbin the Governor worked to get quick action from the White House.
After the Governor’s tweet and the resulting angry phone call from the White House, this morning the Vice President and the Secretary of Homeland Security each called the Governor to inform him that the Customs and Border Control is increasing staff at O’Hare today. The Governor continues to work closely with Sen. Dick Durbin to communicate our concerns to the federal government. The Governor has no interest in playing politics as we grapple with this crisis, and he will be monitoring the situation at O’Hare throughout the day.
…Adding… Durbin confirms via press release…
On a call with Vice President Mike Pence today, Durbin secured a commitment for increased resources at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
* Mayor Lightfoot went to O’Hare this morning…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the federal government during a news conference Sunday for what she called a lack of preparedness for the rush of international travelers requiring airport screenings upon returning to O’Hare International Airport over the weekend. […]
“That fail is directly the cause of last night’s unacceptable conditions at O’Hare international airport and other airports across the country,” said Lightfoot at a news conference from O’Hare’s Terminal 5, the international terminal of the busiest airport in the world. “Thousands of travelers were forced to wait in exceedingly long lines, congregating in concourses, and putting themselves and their loved ones at greater risk of exposure of COVID-19.”
Pictures circulated on social media depicted dense crowds of international travelers at O’Hare, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommending “social distancing” protocols to help mitigate the spread of the highly contagious virus.
“Then we had 3,000 plus people in the concourses, cheek to jowel, which obviously violates CDC guidance which talks about social distancing,” Lightfoot said.
posted by Rich Miller
Sunday, Mar 15, 20 @ 1:07 pm
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A friend of mine was caught up in this nightmare at O’Hare when she flew back from Europe on Saturday. She was stuck in line for over 4 hours. I’m a little worried because, even though she’s in good health, she is over 70. It’s infuriating because these are the types of situations that would have been easily-avoidable had the nation been properly prepared.
Comment by Bourbon Street Monday, Mar 16, 20 @ 11:25 am