Pritzker: “Are we better prepared (than in the spring)? We sure are. That doesn't mean that we can stop the virus. It means that ... we at least can diagnose people, we can make sure that people have PPE and especially masks.”
GOP leaders argue that there is scant evidence that bars and restaurants — which will be closed to indoor service in eight of the state’s 11 regions by the end of the week — are a significant source of COVID-19 spread.
63 deaths statewide include Ford County man in 90s ... Seven-day positivity rates hold in Champaign County (0.5%), Region 6 (7.3%), on UI campus (0.2%). State rate jumps from 5.6% to 6.1% ... Rise in Rantoul cases linked to 69-case outbreak at Lincoln's Challenge Academy ... In Champaign County, hospitalizations unchanged (7), active cases down five (301), recovered up 51 (5,523), close contacts in quarantine up 35 (1,082).
New positive tests in Rantoul schools: students at Pleasant Acres & Northview; employee at Eastlawn; teacher at Broadmeadow ... 7-day rates hold in Champaign County (0.5%), on UI campus (0.2%) ... State rate now at 5.3% after 4,245-case Sunday ... Vermilion adds 15 cases; 9 county residents hospitalized ... String of record new case totals ends at 3 days in Douglas.
Governor: “Remember, nothing really has changed in terms of the effect of COVID-19 and its effect on the economy, its effect on people's jobs, and their ability or inability to pay rent or mortgage."
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Despite a temporary rule that extends the expiration dates for Firearm Owners Identification cards and concealed carry permits, many Illinois gun owners are still finding it difficult to buy weapons and ammunition.
During a hearing, Assistant AG Darren Kinkead argued that all of the cases should be dismissed because the state’s Emergency Management Act gives the governor broad authority to act proactively in order to prevent the spread of a disease.
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is drawing attention to national and statewide health disparities between Black and White Americans in an effort to educate fellow lawmakers and build consensus for action ahead of the fall veto session.
State officials announce they are lifting the enhanced restrictions that have been in place for more than a month in the Metro East region after the area’s COVID-19 test positivity rate fell below 6 percent.
The top Republican in House calles for Dems, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, to either demand that Michael Madigan answer questions before a special investigating committee or resign immediately.
Many people also slowed down on buying lottery tickets, according to a new report which said tax revenues generated through legalized gambling fell 13.4%, or about $200 million, compared to the previous fiscal year.
This week's lineup: Allison Semmes on Ollie Watts Davis; Carol Marin on Joe Wenzel; Michael Kelly on Heywood ‘Woody’ Sanders; Roxanne Decyk on Emily Watts; Carol Ross Barney on Jack Baker; Grace Hou-Ovnik on Louis Liebovich; Amber McReynolds on Brian Gaines; Scott Atlas on Gilbert Haight; Susan Avery on Marvin Geller; and Arielle Gross Samuels on Paul Braun.
Active cases down in all three Champaign ZIP codes — by 36 in 61820, 7 in both 61821 and 61822 — while hospitalizations (six) and seven-day positivity rate (0.5%) both hold ... 3 of Piatt County's 4 new cases in Monticello ... State report: 51,656 tests, 1,453 cases, 17 deaths.
“If you ask people in neighborhoods that have been historically and systematically disinvested, what they want are the amenities that we all want. ... They want to be able to walk in their neighborhood, they want their property values to go up."
Speaker Michael Madigan “didn’t say he would try. He said he would. Let’s not water down his statement, or the statement of the Senate president or the governor," says Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Chair Kimberly Lightford.
The longest-serving state legislative speaker in U.S. history will have a challenger from his own party in January — Rep. Stephanie Kifowit. "It is clear to me that (Michael Madigan) doesn’t hold the same values that I do," she said Thursday.
Awais Vaid, deputy administrator at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, told The News-Gazette that “we don’t completely agree” with the move to exclude Champaign County data, “but we definitely understand (IDPH's) dilemma.”
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday in Champaign County, 3,008 early votes had been cast in person, with another 25,000 vote-by-mail ballots set to hit local mailboxes early next week, County Clerk Aaron Ammons tells The News-Gazette.
“Speaker Michael Madigan abused his office. Speaker Michael Madigan abused the public's trust," House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said during a heated opening to Tuesday's meeting.
The northwest region of Illinois could be two days away from triggering increased mitigations from the state to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In a two-and-a-half-page letter, Madigan called the committee “a political stunt” being orchestrated by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and said the ongoing federal criminal investigation “is more important than Mr. Durkin’s political theatrics.”
Bloomington had the lowest unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, which was an increase from 3.8 percent a year ago, followed by C-U, which increased to 7.4 percent from 3.9 percent.
Illinois Senate Republicans unveiled a package of ethics proposals Thursday which they say is targeted to stop the type of corruption that has led to the indictment of four legislative Democrats in recent months.
Advocates see the measure as a way to expand access to early-childhood education, especially among Black and low-income families.
“I deeply regret the comments I made about Ken Mejia-Beal, and reached out to apologize to him this morning. These comments do not reflect my heart or my faith,” freshman state Rep. Amy Grant, R-Wheaton, wrote in a statement.
The return of Big Ten football will come with strict medical protocols that will include daily COVID-19 testing for athletes and team staff and a 21-day isolation period for athletes testing positive.
That makes seven straight days that the UI's daily rate has been 0.5% or lower. ... Five Champaign County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, up from one a day earlier. None of the five cases involve someone from campus, CU Public Health's Awais Vaid tells our Ben Zigterman. ... C-U's emergency orders banning indoor dining near campus were both be allowed to expire at 5 p.m.
“Decades of unsuccessful sentencing laws have done nothing to reduce gun violence and are rooted in a history of racist ‘tough-on-crime’ safety policies. There is nothing prideful or righteous about clinging to failure."
The Democratic chairman and ranking Republican on a special legislative committee say they are awaiting further guidance from federal prosecutors about how far they can go in questioning witnesses and calling for documents.
Child welfare officials in Illinois told a panel of state lawmakers Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered but not completely prevented their efforts to monitor children at risk of abuse or neglect.
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