The Trump administration extended its social distancing guidelines through April 30 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to slow the spread, but some want to slowly restart the economy.… MORE
Category Archives: Politics
County board extends McLean County’s emergency declaration
The McLean County Board is extending its emergency declaration to last until the third week of April.… MORE
Fitch says Illinois was vulnerable before COVID crisis, federal bailout won’t negate lost economic activity
Analysts with Fitch Ratings said the federal stimulus plan will help state and local governments, but it won’t replace lost revenue from the economic downturn.… MORE
President Trump approves Gov. Pritzker’s request for disaster declaration
Gov. JB Pritzker brought what he considered good news to his daily coronavirus briefing Thursday: President Trump has approved his request for a disaster declaration.… MORE
Lightfoot calls for Census postponement amid COVID-19 outbreak
With Illinois under a stay-at-home order and the city of Chicago at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the U.S. Census should be postponed… MORE
Illinois unemployment applications see record spike in first week of COVID-19 shutdowns
Unemployment claims in Illinois for the week ending March 21 jumped ten-fold from the previous week as employers and employees continue to feel the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.… MORE
U of I employment professor: “There is no playbook” for who is classified as a essential worker
Police and fire professionals are one thing, but a person taking a minimum-wage job at a grocery store probably is not signing up for a run to danger.… MORE
COVID-19 hits Illinois prisons
The coronavirus crisis has hit Illinois prisons.… MORE
Pritzker says essential employees don’t need papers to travel
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said essential employees do not need documentation of their employment status to travel to and from work. … MORE
Memorial Health professional advises virtual watch parties to stay connected with friends
Isolation can get you down. And Springfield behavioral health professional Diana Knaebe says it can hit the gregarious the hardest.… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…