Get the latest news headlines from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Pushing the needle? Even with dwindling demand, 60% of Illinois residents got at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot
More than 60% of Illinois adults have gotten at least one coronavirus vaccine dose so far, public health officials announced Wednesday.
The state crossed that threshold almost five months after the first shot was injected in mid-December. Almost 9.6 million doses have been doled out across Illinois since then, with 4.2 million people now fully vaccinated — nearly a third of the population.
Fox 32 Chicago: Almost half of working mothers in Illinois have lost jobs, hours during COVID: survey
A new survey of working mothers in Illinois found that nearly half of them have felt the financial crunch of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study, which surveyed over 1,000 working mothers, was conducted by the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.
The Takeout: Illinois looks to bar third-party delivery companies from listing restaurants without their permission
It’s a known fact that third-party delivery apps like UberEats, Grubhub, and DoorDash, have been adding restaurants into their listings without getting the business’ permission. Grubhub has gone as far as creating unauthorized websites for restaurants that display their menus and then taking orders without their knowledge—even if the restaurants don’t offer delivery.
Eater Chicago documented a case of this happening with acclaimed local restaurant Parachute last year. Chef and co-owner Beverly Kim took matters into her own hands when she made the discovery of the rogue website.
WMBD: Pritzker: Illinois’ on track for Phase 5 by July
If COVID-19 numbers continue to improve in Illinois, Gov. J-B Pritzker says the state is on track to enter Phase Five of the Restore Illinois Plan in July.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced her goal to fully reopen the city by July 4.
Chicago Tribune: Editorial: Is Illinois no longer a deadbeat? Not exactly, but there is good news on the state’s finances.
Good news has been all but nonexistent when it comes to the abysmal state of Illinois’ finances. The state’s pension shortfall stands at a hard-to-fathom $141 billion. Its bond rating continues to hover near junk status. And it was only a few years ago, 2017 to be exact, that Springfield’s backlog of unpaid bills had reached $16.7 billion.
But about that backlog. There’s some welcome news. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza reports that Illinois’ stack of overdue bill payments has been whittled down to $3.4 billion. That’s very close to the amount the state would pay in a 30-day payment cycle. In other words, Illinois is now on track to pay its bills on time — within 30 days of receipt.