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QuadCities.com: Illinois Gov. Pritzker Doubles Down On Mask Mandate And Covid Restrictions; When Will They End?
As Illinois covid numbers continue to improve, pressure is mounting for Gov. JB Pritzker to remove the covid-19 restrictions and mask mandate which has been in place since August, but yesterday in a press conference Pritzker renewed the mask mandate and said it was still “way too early” to remove it.
“If you go look at the hospitalizations — the new hospitalizations, as well as the ones that are, you know, existing in total — they are not dropping at the rate that they were dropping even a couple of weeks ago,” Pritzker said. “So I’m concerned about that.”
Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker spends $7 million in ads in early reelection push as GOP rivals try to stockpile cash
Since announcing his reelection bid in July, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has spent nearly $7 million in advertising, a sign of what confronts the four announced prospective Republican challengers seeking to take on the billionaire incumbent in next year’s election.
Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, spent more than $8.2 million from July through September, campaign finance reports showed. The first-term Democrat, who spent $171 million of his own money to defeat one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018, is again self-funding his campaign and had nearly $24.7 million available in his campaign fund at the start of October.
NBC Chicago: The Debate Over Illinois' Pursuit for Criminal Justice Reform
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a “landmark” criminal justice and police reforms bill into law earlier this year, bringing an end to cash bail in Illinois and implementing new “police accountability” protocols.
But how will the reforms effect Chicago’s longstanding violence problem – if at all?
Politico Illinois: Illinois Democrats agonize over how much to gerrymander
Illinois Democrats unveiled a draft congressional map Friday that would bury the GOP: The proposed lines could give them control of 14 of the state’s 17 House seats.
But privately, some national Democrats felt even that didn’t go far enough. So late Friday night, they floated an alternative map that was even more aggressive — one that could leave Republicans with just two seats.
ABC 7 Chicago: NAACP files lawsuit against new Illinois legislative map, saying it undermines Black voters
A lawsuit seeks to block new Illinois state legislative district maps, saying Black residents of East St. Louis were unconstitutionally split up into multiple House districts to help white Democratic incumbents in neighboring districts win reelection.
The federal lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of the East St. Louis Branch NAACP, the Illinois State Conference of the NAACP and the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations. It says race played a role in the redistricting of House District 114, which is currently represented by Rep. LaToya Greenwood, who is Black.