Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Day after judge declares his executive orders void, Gov. J.B. Pritzker urges restaurants, bars to keep following safety guidelines
A day after a southern Illinois judge ruled that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus are void, the Democratic governor and the state’s top health official are urging restaurants and bars and their customers to continue following safety guidelines heading into the Fourth of July weekend.
“The virus is not taking the holiday weekend off, and neither can we. Letting our guard down now would fly in the face of the progress we’ve made over many months,” Pritzker said in a statement Friday. “We have seen that mitigation measures have worked in our state and we’ve seen too many other states rapidly lose ground in the fight against the virus.”
Capitol News Illinois: Reach of downstate judge’s Thursday ruling unclear
An order Thursday by a downstate judge nullifying each of the COVID-19-related executive orders issued by Gov. JB Pritkzer the past three months is quickly causing friction between the state and a Republican lawmaker.
Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney also expanded his ruling beyond Xenia Republican Rep. Darren Bailey, who filed a lawsuit at the end of April alleging the governor overstepped his authority. That case, as filed, would lift public health-related restrictions for only the representative.
WBEZ: Covid-19 cases are on the rise in some parts of Illinois. This worries experts.
Illinois’ declining number of positive COVID-19 cases has started flattening over the past week in some areas of the state, while other areas are starting to see a slight uptick, according to two epidemiologists in Chicago.
“Though it’s still tentative … the slowdown has really stopped, and we’re getting a little bit more of a flattening potentially, and a bit of an uptick,” said Sarah Cobey, an epidemiologist at the University of Chicago.
The Center Square: Officials issue warning on illegal fireworks as complaints surge
Municipalities across Illinois have canceled Fourth of July fireworks displays because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but officials warn against putting on your own Independence Day show.
“Firework complaints have gone up nationwide,” Stan Taylor, division chief of the Peoria Fire Department, said. “I think people are bored. They want something to do. And fireworks are an easy outlet.”
Chicago Tribune: Chicago will rely largely on signs along highways and at airports as it orders self-quarantine for people who visit states where COVID-19 is surging
Chicago health officials said Friday they have no plan for enforcing the city’s abrupt quarantine order for people arriving from states where coronavirus cases are surging, but will rely largely on signs posted along highways and at the two airports.
“We do not have a plan to, for example, look for out-of-state license plates and pull people over,” the city’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said at a news conference. “We do not have a plan to create a list of individuals who are traveling and try to track them down.”
WBEZ: Chicago's health commissioner says police won't enforce new self-quarantine order for travelers
An order that requires Chicagoans and visitors to self-quarantine if they came from a state with a large COVID-19 outbreak is more of an expectation than a threat, Commissioner of Public Health Allison Arwady said Friday.
The order, which was announced via a tweet from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday afternoon, says violators could be fined between $100 and $500 per day, up to $7,000. It goes into effect on Monday, when many Chicagoans will be returning to the city after a long weekend.
Chicago Tribune: Nearly 60 Chicago street vendors get $500 relief check from grassroots emergency fund: ‘Thanks to their own community’
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Petra De La Rosa was forced to close her small restaurant in Back of The Yards. And with that, any possibilities of continuing to sell her Mexico City-style quesadillas on the streets of Chicago and at Chicago festivals disappeared.
She searched for help, “Everywhere,” she recalled.
Northwest Herald: Judge finds Algonquin Township Road District violated Illinois Public Labor Relations Act
An administrative law judge found that the Algonquin Township Road District violated the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act when it repudiated its collective bargaining agreement with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
The road district repudiated this collective bargaining agreement with the union because of three grievances it filed.