Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Pritzker says administration sent COVID-19 patients from hospitals back to nursing homes ‘after they recovered’
With more than half of Illinois’ COVID-19 deaths from nursing homes, totaling around 3,400, at least one person is calling for an investigation into how Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration directed nursing homes to accept patients that were once hospitalized for the respiratory illness.
The latest death toll in long-term care facilities the Illinois Department of Public Health reported was 3,433. There have been 6,485 total deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Illinois. That’s around 53 percent of Illinois’ COVID-19 deaths being reported from nursing homes.
The Center Square: Local election officials prepare for vote by mail expansion
Illinoisans who cast ballots in elections since 2018 will automatically be sent an application for a vote-by-mail ballot for the November election, and it’s gonna cost county clerks more to do it.
The governor signed the bill this week. He said during the COVID-19 pandemic the expanded vote-by-mail program will allow more people to exercise the right to vote from the safety of their homes.
Capitol News Illinois: Pritzker announces $900 million in rent support, business relief, other programs
Gov. JB Pritzker announced Wednesday he will extend a moratorium on evictions in the state until July 31, and a new state grant program that will begin in August to give assistance to those who are behind on rent.
There will be $150 million dedicated to each an emergency rental assistance and emergency mortgage assistance program, which will begin in August. Those were two of several programs totaling $900 million in state aid that were highlighted in a Chicago news conference by Pritzker and legislative leaders.
Chicago Sun-Times: Plan to spend $1.1 billion windfall of federal stimulus money passes City Council
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to spend a $1.1 billion infusion of federal stimulus funds without providing the guarantee some aldermen demanded that not a penny of the $333 million in “discretionary” funding be spent on policing.
Eleven aldermen, including all six members of the Socialist Caucus, sent a letter to the mayor this week demanding that commitment.
Chicago Reporter: Chicago Police arrested more people for protesting than looting in early days of unrest, contradicting city claims
New data released by the Chicago Police Department from the weekend following the death of George Floyd shows that just 20% of arrests during the first few days of unrest were for looting-related crimes, contradicting earlier claims by CPD that looting made up the majority of arrests that weekend.
Most of the 1,052 arrests were actually for protest-related charges. CPD provided the updated figures after the Reporter shared an analysis of arrest records that called CPD’s numbers into question. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and top brass have claimed that CPD appropriately addressed the violence that weekend.
Northwest Herald: Illinois school guidance will require masks, 'strongly encourages' in-person class
The Illinois State Board of Education’s forthcoming guidance regarding school this fall “strongly encourages full in-person instruction,” ISBE Chief Education Officer Dr. Ernesto Matias said during ISBE’s board meeting Wednesday.
State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala said that face masks or face shields “are required at all times with students and staff.”
The Center Square: Pritzker announces $900 million community, business grant programs
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced a $900 million package of state grant programs to support communities and small businesses impacted by the pandemic and civil unrest.
The package includes emergency rental and mortgage programs totaling $300 million for Illinoisans who are having trouble making payments.
Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago Police union asks consent-decree judge to help in fight with city over 12-hour shifts
Chicago’s police union wants a federal judge to force the city to give its officers more time to rest while seeking help from other police departments — or even the Illinois National Guard — rather than continue to force its officers to work consecutive 12-hour shifts.
Following up on a promise earlier this week to go to court over the long work hours, the Fraternal Order of Police on Wednesday took its complaint to U.S. District Judge Robert Dow, the judge who oversees the consent decree meant to govern police reform in Chicago.
Chicago Tribune: Metra says coronavirus will cost it $605 million in lost revenues — $70 million more than expected — through 2021
Metra said Wednesday that because of the coronavirus it expects to lose $70 million more through 2021 than it originally projected.
The commuter railroad, which is heavily dependent on passengers going to and from work, has seen ridership drops of as much as 97% as a result of the pandemic and the state’s stay-at-home order. While ridership has crept up in recent weeks, officials say the railroad continues to suffer heavy shortfalls in both ticket sales and regional sales tax revenues, which help pay for transit.
Crain's Chicago Business: Chicago could yank tax breaks from bad corporate actors under proposed ordinance
Ald. Mike Rodriguez, whose ward includes the plant slated to transform into a distribution center from Hilco Redevelopment Partners, has introduced a framework to revoke city-endorsed tax breaks if companies fail to meet certain requirements.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago cops-out-of-schools plan potentially blocked by Mayor Lori Lightfoot ally
A proposal to force Chicago police out of Chicago Public Schools faces longer odds of getting City Council approval after an alderman used a parliamentary maneuver on Wednesday to move it out of the committee its sponsor wanted.
South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer wanted his ordinance to end the $33 million deal between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department to station officers in schools to go to the council’s Public Safety Committee.
Crain's Chicago Business: Big tax hikes? Cook County landlords can find out today.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas today posted the final 2020 tax bills for county property owners, news that will be received with outrage, resignation or relief by many commercial landlords. Some will face major increases, confirming their belief that Kaegi is determined to use the assessment process to heap more of the county’s tax burden onto them. Others will pay more, but—with the help of their property tax appeals attorneys—not nearly as much as they were expecting.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago’s cocktails-to-go measure gets the go-ahead
It’s not exactly quaffing hurricanes on Bourbon Street, but Chicagoans can now legally carry away cocktails from local bars as the City Council followed the state’s lead in trying to give taverns another source of revenue to weather the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the law the council approved Wednesday, bars and restaurants can offer delivery and pickup of cocktails in sealed and labeled containers with tamper-proof seals or caps. The drinks cannot be delivered via third-party delivery services such as Grubhub.