The National Guard’s role at the prison is primarily “augmenting that staff that’s been kind of depleted the last several days due to the flu and COVID-19,”

The majority of consumers complained about prices at grocery stores, markets and gas stations statewide.

“This is like changing a tire on a moving car,” said Kevin Lust with the Small Business Development Center at Lincoln Land Community College.

Relief to people and businesses? Stop collecting money and fines from closed businesses and idled workers. The Illinois General Assembly should pass emergency legislation delaying collection of one-half of this year’s business property taxes for local governments to prevent businesses from going under. The state should also follow Chicago’s lead and delay or cancel fines, fees and late penalties for non-safety violations.

“Good thing it was so prudent. Other states? Not so much. For instance, Illinois suffers chronic budget deficits and had a roughly $137 billion unfunded pension liability at the end of fiscal year 2019.”

A new survey of the state’s leading 147 community-based organizations found that their estimated Medicaid billing to the state will plummet by $6,315,146 by the end of March and that their non-Medicaid billing will swoon by $800,983.

The deadline to pass the state budget is May 30. State Sen. Dave Koehler says that deadline is arbitrary and will get pushed back if needed.

“Additionally, we are calling on Gov. Pritzker and our colleagues in the House and the Senate to suspend the upcoming vote on the progressive income tax ballot question. The last thing our businesses need is a massive tax increase after being shut down through no fault of their own.”

The governor said more federal dollars would be needed, not just for the state’s unemployment fund, but other budgets.

The industry could still have a good third quarter, but there are several factors – from such events taking months to plan to the uncertainty of when the government will lift restrictions on crowd sizes.

Illinois Retail Merchants Association President and CEO Rob Carr said that price increases are not always the result of actions taken by retailers; suppliers may also be at fault.

“We were having a great year, and then … March,” the publisher said. “Advertising and revenue collection just stopped.”

There are more than 300 Illinois National Guard members working to help respond to the COVID-19 emergency, assisting local officials in Chicago and throughout the state.

The Elgin site will be an “alternate care facility,” just like McCormick Place will be in Chicago, meaning they would receive patients transferred from existing hospitals. Once the construction work is done, the state will supply equipment, staffing and administration of the hospital sites.

This review of information at the local level offers clues to how the pandemic is affecting different parts of the region.

“David Harris, the state’s revenue director, urges residents to ‘file their tax returns as quickly as possible’ so they can collect their refunds. Here’s a better alternative: Those who are owed money should take their time. Those who owe money should pick up the pace. Illinois needs a financial break if it’s going to be able to keep the lights on.”

Currently, just under 40 percent of Illinois households have filled out the census, mostly online. In Illinois, this year’s count is especially important because the state stands to lose up to two congressional seats and billions of federal dollars for Medicaid, food stamps, roads, bridges, and education.