Experts say the pandemic could lead to lasting gains in employee benefits and safety protections. It also could embolden union organizing efforts and drive greater support for nationwide paid sick leave. Already, one hurdle has been cleared: The public is more aware than ever that low-wage workers are the backbone of the economy.

The governor said. “… Generations of systemic disadvantages in health care delivery and in health care access in communities of color, and black communities, in particular, are now amplified in this crisis.”

“In the last recession, we had states increasing taxes and cutting expenditures during the recession itself, which definitely lengthened the recession and made the results worse,” University of Illinois Springfield Professor Kenneth Kriz said.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Illinois now has 17,887 confirmed cases in 83 counties, and 596 total deaths. She said that includes “alarmingly high rates of COVID-19 in the black population.”

The state says it plans to take charge Friday of the federal testing sites, including one staffed by the Illinois National Guard on Chicago’s Northwest Side and another in Bloomington. There are also a few testing sites on Walmart properties that were privately managed under federal contracts, and the state is working to ensure those stay open as well, officials said.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of six Illinois voters, who are finding it hard to collect signatures during the pandemic, saying the state’s petition requirements ”unduly burden and violate Plaintiffs’ rights to petition and speech.”

A U of I report released today estimates a $1.9 billion reduction in state revenue in 2020 as the best-case scenario. If the recession that’s underway mimics the Great Recession of 2008-09, the decrease will be more like $3.2 billion. The worst-case scenario projects a $6.4 billion hit—just in this calendar year.

A recession mirroring the Great Recession is the second-best outcome the task force gloomily foresees. In that case, the four-year hit to the state’s treasury would be nearly $13 billion. A “moderate severity” pandemic would reduce revenues by $17.6 billion over the period. A “severe”

It could be months before the IDES website is modified to allow these workers to apply, Illinois Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady wrote in a letter April 8 to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. He noted these workers make up 18 percent of Illinois’ workforce.

“There’s no reason in the world that government bodies and the media — and others who formally request public information — can’t continue to resolve FOIA disputes informally, as they have always done. It’s a matter for honest dialogue, not anti-democratic rule changes.”

So how are we going to get through this time when people need government more than ever, but government has less money than ever? We’re going to borrow and beg.