Comment: Later this week we will write about why critics of the concept of bankruptcy-for-states are wrong. The topic deserves a full hearing. Our support for it would depend on what the legislation said, and it could take many very different forms.

When asked by The News-Gazette whether he himself would cover his face while in a public indoor space come May 1, he said “no” and further questioned the constitutionality of Pritzker’s order.

Smithfield on Friday announced that it will indefinitely shutter its pork plant in Monmouth, Illinois, after a “small portion” of its 1,700 employees there tested positive for COVID-19. Separately on Friday, the Kane County Health Department ordered the temporary shutdown of Smithfield’s meat processing plant in St. Charles, which employs 325 people, due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission will hold an emergency meeting Monday to withdraw a temporary, emergency rule put in place earlier this month that ensures “first responders and essential front-line workers, who are most susceptible to exposure to COVID-19, are afforded the full protections of the Workers’ Compensation Act in the event they are exposed to or contract the virus.” But Gov. J.B. Pritzker Saturday said that is not an acknowledgement that commissioners overstepped their rulemaking authority, and indicated the commission will in the near future adopt a modified version with a similar goal.

A republication of our Wirepoints article.

Bailing out the Illinois state pension system is the worst idea from a week in which we were discussing the health benefits of mainlining Lysol.

“My preliminary analysis of the Public Pension Database, which collects data on the largest state and local plans in the country, shows that even before the pandemic, such populous cities as Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas, along with at least three other smaller cities, have less than 50 percent of what they need to be able to pay their retirees what’s owed…It might be tempting to blame a global pandemic for the upcoming municipal public pension troubles, but this crisis was brewing for many years.”

“What we’ve learned in that short period of time is that many, many schools are not ready for e-learning but should be,” Pritkzer said. “I think that in the future we’ll be using e-learning more and more, even in the absence of a pandemic, along with in-person learning.”

Some argue the governor’s initial disaster declaration and executive authority ended earlier this month, 30 days from the initial proclamation. Pritzker said the state has issued proclamations back-to-back before during times of floods.

“For leasing office space at a shopping plaza, the state owes Leman almost $36,000. The cause? A bizarre and frustrating ripple effect from the Illinois budget impasse, which ended almost three years ago…But then COVID-19 reared its ugly head. As the office got cleared of employees as a coronavirus precaution, CMS postponed its compliance check, meaning all payments continue to be on hold.”

Rebecca A. Gratsinger, the Springfield-based pension fund’s senior consultant and CEO of RVK, added that the total return of the pension fund might decrease further to -12% when returns of illiquid strategies are factored in.

“And of course, I’m still waiting for IDPH to backfill the data between April 4 to April 13. How did Chicago go from having 16% of ventilators available on April 3 to 55% of ventilators on April 14? If that ever comes over the transom, we’ll add it to the tracker so you have the information, too.”

Comment: This is Rich. Rich Miller is the most deceitful and biased journalist in Illinois, serving as de facto Director of Spin & Communication for public unions and Pritzker.

Pritzker was asked whether that $261 million could be adjusted as part of budget changes. “That’s not something that we’re currently having discussions about,” he answered. He pointed out that the raises are part of state contracts negotiated with workers. Refusing to consider discussions with union leaders to delay the scheduled raises appears tone-deaf to the plight of other Illinoisans struggling just to get by.

Zach Oakley, deputy director of operations for the Chicago Rockford Intentional Airport, said numbers were up 30 percent compared to the same time period last year: “UPS and Amazon are both seeing increased volumes related to the COVID situation. Then with the need to move medical supplies, we’re seeing some more charters as well as some charters for some GM model parts to keep assembly lines going.”

“When asked about budget shortfalls in the current state budget and the need to revise next year’s proposed budget, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker advanced in February, the governor has acknowledged deep holes. But he offers no solutions other than waiting for money from the feds — from federal taxpayers. And there you have it, one of many deeply embedded problems in state government.”

“If a Republican Senate majority leader from Kentucky is willing to squeeze Illinois state pensioners, why would he care about shielding Illinois state taxpayers? The answer is found in the third of the three facts of American fiscal federalism.”

Comment: The memorandum linked in this article is a must-read if you are interested in the question of Governor Pritzker’s authority during this crisis.