The memo from House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff encourages legislators and staffers to be tested for coronavirus and to continue to monitor their health in the coming days. All participants in the legislative session had already been asked to self-isolate for 14 days after the conclusion of the proceedings.

The process to recall a governor in Illinois is a multi-step process. First, an affidavit must be signed by at least 20 state House Representatives and 10 state Senators – with no more than half in each chamber belonging to a single political party. Then, the affidavit would be filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Some of the affected patients avoided hospitals or doctors’ offices due to fears of getting COVID-19; others had trouble getting treatment due to job loss, health insurance loss or disruptions in the health care system, doctors said.

Following is an excerpt from Judge McHaney’s recent ruling in the case of Mainer vs. Pritzker, a lawsuit brought by an Illinois small business owner against the Governor’s stay-at-home order.

Mendoza said, “The General Assembly appropriated no money for legislative COLAs, so lawmakers will be paid the same amount as last year.”

Jim Dey: “Wilhour announced the formation of his group May 21, identifying 20 of the 44 House Republicans as members. But four members…dropped out after Republican Leader Jim Durkin expressed concerns about a new caucus within his caucus.”

“Just as there is a state law prohibiting booze in the statehouse, there is a provision in the state constitution requiring a balanced budget. Admittedly, it is vaguely written and lacks any enforcement provision. But the rule is still there. And widely ignored.”

From former state representative and current candidate for Congress Jeanne Ives: “True in 2013 when I wrote it, still true today: ‘There are no quick fixes, diet pills or miracle creams to solve the problem. Major reform, like weight loss, requires commitment, hard work and true lifestyle changes.'”

“Besides being dangerous, this conclusion is flawed as a matter of law, conflicts with three recent decisions upholding the Governor’s authority against nearly identical challenges, and is belied by the longstanding practice of numerous governors,” the attorney general’s office wrote.

“People that were qualified to buy and qualified to refinance were pushed to go ahead and act because when is the last time you saw a 30-year fixed rate at 3 percent or less?” one loan officer said.

“We are not getting the backing of the public health department in regards with enforcement, that’s a big issue,” Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said Tuesday. “When you have a restaurant open up … that’s why we took action. We all know this is a health pandemic. The police department have their hands full especially when they don’t have the backing of the health department that they should get.”

Administrators have to plan in case buildings remain closed in the fall, which means additional costs to improve remote learning. But they’re also planning out safety measures if buildings do reopen. “Do we need to do plexiglass around our desks?” asked ISBE Vice Chair Donna Leak at last week’s board meeting. “Do we need to budget for partitions to turn multi-purpose spaces into classroom spaces, so we can actually socially distance in an in-person learning environment?”

The guidelines are just suggestions, though, and states don’t have to meet them to start reopening — in fact, many states have already started reopening despite not meeting the criteria. There have been mixed results as states reopen: Some that flung open the doors, like Wisconsin, are now seeing an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases.

All facilities across the state will only be serving new drivers, people with expired IDs and vehicle transactions until July 31.

IDES says fraud is part of all employment of systems and recognizes it can be particularly egregious during trying times. Asked how many fraud claims have been filed and investigated in Illinois, a spokesperson said that information isn’t readily available, but says it is focused on increased productivity, processing claims, and paying benefits as quickly as possible.

The state’s 2021 budget, now headed to Gov. J. B. Pritzker’s (D.) desk, is written with the expectation that the $3.5 billion the state received under the CARES Act will be freed up for general spending. That would require Congress to change limitations on those funds, which currently can only be spent on expenses directly related to coronavirus—not general fiscal costs.

An actuary’s perspective.

Comment: The White House/CDC guidelines this article references are widely ignored because they are illogical on their face for reasons we wrote here.