The Illinois National Guard will hand over operations of 11 state-run testing sites to civilian contractors this month.

“COVID-19 was at least a dress rehearsal for how state politicians will handle the crisis when it inevitably comes. The way politicians in Illinois responded — by asking Congress for $10 billion in pension funding as part of a more than $40 billion bailout request — should serve as a warning for taxpayers across the nation.”

“The governor also missed the chance to cut state expenses in ways that might have given voters confidence in his ability to pare expenses — possibly easing voter fears about future middle-income tax hikes.”

Applicants for jobless benefits have grown so frustrated with the system in Illinois that they have shown up at closed-to-the-public state offices and confronted employees walking in or out of the offices. The governor’s office in turn has spent millions to hire outside contractors and temporary staff to help process claims.

“In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker just signed a budget that increases spending by $2.4 billion over last year and relies on $5 billion from a nonexistent federal bailout to partially close a $6 billion deficit. Ironically, this continued disregard for basic fiscal responsibility shows why Illinois stands as the best single argument against state bailouts.”

“We started with the ideas, you know, does the science and the data allow us to send kids back to school and if so in what manner,” Pritzker said. “That’s why I was so frustrated to see the president just sort of pronounce that ‘well everyone should open their schools.'”

In May, when the General Assembly met in Springfield for a truncated special session, legislators approved a budget plan that specified how those funds were to be disbursed by several entities: the Departments of Commerce and Economic Development, Revenue, Human Services and Healthcare and Family Services, as well as the Emergency Management Agency.

At the same time, however, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a sharp increase in first-time claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the federally-funded program for independent contractors and others who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment insurance. Initial filings under that program rose 31 percent to 42,785.

Madigan wants to immediately cover up the portrait of Lincoln’s former rival and eventually replace it with one of Barack Obama.

Jim Dey: “The national and state economy is slowly being opened, too fast for some and too slow for others. But further progress is not guaranteed because, Varner said, ‘threats associated with the COVID-19 pandemic continue to weigh on the economy.'”

Nearly 1 in 3 Illinoisans age 16-19 would have a job if not for the pandemic and associated lockdown measures. Additionally this summer, Illinois’ minimum wage became the highest among neighboring states at $10 an hour. States with lower minimum wages can more easily afford to keep their teens working, regardless of pandemic restrictions.

She was contacted by Brian Troyer, dean of undergraduate admissions at Marquette, who she said told her her acceptance to the school was far from certain.

“[He] had the heart to tell me I wasn’t a student,” Pfefferle said. “This means that my classification is still in limbo and is currently being decided by the administration. I have been accepted, I paid for my housing, I have my roommates, I even have a complete class schedule. If that

The school further explains that “this workshop is not a debate: This is not a platform for debating the existence of white privilege or white supremacy,” says the description. “It is assumed that participants already acknowledge these concepts, though they will be reviewed and defined in accessible terms.”

Columnist Jane the Actuary cites Wirepoints’ analysis in her report, “(T)he question of how Illinois… will fare is not a matter of actuarial analysis — it’s a matter of political will. And all the good proclamations of, say, a Governor Pritzker, are at risk of wilting once the commitment to pension funding requires more than the hope of federal cash but instead genuine fiscal discipline, hard choices, and upsetting voting blocs.”

“Keep in mind that Tammy Duckworth is not a child, at least not technically — she is a sitting United States senator, who is often described as a hero,” he said. “Yet Duckworth is too afraid to defend her own statements on a cable TV show. What a coward.”