Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday as the parties argued to a standstill over the size and scope of the aid, likely ending hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, issued a short statement late Friday acknowledging Link’s departure but sidestepped any reference to the criminal case against him: “I look forward to welcoming and working with a new senator from Lake County. We’ve got a lot of work to do for the people of Illinois.”

In August, Link was charged in federal court with filing a false income tax return for the year 2016, claiming his income was $264,450 even though he knew his total income “substantially exceeded that amount.” Link is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Said Molly Gleason, spokeswoman for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, “There are lots of laws on the books that aren’t set up to help small businesses try to support local, or even aimed at discouraging it…There are many problems on the books and small businesses are just discovering them.”

State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, highlighted constituents who’ve had a series of problems getting benefits they’re owed. “I have never been critical of the governor for taking the aggressive measures he’s taken in regards to masking and distancing and the closure orders. But seven months in … getting the economy open back up would certainly put people back to work and feed the revenue streams.”

Overall, Illinois is listed as the fifth most affordable state to buy a home, behind Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Michigan. The least affordable state was Hawaii, based on the metrics the website used.

Mark Konkol: “‘We need legislation or an executive order. If it wasn’t for legislation, Blacks would still be on the back of the bus. If it wasn’t for legislation, gays would still be in the closet. You ain’t gotta be Einstein to figure this out,’ he (Pastor Anthony Williams) said.”

“Through contact tracing, we have determined that the vast majority of student cases involve those who live off-campus or who attended off-campus gatherings where masks were not worn and physical distancing was not respected,” the university president wrote to students and parents.

Health officials also said cases connected to schools were beginning to be reported and that community transmission of the virus was on the rise.

A report from Moody’s Investors Service estimates Illinois’ pension liability will spike to $261 billion in 2020, up from $230 billion in the 2019 fiscal year.

“For what it’s worth, we wouldn’t even be having this public pension bailout discussion right now if it weren’t the pigginess of Illinois politicians who made it explicit in their bailout request. We would simply be talking about revenue shortfalls in general, and not necessarily where the money would be spent, if Illinois politicians hadn’t brought it up in the first place.”

Thursday’s vote was split along ideological lines with the court’s four conservative justices voting in favor of placing the delivery of ballots on hold and the three liberals dissenting.

“Under Pritzker’s proposed progressive tax rate structure, a tax hike that would raise enough to make a dent in pensions would cost all Illinoisans 21% more in income taxes. That tax increase would cost the state nearly 128,000 jobs and $21.8 billion in economic output, the (Illinois Policy) Institute’s analysis shows.”

“If you know you are positive,” one professor from the modeling team said, “and you go to a party, that’s not just a bad act. That’s very, very dangerous.”

“We are competing with big corporations for the best employees, and another tax hike would definitely make it more difficult to offer benefits that make us competitive,” said 4th generation family business owner Althea Mottl. Illinois’ small businesses carry much of the state’s tax load already, “I feel like the deck is stacked against us.”

“There’s not a whole lot that tells a kid you don’t matter [more] than keeping a kid locked up in a psychiatric ward for no reason whatsoever other than there’s nowhere to place them for months on end,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said he already received clearance from the attorney’s office to proceed with the hearings, but chairman Chris Welch, D-Chicago, was not swayed. Welch adjourned the committee without setting the next meeting date.

The committee Thursday entered various exhibits, including Durkin’s petition, the deferred prosecution agreement that identifies “Public Official A” as the Speaker of the Illinois House, and a list of witnesses Republicans wants to voluntarily testify, including Madigan and a former ComEd official who was charged with bribery last Friday.

“With regard to what level at which that we would just send every kid back to school, I don’t know what number that should be, but we are a long way from it,” Pritzker said. “There is no region that is even close though.”