Several measures to extend the spending deadline past Dec. 30 are currently pending, including bipartisan legislation in both the House and Senate. Raoul and the attorneys general are urging Congress to pass one of these measures to give states and communities additional time to utilize the precious COVID-relief resources.

Executive Director BRad Cole said, “Simply blaming mayors for rising cases does nothing to address the underlying issues preventing more effective mitigation results, including distrust of state mandates among residents and the need for state and county enforcement of mitigation measures. It is time for the state to work together with mayors, not just point fingers at them, to stem this rising tide.”

“It seems clear Illinois’ economy is not going to come roaring back soon. The University of Illinois Flash Index, a gauge of the state’s economy overseen by Professor J. Fred Giertz, was progressing nicely, but Giertz’s latest report said “progress stalled” in November…That means that Pritzker is left depending on a federal bailout to pay back federal loans, all in the face of an estimated $4 billion budget deficit, $7 billion in unpaid bills and more than $300 billion in unfunded state pension and retiree health insurance obligations.”

Jim Dey: “After his defeat, (Scott) Drury acknowledged his battle with Madigan took a heavy toll but contended that he had ‘fired the shot heard around Illinois: I didn’t vote for Mike Madigan for House speaker.’…The Berlin Wall did not fall in a day. It ultimately did fall, however,’ he said. ‘I am confident we have taken chunks out of that wall.'”

“All of this points to the ongoing need for legislators to be in Springfield; Governor Pritzker, lead. I know that your staff is listening in on this press conference right now so we’re asking you to lead,” said Rep. Terry Bryant.

On November 18, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in the state, behind heart disease and cancer. Between March and October, the governor had said, the virus took more lives than “the next two highest causes, strokes and accidents, combined.”

While the emails from ComEd don’t show Madigan, or even House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, directly emailing ComEd officials about potential job placements, they do show then-Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, directly forwarding, without comment, several prospective job placements to ComEd.

See our own article about this linked here.

National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Mark Grant said Illinois isn’t the worst in the nation, “But that’s no consolation for somebody who has had to close their business and it’s really, really difficult to see this…It’s really heartening to see some of our younger folks, who are just really working hard to get through this, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Each restaurant was fined $1,000 and will have their liquor licenses suspended through the end of the month.

Madigan said during a Saturday morning candidate forum hosted by the House Black Caucus, “Most of us who were there for the Rauner years know how bad it was, how difficult it was. The strong leadership I provided against the Rauner program is the same leadership that I pledge to provide to the caucus on state finances and on redistricting.”