“While sectors of the state workforce have been extra busy due to COVID-19’s strain on unemployment benefits and health care systems, many state offices and agencies have been closed, services backlogged and workers learning to perform their jobs from home. Taking unpaid furlough days should not be a big “ask” compared with what the private sector has endured under Pritzker’s shutdown orders …”

The primary election for statewide office is scheduled for March 15, and Schimpf joins businessman Gary Rabine, who is chairman and founder of the paving, roofing and snow removal company Rabine Group, in announcing their candidacies for governor.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s May order paused the speedy trial clock retroactively from March 20. For criminal defendants who have been in jail since that time, the order excludes the past 11 months from the timeframe by which the defendant is allotted under the speedy trial law.

Pritzker said the budget plan he will present “is reflective of what I’ve been saying for some time now, which is that we’re going to have to make some painful cuts in state government in order to balance the budget.” The governor has yet to give details on any of those cuts ahead of the budget address.

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules rescheduled its Tuesday meeting to Wednesday in Springfield. There could be a motion to block what ISBE calls “Culturally Responsive” teaching standards.

Kankakee schools superintendent Genevra Walters said she is surprised at how many school employees will pass on the shot. “We have about 700 staff members. Five-hundred and sixteen responded to a survey with half saying they would take it and half said they would not.”

“Rockford is known for its aerospace cluster, its logistics, everything that’s going on at the airport from UPS to Amazon,” said Conor Brown, chief executive officer at Rockford Area Realtors. “There is just a lot of activity and opportunity for people to get jobs or change jobs within the Rockford market.”

“Anyone thinking the new rule is just an honest, good-faith attempt to to be inclusive and sensitive will be disabused of that notion by a quick perusal of the document.”

In Chicago, where a large portion of the Illinois jail population resides, a 2020 study by researchers at Loyola University Chicago found that bail reform efforts in Cook County since 2017 have had no impact on new criminal activity or new violent criminal activity by those defendants released pretrial.

“The Tri-County area will not move to vaccinate the 1B expansion group on February 25 as announced by the governor because of expected reduced vaccine shipments. When we are confident in a consistent supply, the health department and other partners will announce appointments for those in the 1B expansion population,” Tri-County Area health officials said in a joint statement.

“(E)ven with the existing supply rate from Washington, there’s a lot that Pritzker’s team can fix to make the rollout better. Improve communication with county health departments about vaccine supply levels coming down the pipeline. Align eligibility expansion with supply rates. Don’t create more of a stampede by making vaccine “available” on paper but not in practice.”

Raoul’s decision not to file criminal charges stemming from the crisis effectively brings to an end a six-year saga that changed state law, shaped a gubernatorial election and triggered construction of a new, more than $230 million veterans’ home in Quincy.

As of Friday, more than 1.7 million vaccine doses have been administered statewide, with 3.25% of the population fully vaccinated, according to IDPH vaccine data.