By BEN ORNERCapitol News Illinoisborner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois has rented a fleet of refrigerated semi-truck trailers to store the bodies of deceased COVID-19 patients in case morgues become filled to capacity, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The “more than 20” trailers made available by the […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday that 4.4 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims during the week that ended April 18, including 102,936 workers in Illinois. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 520,227 workers in Illinois, or 8.2 percent of […]
New testing gets state closer to daily goal with 9,349 test results reported; 2,049 new cases By BEN ORNERCapitol News Illinoisborner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois health officials reported the state’s largest one-day increase of COVID-19 cases and tests results Wednesday as Gov. JB Pritzker announced two new drive-thru testing facilities. The […]
Illinois Rep. Michael Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat and co-chair of the House economic recovery working group, said one of the most pressing tasks – one that he said state government has little control over – will be getting the state’s economy up and running again, which he said could take […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Top leaders of the Illinois House and Senate say there is still no timetable for calling lawmakers back into session, but they have launched a process for narrowing down the topics they’ll need to address whenever they do return. In recent weeks, both […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Pritzker announced that people in Illinois who still owe money on private student loans can now qualify for temporary relief while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. He also announced families with school-age children who receive food assistance will qualify for additional benefits. Pritzker said the recently-passed […]
‘Mass opening’ of businesses not coming May 1, he says By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Changes are coming to the stay-at-home order, Gov. JB Pritzker said again at his daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday in Chicago, but it is unclear what they are and when they will happen. More […]
Pritzker says agency is coping with unprecedented number of jobless claims By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Republicans on Monday called on Gov. JB Pritzker to do more to handle the unprecedented volume of new claims for unemployment benefits coming into the Illinois Department of Employment Security, […]
‘You need widespread testing’ to return to normalcy, governor says By BEN ORNERCapitol News Illinoisborner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker hinted during his Monday briefing that he and his team are mulling a gradual return to normalcy, saying that “it’s likely that there will be adjustments to the orders that we’ve put […]
Economists forecast potential major hit on state’s economy revenues By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – More than half a million Illinois workers have filed first-time unemployment claims in the four weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak first hit the labor market. Economists at the University of Illinois are now forecasting […]
