Author: Capitol News

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State COVID-19 positivity rate increases for third straight day

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state’s rolling COVID-19 positivity rate ticked upward Wednesday for the third straight day as the Illinois Department of Public Health announced its largest one-day confirmed case count since June 2. The 1,598 new cases reported were among 39,633 test results reported over […]

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AG asks Clay County judge to rule on last issue in Bailey’s lawsuit

By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois attorney general’s office on Tuesday night asked a downstate judge to address the one outstanding issue in Rep. Darren Bailey’s lawsuit challenging Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney decides […]

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Pritzker lays out federal COVID-19 wish list to congressional committee

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said he would like to see a coordinated national COVID-19 containment strategy that requires people to wear masks, and he reiterated the need for a federal financial support package for […]

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Illinois, regional economies shrink in first quarter

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois economy shrank at an annual rate of 5.4 percent during the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, according to federal data released Tuesday, an indicator of just how severely the COVID-19 pandemic affected commercial activity. The gross domestic product figures […]

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Illinois COVID-19 deaths dip to lowest daily number since March

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Illinois declined significantly over the holiday weekend and into Monday, touching their lows since the state began reporting the figures daily in April. There were 1,395 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday as the number remained below […]

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AG: Gathering restrictions regulate Illinoisans’ conduct, not speech

By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — State regulation of the number of people allowed at gatherings does not violate Illinoisans’ First Amendment rights, the attorney general’s office argued in a court document. A lawsuit filed on June 15 by the state’s Republican Party alleged Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive order […]

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As state enters Phase 4 Friday, Pritzker ‘not afraid’ to move backwards if COVID-19 cases surge

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker announced a new tool to track county-by-county progress in the fight against the novel coronavirus Thursday, but as the state readied to enter the next phase of reopening, he also warned that he would not hesitate to move certain regions […]