As the state of Illinois sets up alternative care sites in the battle against COVID-19, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is calling on all licensed health care professionals to join Illinois HELPS, an emergency alert system that, when activated, would deploy volunteers to areas of urgent need, likely at one of the new sites.

All physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, medics, LPNs, CNAs, podiatrists and dentists are encouraged to register on the Illinois HELPS website.

COVID-19
Stay-at-home order. Executive Order 2020-10 requires Illinois residents to stay in their homes to avoid the risk of catching and transmitting the COVID-19 virus. Exceptions are carved out from this order for: (a) essential business, such as buying food and day-to-day necessities of life, and (b) the work and workplaces of “essential workers” which includes hospital workers, first responders, mail carriers, supermarket workers, and many other types of personnel.

As we head into the spring months, the risk of severe thunderstorms typically increases across the state of Illinois, including the risk for tornadoes. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recommended social distancing parameters, people who rely on public sheltering from tornadoes could be faced with the difficult choice of sheltering from the tornado in a community shelter or refraining from going to the shelter in order to limit potential exposure to COVID-19. 

Millions of Illinoisans are subject to the state’s “stay at home” order because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. But while we all endeavor to hang out at home as much as possible, accidents still happen. Sprained ankles, earaches, rashes and any number of other maladies; some small, some large; occur on a daily basis.

But the last thing anyone wants to do these days is go to a doctor’s office or an ER unless they have to. So what to do? Many Illinois health care institutions are expanding their telemedicine services to meet the need during this emergency.

Just across Monroe Street from the Capitol building, the ashes of the Illinois State Armory were still smoldering as state officials worked to determine just how bad the loss was. The 1934 fire had wrecked the building; that much was obvious. But more than just a structure had been lost, and the state had learned an important lesson about protecting irreplaceable artifacts.

As the fire burned, firefighters had wisely decided to direct their hoses toward the tons of ammunition and gunpowder stored in the building (now kept at Camp Lincoln on the outskirts of Springfield, rather than in the middle of downtown). Unfortunately, materials stored in other parts of the building had not been saved, and these included innumerable paper records of Illinois soldiers dating back to the Civil War.

To avoid costly plumbing repairs and wider problems affecting public sanitary sewer systems and the environment, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) today is reminding residents to toss away trash, not flush it down the toilet. Blocked drains and sewers can lead to severe consequences such as manhole overflowing, flooding in our homes and on our roadways, and pollution of watercourses. 

Three new programs from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to help small businesses were announced today.

Hospitality Emergency Grant Program
To help hospitality businesses make ends meet in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, DCEO is launching the Hospitality Emergency Grant Program with $14 million drawn from funds originally budgeted for job training, tourism promotion, and other purposes. Grant funds are available to support working capital like payroll and rent, as well as job training, retraining, and technology to support shifts in operations, like increased pick-up and delivery. Bars and restaurants that generated between $500K and $1M in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $25,000, and bars and restaurants that generated less than $500K in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $10,000. Hotels that generated less than $8M in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $50,000.

Precautions to take whether you shop in-store or online: With experts saying people should avoid crowded places because of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 , how should you handle grocery shopping? One option people are turning to is grocery delivery services. Read more by Tobie Stanger on Consumer Reports.

Advice from the Illinois Hospital Association:

Every Illinoisan plays a role in ensuring our health care system remains fully operational to treat patients in need of urgent care. If you are experiencing symptoms of any illness, including COVID-19, the first thing you should do is call a health care provider, like your primary care physician or a health clinic.

But please, do not walk directly into an emergency room or a doctor’s office. A health care provider will ask about your symptoms and potential exposures. If they think you need medical care, they will help arrange medical treatment without putting others at risk of exposure. If you meet certain criteria, you may be tested for COVID-19, but as testing expands, those with severe illness and those at higher risk of complications are being prioritized.

People whose symptoms are mild — which will be most people — will be able to isolate at home during their illness, and they should follow the directives of their health care providers.

Essential Businesses and Operations are exempt from the Stay-at-Home Order Issued by the Governor.

For the purposes of the Stay-at-Home Executive Order, Essential Businesses and Operations means Healthcare and Public Health Operations, Human Services Operations, Essential Governmental Functions, and Essential Infrastructure, and the following:

COVID-19
Governor Issues Stay at Home Order for All Illinoisans. The global coronavirus pandemic is continuing to affect every aspect of day-to-day life in Illinois. After issuing a disaster declaration last week, Governor JB Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-06 on March 16 to close K-12 schools throughout Illinois. This order was followed by Executive Order 2020-07 to close the restaurants and bars of Illinois (no dine-in option for restaurants; drive-thru, carryout and delivery still available). In addition, many of Illinois’ colleges and universities, which are not under the control of the Governor, have taken independent but coordinated steps to shut down all classroom activities and move to online instruction.

Residents still able to go to grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and gas stations. Restaurants limited to take-out and delivery only.

Today in a effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Governor Pritzker issued an Executive Order requiring Illinois residents to stay at home except for the purpose of obtaining essential needs. The order goes into effect tomorrow, Saturday, March 21 at 5 p.m. through April 7.

The order directs all residents to remain at their place of residence, except to conduct essential activities.

The American Red Cross now faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this coronavirus outbreak. Healthy individuals are needed to donate now to help patients counting on lifesaving blood.

Donating blood is a safe process and people should not hesitate to give or receive blood. Watch this video on the safety and need for blood donations. 

Right now, eligible and healthy donors are strongly urged to make an appointment to give soon. But please postpone your donation for 28 days following travel to China and its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Iran, Italy and South Korea, or if you’ve been diagnosed with or have had contact with anyone with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. 

What to know about Coronavirus and our enhanced blood donation safety protocols.

Astronauts N. Jan Davis and Mae C. Jemison.  

In the early days of space flight the U.S. Air Force defined an astronaut as any person who had flown past an altitude of 50 miles above sea level. International governing bodies such as the Federation Aeronautique Internationale went a little higher, placing the dividing line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space as 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles up, what came to be known as the “Karman Line,” named for Hungarian scientist Theodore von Karman.

Wherever it is physically located, it was definitely the highest-altitude glass ceiling in 1983 when Sally Ride broke through it aboard the space shuttle Challenger and became the first American woman in space. She followed Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982).

PUBLIC HEALTH
Governor Issues Disaster Proclamation. JB Pritzker, Governor of the State of Illinois, in the interest of aiding the people of Illinois and the local governments responsible for ensuring public health and safety issued a Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation this week in response to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

This proclamation will assist Illinois agencies in coordinating State and Federal resources, including the Strategic National Stockpile of medicines and protective equipment, to support local governments in preparation for any action that may be necessary related to the potential impact of COVID-19 in the State of Illinois.

Reps. Batinick and Mazzochi discuss state pensions, property tax reform and ending corruption in state government.

Keep up with House Republican initiatives at www.ilhousegop.org.

Statuary Hall in the U.S Capitol Building in Washington honors some of the most historic figures in American history. Created in 1864 out of the chamber which had previously been home to the House of Representatives, Statuary Hall was conceived as a place where each state could place two statues honoring their heroes. As more states were admitted to the union, more statues were dedicated: Hawaii’s King Kamehameha, Alabama’s Helen Keller and Massachusetts’ Daniel Webster are among the 100 statues which now stand throughout the Capitol.

But in 1905, Illinois made a bit of history itself, when it became the first state in the nation to honor a woman with one of its two statues in the Capitol. The hero chosen by the state of Illinois was a social reformer, temperance advocate and suffragist named Frances Willard.

Illinois residents can now complete the census questionnaire online at my2020census.gov

Completing the census online will ensure that Illinoisans get both the representation and federal funding for the critical services that they deserve,

The online questionnaire is the quickest and easiest way to get counted in Illinois and can be accessed from a smart phone, tablet, laptop, computer and terminals at local libraries. The census is nine questions long and will take less than 10 minutes to complete.

In light of yet another “programming error” related to Illinois’ Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) system, State Representatives Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) are calling for a thorough audit and suspension of the system until problems are resolved. The latest problem with the system while on the Secretary of State’s watch has caused more than 1,100 valid voter registrations to be wrongly coded as opting-out instead of being registered. 

TAXES
House Republicans Call for Action, Introduce Property Tax Reform Package. Illinois State Representatives Dan Brady, Deanne Mazzochi, Joe Sosnowski and Dan Ugaste announced new legislative proposals to provide property tax relief to struggling homeowners this week after the Democrat-led Property Tax Relief Task Force failed to present any viable solutions to this crisis.

“We have been waiting, waiting and waiting for Democrats to keep their promise to join us and pass meaningful property tax reform,” said Rep. Deanne Mazzochi. “House Republicans have a package of property tax relief bills stuck in the Rules Committee graveyard that haven’t received the courtesy of even a committee hearing. Those bills are targeted to the very people who told the Property Tax Relief Task Force that they need relief now - particularly seniors who are forced to leave their friends, family, and homes because of skyrocketing property taxes. We are determined to bring real property tax relief to Illinois, and it is sad to see more do-nothing from Democrats, and their refusal to do what it takes to help people stay in their homes."

Leona Marshall Libby, 1946. 

Three quarters of a century ago, the United States was caught up in the largest and most destructive war in human history. From Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to the tropical south Pacific, from the beaches of Normandy to the deserts of North Africa and the steppes of Russia, battles raged across the globe.

There was also an intense race underway in laboratories far from the battlefields. Albert Einstein had escaped from Nazi Germany and warned President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 that discoveries were being made and research conducted which, if completed, would lead to the creation of the most terrible weapon ever invented. The weapon would then be in the hands of whomever won that race, and the future of the entire world might very well hang on its outcome.

Reps. Norine Hammond and Dan Ugaste identify strategies the state can implement now to provide Illinoisans with much needed property tax relief.

Keep up with House Republican initiatives.   

Left to right: Reps. Sosnowski, Brady, Ugaste, and Mazzochi. 

Illinois State Representatives Dan Brady (R-Normal), Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) and Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) announced new legislative proposals to provide property tax relief to struggling homeowners today after the Democrat-led Property Tax Relief Task Force failed to present any viable solutions to this crisis.

“We have been waiting, waiting and waiting for Democrats to keep their promise to join us and pass meaningful property tax reform,” said Rep. Deanne Mazzochi. “House Republicans have a package of property tax relief bills stuck in the Rules Committee graveyard that haven’t received the courtesy of even a committee hearing. Those bills are targeted to the very people who told the Property Tax Relief Task Force that they need relief now - particularly seniors who are forced to leave their friends, family, and homes because of skyrocketing property taxes. We are determined to bring real property tax relief to Illinois, and it is sad to see more do-nothing from Democrats, and their refusal to do what it takes to help people stay in their homes."