By Woodrow Carroll It was bound to happen with COVID-19 laying waste to the sports scene. But, it was still painful when it did happen! Early there was a sense of optimism that Illinois, Northwestern, and Northern Illinois would play all of their scheduled top-level Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football
By Peter Hancock The first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Illinois may be less than one-quarter of what officials had originally been told to expect. Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Tuesday that the latest word from federal officials is that the first shipment may contain only
By Sarah Mansur Members of the State Senate Veterans Affairs Committee had pointed questions for officials with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs about the agency’s response to an outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that resulted in at least 27 resident deaths from COVID-19-related complications. The committee called for
Aurora hit another sad milestone this week of 10,000 COVID-19 cases and 155 deaths, with 4,000 of those cases in the last month alone. As the State of Illinois entered Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations, Aurora mayor Richard C. Irvin used his time at the Aurora City Council meeting this week
With a new wave of COVID-19 surging across Illinois, governor JB Pritzker announced the entire State of Illinois will be under Tier 3 Mitigations as of Friday, Nov. 20, with a number of areas/industries being placed “on pause” until further notice and others still remaining open, but with additional restrictions.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for a special virtual meeting Thursday, Nov. 19, where the Board provided an update on Winter sports. To maintain compliance with the most recent mitigations issued by governor JB Pritzker that took effect November 20, the IHSA Board issued guidance
Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations required by governor JB Pritzker’s executive order began November 20 in response to recent increases in COVID-19 cases. Naperville Park District has posted new restrictions and guidelines for its facilities and programs at www.napervilleparks.org/coronavirusinformation/tier-3-mitigation-update. Fort Hill Activity Center is open for members only for use of
By Sarah Mansur Four restaurants in Sangamon County that continued to offer indoor dining in defiance of governor J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mitigation plan were ordered to shut down temporarily Tuesday. The order from a Sangamon County judge states that the four restaurants, Charlie Parker’s Diner, D&J Cafe, Sweet Basil Cafe,
By Sarah Mansur Republicans on the Illinois House Veterans’ Affairs Committee called for a hearing last week to investigate a COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home where at least nine residents have died after testing positive for the virus. In a letter to the House’s committee chairwoman representative, Stephanie
In many of these difficult times, accelerated by COVID-19 and resultant economic and health situations, banning together in groups is helpful. Native Americans grapple with similar situations continually. (See The Voice November 5 and 12 on Native American voting challenges.) One Spirit is an organization which seeks to address the
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors held a virtual update session November 11, to review recent developments related to the IHSA basketball season ahead of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting November 19. The Board announced that they are formally inviting representatives from JB governor Pritzker’s Office and
By Sarah Mansur An appeals court has handed down a favorable ruling to governor JB Pritzker in a legal challenge to his administration’s restrictions on bars and restaurants to curb the spread of COVID-19. The 2nd District Appellate Court overruled a Kane County judge’s decision to temporarily block Pritzker’s indoor
By Jerry Nowicki With no signs of slowing, key metrics measuring the spread of COVID-19, including hospitalizations, continue to push numbers not seen since April and May. The 4,742 individuals hospitalized in Illinois due to COVID-19 as of Monday night marked the highest number since May 8, which was right
Illinois governor JB Pritzker Monday announced additional COVID-19 mitigations for Regions 7 and 8, including Kane, DuPage, and Will Counties, three of Aurora’s four counties. Because of consistently increasing COVID positivity rates, the regions will move into Tier 2 of the State’s COVID Mitigation Plan as of Wednesday, Nov. 11.
By Peter Hancock As State leaders continue to face push-back from the restaurant industry and even some county and municipal governments regarding COVID-19 mitigation measures, governor JB Pritzker Tuesday put pressure squarely on the shoulders of local elected officials. “The fact is that local officials who are not doing the
The following is letter sent to governor JB Pritzker from Aurora mayor Richard C. Irvin on behalf of restaurants and bars in the State’s second-largest city. “Dear Governor Pritzker: “I am writing to you on behalf of the small businesses in the Aurora community. Aurora is the second largest city
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for a special board meeting Wednesday, Oct. 28, where the Board provided the latest information on the IHSA’s Winter sports season. The Board voted to move the sport of wrestling from the Winter season to the Summer season, which will
October 23, 2020 Dear editor; A Message to Illinois Patients: B.E. W.E.L.L. As we approach the holiday season and we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time to double our efforts to minimize our exposure to the virus and to do everything possible to prevent its
According to news sources and other unreliable sources of information, a majority of we human-types are suffering from pandemic fatigue. Personally, I’m suffering more from election fatigue, probably because I sent in my mail-in ballot weeks ago. Whatever political doggy-doo that pops up on the television screen or in my
By Larry Quick Last of 12 parts Illinois and the Sweden share a few things in common, not many, but a few. Perhaps the most noticeable is population size. Illinois has a population of approximately 12.5 Million residents and Sweden has a population of approximately 10.2 Million residents. Another common
