COVID-19 claims 446 lives over holiday weekend

Hospitalization rates edge downward By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The COVID-19 pandemic claimed 446 lives in Illinois over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend while the rate of hospitalizations declined for the first time since the recent surge began in late September. As of late Sunday night, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 5,849 people were hospitalized with […]

The struggle for new leadership in Illinois, and what to do with it

By JIM NOWLAN Politically, Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan is a dead man walking. The recent ComEd admissions of a decade of bribery killed him. And so, the struggle for new leadership is underway, mostly behind the scenes for the moment. Madigan has more or less ruled the Legislature for four decades, so others are […]

Ford County Public Heath Department announces 88 new cases of COVID-19 from Nov. 25-30

Ford County Public Health Department (FCPHD) is announcing 88 new cases. These new cases are beingreported for November 25th through November 30th, 2020. Ford County has a total of 755 cases. Of those, 491 are confirmedcases and 264 are probable cases. There have been 19 COVID-19 related deaths.Please be aware our office is still unable to provide certain statistics due […]

Lawmakers seek additional hearings into LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak

At least 28 residents have died of COVID-19 related illnesses at the facility By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD — Republican lawmakers on Monday renewed calls for a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing into the cause of a coronavirus outbreak at the state-run veterans home in LaSalle where about 20 percent of the residents have died of COVID-19 […]

UPDATED: Despite positive signs, Pritzker warns of another COVID-19 surge

Hospitalization rates dip slightly but remain above spring peak By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Despite some slight improvement in key public health metrics over the past week, Gov. JB Pritzker said he has no immediate plans to roll back COVID-19 mitigation efforts as he warned of a possible post-Thanksgiving surge. Speaking during his daily COVID-19 briefing Monday in […]