ViewPoint | Lying isn't leadership

Op-Ed by Darren Bailey

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker's lie about taking politics out of reapportionment and pushing "fair and independent maps" wouldn't be so shocking if he hadn't said it so often and with such conviction and sincerity.

All through his 2018 campaign for governor, Pritzker said he supported an amendment to the state Constitution to take congressional map-drawing out of the hands of state legislators and into those of an independent commission.

He went so far as to say he'd veto legislative maps, "in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies." Instead, he said, he would hand it over to an independent panel.

This is not some new, untried experiment. Neighboring Missouri has instituted an independent map-drawing commission, and so have Michigan, Colorado, and Utah.

With Pritzker facing reelection next year, though, it appears he's willing to allow his Democratic allies in the legislature one last go at picking their voters by drawing Republicans into concentrated and ludicrously configured districts.

"We need a governor who keeps his promises."

Lying isn't leadership. And J.B. Pritzker has broken his word more often than he spends his money to buy elections.

Last week, Pritzker said he "trusted" the Democrats in the House and Senate to send him a fair map.

"I look to the Legislature for their proposal," Pritzker said. "I'll be looking to it for its fairness."

The governor might want to invest in a microscope because he's going to have to look hard.

This is Illinois, a state where corruption and cynicism compete with one another as the political class builds its power base and their special-interest handlers line their pockets.

Let me be clear. I'm a conservative Republican. But I also know that there are some things bigger than politics – things like honesty, transparency, and fair play.

I'm committed to seeing an end to the inside-dealing that has dominated our redistricting process. Voters should pick their elected officials, not the other way around. That's why, as governor, I'll use the bully pulpit to reform the system by which we draw our districts.

Illinoisans deserve better than the current, worn-out system.

We were asked, by this very governor, to expect better. And it was all a lie.

Pritzker will argue that a constitutional amendment is absolutely necessary to take politics out of partisan hands and into those of a bi-partisan, or even non-partisan, commission. He should read his state's Constitution.

While the law assigns the power to redistrict to the legislature, it does not prohibit them from assigning the work of map-drawing to a less-partisan body. The legislature's job is to enact the maps.

And remember the governor's pledge to veto any partisan plan?

The Constitution provides for a commission, appointed by the legislature, to handle the task. And if that commission deadlocks, there's even language providing for the Supreme Court to pick a ninth member – by lottery if need be – to break deadlocks.

Let's not forget that after each of the past four censuses, the legislature proved itself unable to come up with a plan for new districts. As ever, it ended up in the courts because hardline partisans showed themselves incapable of governing legislatively.

We need a commission. And we need a governor who keeps his promises.

That doesn't sound like much, and it's far from perfect. Still, it's considerably better than the unpalatable task before us now that J.B. Pritzker has broken his word and made this process about partisan politics instead of how we can best provide Illinoisans the representation they deserve.

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Darren Bailey, currently the Representative from the 109th District, is a Republican candidate for the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election.

Serious Covid cases on the rise in young adults

The CDC recommends that people wear masks in public at events and gatherings when they are around other people in settings they can not observe social distancing.

Photo: Matt Moloney/StockSnap

By Will Stone
Kaiser Health News

After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in covid-19 hospital wards.

It's both a sign of the country's success in protecting the elderly through vaccination and an urgent reminder that younger generations will pay a heavy price if the outbreak is allowed to simmer in communities across the country.

The explosion of cases in Michigan underscores the potential fallout of loosening restrictions.

"We're now seeing people in their 30s, 40s and 50s — young people who are really sick," said Dr. Vishnu Chundi, a specialist in infectious diseases and chair of the Chicago Medical Society's covid-19 task force. "Most of them make it, but some do not. … I just lost a 32-year-old with two children, so it's heartbreaking."

Nationally, adults under 50 now account for the most hospitalized covid patients in the country — about 36% of all hospital admissions. Those ages 50 to 64 account for the second-highest number of hospitalizations, or about 31%. Meanwhile, hospitalizations among adults 65 and older have fallen significantly.

About 32% of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated, but the vast majority are people older than 65 — a group that was prioritized in the initial phase of the vaccine rollout.

Although new infections are gradually declining nationwide, some regions have contended with a resurgence of the coronavirus in recent months — what some have called a "fourth wave" — propelled by the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, which is estimated to be somewhere between 40% and 70% more contagious.

As many states ditch pandemic precautions, this more virulent strain still has ample room to spread among the younger population, which remains broadly susceptible to the disease.

The emergence of more dangerous strains of the virus in the U.S. — including variants first discovered in South Africa and Brazil — has made the vaccination effort all the more urgent.

"We are in a whole different ballgame," said Judith Malmgren, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington.

Rising infections among young adults create a "reservoir of disease" that eventually "spills over into the rest of society" — one that has yet to reach herd immunity — and portends a broader surge in cases, she said.

Fortunately, the chance of dying of covid remains very small for people under 50, but this age group can become seriously ill or experience long-term symptoms after the initial infection. People with underlying conditions such as obesity and heart disease are also more likely to become seriously ill.

"B.1.1.7 doesn't discriminate by age, and when it comes to young people, our messaging on this is still too soft," Malmgren said.

Hospitals Filled With Younger, Sicker People

Across the country, the influx of younger patients with covid has startled clinicians who describe hospital beds filled with patients, many of whom appear sicker than what was seen during previous waves of the pandemic.

"A lot of them are requiring ICU care," said Dr. Michelle Barron, head of infection prevention and control at UCHealth, one of Colorado's large hospital systems, as compared with earlier in the pandemic.

The median age of covid patients at UCHealth hospitals has dropped by more than 10 years in the past few weeks, from 59 down to about 48 years old, Barron said.

"I think we will continue to see that, especially if there's not a lot of vaccine uptake in these groups," she said.

While most hospitals are far from the onslaught of illness seen during the winter, the explosion of cases in Michigan underscores the potential fallout of loosening restrictions when a large share of adults are not yet vaccinated.

There's strong evidence that all three vaccines being used in the U.S. provide good protection against the U.K. variant.

One study suggests that the B.1.1.7 variant doesn't lead to more severe illness, as was previously thought. However, patients infected with the variant appear more likely to have more of the virus in their bodies than those with the previously dominant strain, which may help explain why it spreads more easily.

"We think that this may be causing more of these hospitalizations in younger people," said Dr. Rachael Lee at the University of Alabama-Birmingham hospital.

"We don't yet have enough younger adults vaccinated to counteract the increased ease with which the variants spread."

Lee's hospital also has observed an uptick in younger patients. As in other Southern states, Alabama has a low rate of vaccine uptake.

But even in Washington state, where much of the population is opting to get the vaccine, hospitalizations have been rising steadily since early March, especially among young people. In the Seattle area, more people in their 20s are now being hospitalized for covid than people in their 70s, according to Dr. Jeff Duchin, public health chief officer for Seattle and King County.

"We don't yet have enough younger adults vaccinated to counteract the increased ease with which the variants spread," said Duchin at a recent press briefing.

Nationwide, about 32% of people in their 40s are fully vaccinated, compared with 27% of people in their 30s. That share drops to about 18% for 18- to 29-year-olds.

"I'm hopeful that the death curve is not going to rise as fast, but it is putting a strain on the health system," said Dr. Nathaniel Schlicher, an emergency physician and president of the Washington State Medical Association.

Schlicher, also in his late 30s, recalls with horror two of his recent patients — close to his age and previously healthy — who were admitted with new-onset heart failure caused by covid.

"I've seen that up close and that's what scares the hell out of me," he said.

"I understand young people feeling invincible, but what I would just tell them is — don't be afraid of dying, be afraid of heart failure, lung damage and not being able to do the things that you love to do."

Will Younger Adults Get Vaccinated?

Doctors and public health experts hope that the troubling spike in hospitalizations among the younger demographic will be temporary — one that vaccines will soon counteract. It was only on April 19 that all adults became eligible for a covid vaccine, although they were available in some states much sooner.

But some concerning national polls indicate a sizable portion of teens and adults in their 20s and 30s don't necessarily have plans to get vaccinated.

"We just need to make it super easy — not inconvenient in any way," said Malmgren, the Washington epidemiologist. "We have to put our minds to it and think a little differently."

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Picking the right engagement ring tells your love story

NewsUSA - Engagement rings mean many things -- romance, love, commitment. Each love story is unique, each engagement ring is the start of a new love story, and each will be a witness to a lifetime of memories.

An engagement ring embodies the memories of each couple's unique courtship. The memories begin with first glance and a warm smile meeting for the first time.

Photo: Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash

If an engagement ring could talk, it might tell you a story of "boy meets girl" and how an awkward guy got up the courage to approach the girl across a crowded room. It might tell the story of fun dates to concerts, sporting events and hanging out with friends. Trips to new cities together, boating in the Ozarks, exotic vacations to destinations abroad. The story continues to meeting the parents for the first time.

An engagement ring might reflect on a couple's firsts. That first vacation together or the first long romantic walk. The ring will grow in sentimental value as memories are shared over and over of how the future bride's personality captivated their partner into popping the all-important question.

A ring might recall asking a father's permission, sneaking a sample ring from a drawer to determine the perfect size, and even providing some inspiration for a design that would bring her to tears when she said "yes."

Engagement rings are followed by wedding rings, which tell the story of a bright day full of joy as two become one in front of family and friends. In the future, these rings will experience years of holding hands, warming hearts, rubbing shoulders, holding babies, and serving as a reminder of a lifetime of love with the love of your life.

Custom diamond engagement rings from Cornelis Hollander can help you tell your unique love story with timeless beauty. Their engagement and wedding rings represent your love, energy, and commitment to each other.

The story doesn't stop with the walk down the aisle some bright day in June, it is only beginning, and their team of skilled designers are honored to help start your journey together. The Arizona-based company has four decades of awards and testimonials for its customized engagement ring designs that range from classic to modern, with stunning settings and sparkling gems.

"Your ring is the ultimate storyteller of your style and commitment," according to Cornelis Hollander's son, Walter Hollander, who inherited the company from his father in 2017. "Our diamond rings are exceptional because they are made uniquely for the wearer, making them exclusive, memorable, and personal."

For more information go to cornelishollander.com to explore their unique collection of handcrafted diamond ring designs.

Put your end of life choices in writing

Photo: Davide Ragusa/Unsplash

Public News Service - On National Healthcare Decisions Day, advocates for end-of-life options are urging people to make a formal plan for the health care they want.

One in five Americans say they weren't prepared to make critical end-of-life decisions when a family member got very sick or even died during the pandemic.

Amy Sherman, Midwest regional campaign and outreach manager with Compassion & Choices, said that making a plan is a way to reduce stress for loved ones during a challenging time, in addition to ensuring that patients have a say in how they die and what kind of health care they do or do not want.

"It's also a way to avoid conflict in your family or minimize conflict in your family," said Sherman. "Because often in these very tense situations, we have seen that family members may have different views around care."

Recent surveys show 60% of 50- to 80-year-olds have had conversations with partners, family or friends about end-of-life medical care. And just under half have an advance directive - a legal document that can help make sure a patient's end-of-life decisions are met.

Sherman said even though talking about end-of-life issues can be difficult, and putting documents in place can seem daunting, it's worth it to take the time.

"Don't wait until you're in the car on your way to the hospital to have this conversation," said Sherman. "Make sure to have the conversation in advance."

A pair of videos in English and Spanish from the group Compassion & Choices echo the importance of preparation - and the group also has developed an online toolkit in both languages that helps people write down an advance directive, name someone as a health-care proxy or delegate power of attorney.