One step back, Champaign County joins the rest of the state in Coronavirus resurgence mitigation

On Friday, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced resurgence mitigations would go into effect in Region 6 - which includes Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby and Vermillion counties - starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, November 2.

The 21-county region recorded a 7-day rolling average test positivity rate of 8 percent or above for three consecutive days, which exceeds the thresholds set for establishing mitigation measures under the state’s Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.

In order to get back to Phase 4 and back to having indoor dining, the region will need a positivity rate of less than 6.5 percent for three straight days. If that rate stays above 8 percent for 14 days, then the region will face even more restrictions.

While Champaign county, if you ignore the University of Illinois' testing efforts, boast a 7-day positivity of 5.7, six counties are flaunting double-digit numbers. Coles county is currently at 11, Effingham 11.2, Macon 13.7, Douglas 14.9, Shelby 15.9 and Cumberland 26.1.

The resurgence mitigation restrictions target bars and restaurant in order to control the spread of the coronavirus. Governor Pritzker has said there are dozens of studies and articles on outbreaks in bars and restaurants to justify reducing the services they provide.

Mitigation measures taking effect November 2 in Region 6 include:

Bars

• No indoor service
• All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m.
• All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed) 
• Tables should be 6 feet apart 
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Restaurants

• No indoor dining or bar service
• All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m.
• Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• Reservations required for each party 
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings

• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
• No party buses
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable

Two area restaurants, Buford's Pub in Sadorus and Apple Dumplin', just outside the Urbana city limits, informed customers via Facebook that they intend remain open despite the restrictions from the state. Both business saw overwhelming support in both comments and "Likes".

Jeff Buckler, owner of Buford’s Pub told The News-Gazette it wasn’t an easy (decision) to make.

"Let me put it that way. We went through the last one; it was supposed to last two weeks and lasted what, 120 days?" he said. "I’m fighting for every small business out there. I’m just tired of being told what to do when they’re using the bars and restaurants as scapegoats. What about the Walmarts and Targets?"

On a Facebook, a post by Buford's Pub's said, "Its not just about my business its about all small business stand up against a dictator. Bars and (sic) are getting the brunt of this and combined we are less then (sic) 9% of the whole issue."

Meanwhile two days earlier, bars and restaurants in Region 9 received similar news.

A Crystal Lake attorney on Thursday filed a 78-page lawsuit on behalf of 37 McHenry County restaurants, hoping to bring the state’s mitigation plans to a halt and allow owners to continue offering indoor service.

A day later, McHenry County Judge Thomas Meyer denied the application for a temporary restraining order. The Northwest Herald reported he made his decision based on new facts and that mitigation order was not an extension the governor's executive order from last March.

"It was a difficult and unpleasant order to enter," Meyer said in the article. "But I do believe that there is a basis for the new executive order and that is how we end up where we are."

Buckler and Jim Flanigan, owner of the Apple Dumplin', have retained attorney Tom DeVore, who made headlines this summer when he represented state Representative Darren Bailey effort to null the state's mitigation order in a lawsuit and won. It was through DeVore's efforts a Clay County judge declared the Governor’s continuing use of emergency powers as an overstep of his constitutional authority.

The ruling, depending on who you speak with, is only applicable in south central Illinois county where the daily testing positivity is at 14.9 as of the time of this story and pushing a 7-day rolling average of 9.7. An appeal filed by the governor is still pending on the Clay County case.

Photo of the Day - October 30, 2020

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Unity's wins on the road, Knudsen scores 24

Unity's Elyce Knudsen goes up for a shot on Urbana's Kynzee Boastick during their non-conference game on December 9, 2019. The senior finished the night with a team-high 24 points, making 10 of 12 attempts from the free throw line to help her team to a 59-49 road win over the Tigers. Later in the 2019-20 season, Knudsen would surpassed Unity's all-time scoring mark in a home game in February held by Rocket alumnus and 12-year NBA veteran Brian Cardinal, who drained a career 1,812 points during his prep career.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Northern Illinois restaurant gets TRO to remain open despite Governor's orders

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by Joe Tabor, Senior Policy Analyst
Illinois Policy

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FoxFire restaurant can stay open while the challenge to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s exercise of emergency powers works its way through the courts, a Kane County judge has ruled.

On Oct. 26, Judge Kevin Busch granted the Geneva, Illinois, steakhouse’s request for a temporary restraining order against Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-61, specifically as it relates to FoxFire’s ability to conduct indoor dining. The judge barred the governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Kane County Health Department from enforcing the order.

The order applies only to FoxFire and allows the restaurant to operate with indoor seating until the next hearing, or until the state appeals the ruling. FoxFire’s petition for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction argued that all of Pritzker’s COVID-19 subsequent disaster proclamations after the initial March 9 proclamation were invalid. That first proclamation expired on April 7.

Pritzker’s authority to issue executive orders limiting the operation of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic comes from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act. The Act limits the exercise of emergency powers to 30 days after the governor has issued a disaster proclamation, but Pritzker has continuously issued new proclamations to extend the timespan of his emergency powers to almost 250 days so far. The Act itself is silent as to whether Pritzker can extend his emergency powers indefinitely, and the governor’s actions have met numerous legal challenges as well as criticism.

The General Assembly could resolve these questions with legislation, but has so far declined, leaving Illinois to be governed by a series of executive orders when it comes to the state’s COVID-19 response. As it stands, these challenges will work their way through the court system.

The governor is expected to appeal the ruling in favor of the Geneva restaurant, but for now, FoxFire is the only restaurant in its region legally open to indoor dining.

Restrictions were reimposed Oct. 28 on the Metro East region and will be imposed Oct. 30 in Chicago, leading to a public debate between Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the need to again close bars and restaurants to indoor operations.

Half of the counties in Illinois are at a warning level for COVID-19 positivity, with the statewide 7-day average at 6.7% on Oct. 28. Of the 11 regions designated for COVID-19 restrictions, six have a positive test rate of at least 8%.

As many as 21,700 Illinois restaurants and food establishments could permanently be shuttered as a result of the pandemic and repeated closure orders.

The Illinois Restaurant Association is also looking at legal remedies, President and CEO Sam Toia told Crain’s Chicago Business. He said many in the industry feel they are being unfairly singled out, and that the restrictions used at the pandemic’s start are no longer helpful or effective.

"The science surrounding COVID-19 has evolved," Toia said. "So must the metrics for mitigation."

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Originally published by Illinois Policy on October 28, 2020. Published by permission.

Area COVID cases climb, positives triple in less than a week

When it came COVID mitigation, The Sentinel area was looking really good last week. The number of area cases steadily declined in each village to impressive number unlike other rural areas of the state. Last Saturday, there were just 13 active cases total in the six communities that The Sentinel actively covers.

Today, a mere six days later, that number has vaulted to 45 according to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District data.

County-wide there were an additional 433 new cases confirmed by health officials. Out of the 790,767 test performed Champaign County residents, 6,330 came back positive. As of today there are 506 active cases and 1,540 individuals who have been in contact with an infected individual now in quarantine to avoid the additional spread of infections.

The rise in positive cases reflects the overall statewide trajectory occurring statewide and in surrounding neighboring states.

In Governor JB Pritzker's coronavirus briefing yesterday, he said the state is saw a new high in cases with 6,363 reported on Thursday. Records show that the state set a new seven-day average high of 5,043 new cases per day.

"The two highest seven-day average number of cases we reached in one day in the spring was 2,565 in early May. That came down to about 590 in mid-June,” he said. "Today, we are at a new high, a seven-day average of 5,043 new cases per day – closing in on twice what we saw in May."

Yesterday, the seven-day positivity rate for the East Central Illinois region Champaign County is included in the state’s mitigation map (Region 6) increased from 7.9 to 8.1 percent. If the region remains above 8.0 for more than three consecutive days, the area would see increased mitigation requirements from the state. Nearly three-quarters of the state is or will be subject to additional restrictions by Sunday.

Bars 

• No indoor service 
• All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m. 
• All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside 
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)  
• Tables should be 6 feet apart  
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting 
• No dancing or standing indoors 
• Reservations required for each party 
• No seating of multiple parties at one table 

Restaurants 

• No indoor dining or bar service 
• All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m. 
• Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart 
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting 
• Reservations required for each party  
• No seating of multiple parties at one table 

Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings 

• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity 
• No party buses 
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable 

These mitigations do not currently apply to schools.

Compared to Rantoul, with a population of 12,691 and has recorded 511 positive cases as of today, there have been only 312 cases confirmed among the 11,108 residents that live in six zip codes covered by The Sentinel.

Photo of the Day - October 29, 2020

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SJO girls regional champs!

Senior Anna Wentzloff and sophomore Alison Kearney celebrate with teammates while waiting for the awards presentation after the St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team's regional title win over Villa Grove. With home court advantage, the Spartans prevailed in a 50-34 decision over the Blue Devils on February 13.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

On again, off again: When will they play basketball?

Payton Vallee pulls down a rebound for the Spartans in her team's regional title game against Villa Grove earlier this year. Vallee, who will be a senior this season, and thousands of high school basketball players around the state remain hopeful they will have a season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Once again, the Governor of Illinois caught the IHSA off-guard with another preemptive announcement.

Earlier today, Governor JB Pritzker told Illinoisans that all prep winter sports, including basketball would be "moved into spring" season. The announcement is the third chapter in this week's drama concerning the fate of high school sports. Meanwhile, as the state's Coronavirus positivity creeps even higher, the Illinois High School Association's decision to follow through with starting girls and boys basketball on November 16.

The IHSA's move on the COVID chess board yesterday was check, putting the actual decision of whether or not to suit up squarely in the lap of bishops tasked with running local school districts.

Shortly thereafter the IHSA response, the Governor made it clear it would be detrimental for schools to attempt to engage in interscholastic competition with the full intention of leveraging the weight of the Illinois State Board of Education — which controls funding to public schools — to ensure compliance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The anticipation of getting back on the hardwood to compete by coaches and players in a little more than two weeks lasted only hours when a letter from ISBE superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala reiterated the state's position with veiled, but poignant threat to school districts considering defying the governor's original proclamation on Tuesday postponing the winter sports season.

"Public health experts have determined that basketball poses a high risk of COVID-19 transmission and is not currently safe to play," Ayala wrote. "Defying the state's public health guidance opens schools up to liability and other ramifications that may negatively impact school communities."

The IHSA literally had no words after Governor Pritzker's press conference today.

"The IHSA has not received additional outreach from the Governor’s office or IDPH since Tuesday, and as a result, are not comfortable commenting," Matt Troha, Assistant Executive Director for the IHSA, wrote in an emailed to The Sentinel.

The on again, off again shift every 24 hours has school district scrambling for legal advice, coaches and AD looking at schedule options yet again and players wondering if they'll actually be able to play before a home crowd.

"It has been absolutely nuts and to be honest, the back and forth is getting exhausting," SJO boys basketball head coach Kiel Duval admitted. "Like I said today, we talk about in our program all the time about working together, teamwork, putting aside our personal agendas and doing what is best for the team. It would be nice if the people making these big decisions would take that same approach."

However, according to a story in the Lincoln Courier posted just after supper, IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said he didn't believe that the Governor would actually allow basketball to be played in the spring. At least for the moment - who knows what new plot twist will be tossed into the mix on All-Hallows Eve - Anderson plans for the show to go on as planned next month.

"All the things that are in place with COVID right now that are preventing us from playing medium and high-risk category sports could still be in place in the spring," Anderson said. "Nothing has changed. We’re still playing. We aren’t playing basketball in the spring or summer. We’ve approved basketball to be played in the winter, and that’s what we are moving ahead with."

In an email to the Chicago Sun-Times, Jordan Abudayyeh, Governor Pritzker’s press secretary, said, "The goal has never been to cancel seasons, but to rather postpone the seasons with the hope that by the spring there will be a vaccine or effective treatment that will allow more students to report to in school in person and participate in extracurricular activities.

"There are currently 1.8 million students in the state who are in remote learning right now and as the Governor has said, he is focused on bringing down positivity rates in communities across the state so local school boards feel comfortable enough to bring students back into the classroom."

Duval said the situation, a new power struggle between Bloomington and Springfield now taking shape, is "taking a toll on a lot of student athletes" as it continues to intensify.

"Yesterday was a day that our guys enjoyed. It was good to see some of their faces (under their masks of course) and the feeling as if there were brighter days ahead. Then it switched, then it switched back," Duval said. "What I told them today was worry about what we can control. We can control where our head is at when things get started again. We will be locked in, ready to go."

Like thousands of high school players around the state, the Spartans are ready to make a name for themselves this season.

"Our guys want to be on the court so bad right now, we just talked about how the road to that may not be a smooth one. Can't get too up, or too down. Stay positive and hope for the best," Duval said. "I really hope our guys get a chance to play. They absolutely deserve this."