Pritzker Touts Illinois Reopening As Other States Backtrack
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that the state is progressing much more quickly than expected into the fourth phase of his five-part Restore Illinois program in response to the coronavirus, a vaccination for which is still at least several months away. Pritzker and his state public health director, Dr. Ngoze Ezike, congratulated Illinois residents for following efforts to stymie the highly contagious virus, particularly at a time when other states are seeing new surges in the virus, critics say because they reopened their economies too quickly or too aggressively. – John O’Connor – Associated Press
Asians Are The Fastest Growing Racial Demographic In Illinois
Illinois’ population has declined for the sixth year in a row, but some racial groups are growing in number, according to new population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday. Asians are the fastest growing racial demographic in the state, increasing by 24% since 2010 and now making up 5.7% of Illinois’ population. They were followed by Latinos, whose population has grown by 9.5% since 2010 and now accounts for 17.5% of the state’s total. The growth of Asian population in Illinois mirrors a national trend; the number of Asian residents in the U.S. has increased 29% since 2010. According to the data, Illinois has also witnessed the steepest decline in Black population among all U.S. states since 2010 — both in number and by percentage. The state’s Black population has fallen by about 56,000, or 3%, since 2010. – Alden Loury – Esther Yoon-Ji Kang – WBEZ
Illinois Won’t Quarantine Visitors From COVID-19 Hot Spot States — For Now
Gov. JB Pritzker said he doesn’t intend to enact a mandatory quarantine for out-of-state visitors to Illinois from COVID-19 hot spots like Florida or Texas. His comments come as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, announced they were enacting such a quarantine for visitors. – Tony Arnold – WBEZ
Supreme Court Sets Standards For New Trials
A recent ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court involving post-conviction petitions could impact pending innocence claims across the state. In a 4-3 decision issued June 18, the state’s high court ruled that the post-conviction petition of a Cook County man convicted in a 1997 shooting death may move forward. An earlier ruling by a Cook County judge, later affirmed by the First District Appellate Court, effectively ended Rickey Robinson’s legal challenge to his conviction. The new court ruling puts his case back on track. – Edith Brady-Lunny – WGLT
Parents Face Childcare Challenges As Illinois Moves To Phase Four
As Illinois continues to re-open, one challenge facing many families is childcare. Lori Longueville, director of Child Care Resource and Referral at John A. Logan College, said there has been an increase in families looking for childcare, as their traditional options, like summer camps, have been cancelled due to the pandemic. It’s a problem that continues to grow, she said, as people who have been furloughed or working remotely return to their offices. Longueville says the issue is compounded by guidelines reducing the number of children allowed in a daycare setting, as well as some home-based providers deciding to stay closed due to concerns about coronavirus. Some childcare facilities have also faced issues with staffing, which was already an issue before the pandemic hit. – Steph Whiteside – WUIS