Pritzker ‘looking at all possible mitigations;’ masks mandated at driver facilities
By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Masks will be required at driver’s license facilities in Illinois starting Monday, Secretary of State Jesse White announced Wednesday, and Gov. JB Pritzker said he is “looking at all the possible mitigations” amid another surge of COVID-19 infections.
The secretary of state’s announcement came one day after the Illinois Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance to recommend individuals in areas with “substantial risk” or greater for the spread of COVID-19 should wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status.
“Substantial” risk occurs when new cases are between 50 to 99 per 100,000 people over a 7-day period, while “high” risk occurs when cases exceed that amount. A CDC county map, viewable at https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view, shows much of the state’s western half along the Missouri border is at high or substantial risk, as is most of southern Illinois.
The CDC also recommended masks be worn by all individuals in K-12 schools, and IDPH announced it “fully aligns” with the federal guidance. The governor warned Monday that districts disobeying guidance could face civil liability.
White’s new mask requirement will also apply to the Illinois State Capitol and all secretary of state offices. The announcement came as the state reported 2,082 new COVID-19 cases, the most since May 7, and the case positivity rate rose to 4 percent, the highest since April 19.
The guidance that all people in school buildings should wear face coverings comes just 18 days after the CDC released guidance saying masks were suggested only for those who had not been vaccinated.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky of the CDC said in a Tuesday briefing the main reason for the change in guidance is the fact that the COVID-19 delta variant – which makes up “eight in 10” of the COVID-19 cases that have had been sequenced in laboratories – is less predictable and more transmissible than previous versions of the virus. It’s also due to the fact that fewer people than expected have chosen to become vaccinated nationwide.
“When we released our school guidance on July 9, we had less delta variant in this country, we had fewer cases in this country, and importantly, we were really hopeful that we would have more people vaccinated, especially in the demographic between 12 to 17 years old,” Walensky said according to an audio recording posted to the CDC website.
She said the guidance is aimed at protecting those who cannot be vaccinated, such as children 11 years of age and younger and those who are immunocompromised.
While Pritzker said the state has “wanted school districts to make decisions for themselves throughout the last year to keep their districts safe,” school districts face the risk of being held liable in civil courts “if they don’t live up to the standard that is set by the CDC.”
The Illinois State Board of Education echoed those comments in a statement Wednesday.
“Illinois fully adopted the CDC’s updated guidance for K-12 schools on July 27, which recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status,” an ISBE spokesperson said in an email. “School boards that choose not to implement public health guidance are putting their students and staff at risk and should consult with their insurers as to potential liability.”
Other than that, ISBE’s most recent guidance, encouraging school boards to work with local health departments on mitigations, remains in place.
Pandemic of the unvaccinated
Walensky characterized current spread of COVID-19 as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” She said while the vast majority of disease transmission is happening between unvaccinated individuals, there are “rare occasions” in which vaccinated people have been spreading the virus to others, which necessitated the guidance for vaccinated individuals to wear face coverings.
But the vaccine is largely effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death in those who receive it.
“We continue to estimate that the risk of a breakthrough infection with symptoms upon exposure to the delta variant is reduced by seven fold. The reduction is 20 fold for hospitalizations and deaths,” Walensky said.
Walensky also said a major concern as the virus continues to spread and mutate is that it eventually evolves into a “very transmissible virus that has the potential to evade our vaccine in terms of how it protects us from severe disease and death.”
While “we’re not there yet,” she said, that mutation could be as few as “two mutations away” from the current circulating variants.
As of now, 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Illinois are occurring in unvaccinated individuals, Pritzker has said.
As of Tuesday night there were 857 people hospitalized for COVID-19 across the state, a high since June 4 and a 50 percent increase from exactly one week ago.
Intensive care bed usage by COVID-19 patients is up 56 percent from a week ago, with 184 beds in use by COVID-19 patients, including 74 on ventilators.
Another six deaths were attributed to the virus Wednesday, bringing the confirmed death toll in Illinois to 23,420, with 2,473 probable COVID-19 deaths as well since the pandemic began.
The pace of vaccinations continued to slow Wednesday, with 17,982 doses administered daily over the past week, down from a peak of 130,000 in April. About half of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to IDPH.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Summit native marks decade with the Harlem Globetrotters
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan Saul White Jr., better known as Flip White to basketball fans, has been with the famed Harlem Globetrotters for just over 10 years, and has no intention of stopping the entertainment he provides for his fans. White, who grew up in Summit, attended Wharton School and Graves Junior High (now…
A heavenly sound
Spread the love In what is arguably the most ornate and beautiful house of worship on the Southwest Side—St. Joseph Church in Back of the Yards–the Polonijna Orkiestra Chicago played liturgical music selections last Sunday. Founded in 2011, the orchestra is designed to teach young musicians Polish music and culture. St. Joseph parishioner Konrad Pawelek…
Crime images spark outrage in Gage Park
Spread the loveRobbed at gunpoint in his own garage By Tim Hadac Home-security camera images of a 48-year-old Gage Park man being robbed at gunpoint in his own garage outraged a number of Southwest Siders this week. Images showed the man driving his car down the alley in the 5500 block of South Richmond at…
Here’s the skinny: Trimmed-down Lawrence helps Oak Lawn top Evergreen
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Oak Lawn senior basketball player Davion Lawrence is 45 pounds lighter than he was last season, but insists his eating habits are the same. He has, however, changed up his training habits. Heading into football last fall, Lawrence and a few fellow seniors wanted to get in the…
College Report: McAuley grad Swiatek plays hero for St. Francis
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Hannah Swiatek comes off the bench for the University of St. Francis and is averaging 3.1 points per game. But when called on for the biggest shot of her college career, the 5-foot-8 junior guard from Oak Lawn delivered. Swiatek scored the winning basket in a wild 99-97…
Evans, Adams lead Argo past Shepard on Alumni Night
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Corrspondent Argo’s Davonte Evans and Will Adams both knew it was just a matter of time before the Argonauts would find a way to beat Shepard. That time came in the third quarter of a South Suburban Red matchup, when Argo outscored Shepard en rout to a 61-52 on Jan.…
Cruz booted from SD 229 school board in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly There is a vacancy on the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board, after members voted 6-1 last week to remove Robert Cruz for allegedly violating his oath of office, school board policy and state statutes. Cruz, a property developer, was elected to the District 229 board in…
Tax exemptions will be automatic, Kaegi says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office will continue the automatic renewal of the Senior Freeze, Veterans with Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities Exemptions. The Homeowner and Senior Exemptions will continue to auto-renew every year. If a homeowner received any of these five exemptions…
Neighbors
EPCHS adds Emmy-winning actor Gary Sievers to Hall of Fame
Spread the loveEvergreen Park Community High School has added a name to its list of Hall of Famers. Gary Sievers, a 1968 EPCHS graduate who became well-known for his acting, public speaking, work in radio and television, community service, civic leadership and teaching, was posthumously inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame during the Honors…
Worth vehicle sticker applications ‘lost’ in the mail
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Worth Village Clerk Bonnie Price said that even though application forms for village vehicle stickers were sent out to the post office last month residents were still waiting to receive those applications. “We have been doing this for 15 years,” Price said during the Worth Village Board meeting May 7. “This…
Hunt killer in ‘drifting’ slaying
Spread the love. Police seek witnesses, video of 59/Western . By Tim Hadac Police are appealing to the public to help find those responsible for the slaying of a 20-year-old West Englewood man during a takeover of the intersection at 59th and Western at 3:21 a.m. Sunday, May 5. The victim–identified as Guillermo “Memito” Caballero…
Mom gets 20 years in babies’ murder
Spread the love. Stuffed her newborn twin boys in an alley garbage cart . By Tim Hadac The books closed this month on a double murder that shocked and sickened many in the Garfield Ridge area more than 20 years ago. Antoinette Briley, 44, pled guilty on May 7 to murdering her twin baby boys…
Ladies lead the way to stylish Kentucky Derby fun
Spread the love As a tip of the cap–so to speak–to the Kentucky Derby, acclaimed chef Gloria Hafer (second from right) visited the Garfield Ridge Satellite Senior Center last week to cook a burgoo (a thick stew traditionally popular in the South). For an added bit of fun, the center had a derby contest. Among…
Seek donations for charity at Two Holy Martyrs
Spread the love. By Tim Hadac The Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter at Two Holy Martyrs Parish will host a bundle weekend on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19. Volunteers will staff two trailers at the St. Rene Goupil Church parking lot, 64th and New England, from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday…
Palos Park finance director heading to Westmont
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Palos Park was in good hands with Altic. Finance director/treasurer Allen Altic is leaving the village later this month to take a similar position in Westmont, just a few miles from his home in Downers Grove. Altic was an assistant finance director in Bloomingdale from 2012 to 2020, when he…
Orland Township hosting free senior health fair
Spread the loveOrland Township and Supervisor Paul O’Grady are hosting a senior health fair to provide free health services and information to senior citizens on Tuesday, May 21, from 9 a.m. until noon at Orland Township, located at 14807 S. Ravinia Ave., Orland Park. The Senior Health Fair is an excellent opportunity for seniors to…
District 128 teacher joins Golden Apple Accelerator Program
Spread the loveBy Kelly White A Palos Heights School District 128 educator was selected to be a part of the Golden Apple Accelerator Program. Also, a District 128 alum, Moira Touhy, a paraprofessional at Independence Junior High School, 6610 W. Highland Dr., Palos Heights, will be participating in the 15-month online program specifically geared toward…