12 MONTHS OF ORDERS
Executive orders Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued Friday mark the 12th month of COVID-19 disaster proclamations. The first order was issued March 9, 2020. Friday’s filing reauthorizes a slew of previous orders ranging from suspending provisions of the Illinois school code to regional COVID-19 mitigation metrics and more. Some at the statehouse are pushing to limit the governor’s authority of rolling executive orders.
IN PERSON SCHOOL
More than half of Illinois public school students are still fully remote, according to the latest data from the Illinois State Board of Education. Of 1.9 million students, more than 1 million are fully remote. About 720,000 students are in a blended model and 187,000 are in-person only. Meanwhile, the IHSA decided Monday non-varsity games for a makeup spring football season can start March 18.
HOUSE RULES
New rules of the Illinois House have been filed, and they allow remote committee hearings for members to participate in because of COVID-19 concerns. The rules also provide term limits of 10 years for the House Speaker and Minority Leader. The House GOP said the rules are largely quote “functionally identical” to rules crafted by former House Speaker Michael Madigan over nearly 4 decades.
UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD TAX
Tax season is approaching and filers who fell victim to unemployment fraud are going to be asked to pay taxes on the benefits they didn’t receive, unless they file the right form. The Illinois Department of Revenue released 1099-G forms with instructions for identity theft victims. An IRS spokesperson said if an individual's issue isn’t corrected in time for filing taxes, they should file with the correct information and square up the indiscrepancies later.
MOBILE COVID TESTING
Mobile COVID-19 testing teams from the Illinois Department of Public Health will be in Vandalia at the Fayette County Health Department Tuesday. They’ll be taking samples for COVID-19 tests in McNabb at the fire station. Wednesday, teams will be in Galesburg and Rushville. IDPH reported Monday there were 1,747 new positive cases, the lowest since 1,617 cases reported on Oct. 6, 2020.
DISPARITIES
The AARP is working with state legislators on a variety of measures they say will address the disparity of services for minorities of advanced age. The group said the pandemic highlighted the problems with housing costs, access to health care and other issues. Monday, the group released their “Disrupt Disparities” report with various recommendations.