Wabash County is having some of the same difficulties other counties are having because of a change at the state level. County officials are busy updating to new computer software for the tax system, and because of that, county commissioners say there may be a delay in getting tax statements out. County chair Tim Hocking said he hopes the statements will be out by mid-November.
State Keeping Current With Payments To Wabash County
Treasurer Beverly McBride says the state is staying current with what it owes Wabash County. In her report to county commissioners last Monday, McBride said the county received $41,183 from Springfield in income tax receipts for October, and $14,069 for the use tax and cannabis tax. In addition, $15,133 was received for salary re-imbursements.
COVID-19 Education Data Analysis Revealed
While in-person instruction can be linked to an increase of COVID-19 cases, it doesn’t correlate to increased COVID-19-related fatalities.
There also doesn’t seem to be any difference in the number of cases where schools are fully remote or using a hybrid plan. That’s according to data analysis from a University of Illinois Springfield professor.
Since the spring semester was cut short under stay-at-home orders by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, schools across the state started the new school year under a variety of different plans. Some have in-person instruction with mask mandates, social distancing requirements and health screenings. Others chose to do a hybrid model with a mix of some days in-person and other days remote.
Illinois Association of Regional Superintendent of Schools President Mark Klaisner said last week the association has heard of problems with the different education plans around the state, but it is also hearing success stories.
“We’re seeing young children who are managing the masks, who are able to be in person. We’re also seeing that some young kids are thriving at home,” Klaisner said.
Out of the fear of spreading COVID-19, the vast majority of the state’s 850 school districts are fully remote.
UIS professor Gary Reinbold compared COVID-19 case numbers from areas that were mainly in-person teaching, those who were hybrid and those who were online only. He found (https://blogs.uis.edu/garywreinbold/2020/09/27/effect-of-k-12-instruction-types-on-reported-covid-19-cases-and-deaths-in-illinois-counties/) while in-person instruction correlates with higher COVID-19 cases, it doesn’t correlate with higher COVID-19-related deaths.
“Overall, though, it appears that in-person instruction contributed significantly more to increases in the number of reported cases than either hybrid instruction or online-only instruction and that there was not a significant difference between hybrid and online-only instruction in contributing to those increases,” he wrote. “None of the differences in instruction types appear to have contributed significantly to increases in the number of reported deaths.”
“Deaths are so unpredictable,” Reinbold told WMAY on Wednesday. “In a lot of cases, it’s just sort of a matter of bad luck in terms of who happens to get sick, whether they be in a high-risk group.”
That wasn’t the only thing Reinbold found in his review of the data.
“To me, the most interesting thing that I found was that there wasn’t a significant difference between counties that had most of their students in hybrid and counties that had most of their students in fully online,” Reinbold said.
Reinbold said his conclusion should send the message to school boards that the benefits of having kids in school outweigh the risks of COVID-19 spread.
“Certainly we know there are a lot of benefits of having kids in schools across a variety of different areas and more and more it’s looking like the risks aren’t as significant as we thought they were,” Rienbold said.
Even before Reinbold’s data review, Klainser said getting into a hybrid model was important.
“The ability to be in a hybrid mode when that’s available, as soon as that’s available, to build face-to-face relationships and that connecting is hugely powerful,” Klainser said.
Of the state’s 1.9 million public school students, the Illinois State Board of Education reported Tuesday (https://isp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/fceeacb37da04de4b237ed941dd7d5c4) the vast majority, or nearly 1.2 million, are remote only. Around 600,000 are in a blended model. Fewer than 200,000 have in-person learning.
Fully remote learning is primarily in urban and suburban areas of Cook County and the Metro East St. Louis area.
Pritzker Places Region 9 Under Tier 1 Mitigations
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday that added restrictions are coming to another region of the state as the spread of COVID-19 continues to trigger Tier 1 mitigations.
Citing rising coronavirus testing positivity rates, Region 9, which is McHenry and Lake counties, will be placed under Tier 1 standards starting Saturday. The restrictions come after the region’s positivity rate surpassed the 8 percent threshold for the third straight day.
“Covid-related hospital admissions today are five times as high as they were in June, and three times as high as in mid-September,” Pritzker said. “In other words, things are bad in Region 9.”
Bars and restaurants in McHenry and Lake counties will be forced to cease indoor dining starting Saturday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced.
Not everyone was pleased with the decision.
“I know that people are fed up with wearing masks and socially distancing – I am, for sure," McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks said in a statement. "But we cannot lower our positivity rate and lift these new restrictions by wishing them gone – we need to work together. We need to follow the CDC guidelines of masking, washing hands and maintaining 6-foot distance. Working together, we’ll get through this quicker. We owe it to our small businesses and our neighbors to do everything we can.”
Franks told the Northwest Herald that he had asked state officials for more flexibility.
“I asked them not to have it one size fits all,” McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks said. “We are trying to get more flexible. I want to keep our businesses open.”
"This is not just a warning, but a call to action. We continue to move backward, losing all the ground we had gained over the summer. We turned the state around once, let's do it again," IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a news release.
With the addition of Region 9, that leaves only three regions in the state that are not under mitigation standards: Regions 2, 3 and 6, which are all located in central Illinois.
On Wednesday, IDPH reported 6,110 new COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths. The number of new cases is the second-highest total in a single day since the pandemic began. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois now stands at 389,095, with 9,619 deaths.
Republicans Want Answers From Governor, But Won't Sue To Get Them
Republican state legislators are demanding Gov. J.B. Pritzker comes to the table with data and to reevaluate his COVID-19 mitigation strategy that prohibits bars and restaurants from indoor service, but they’re ruling out litigation.
The governor has unilaterally imposed stricter COVID-19 mitigations on bars and restaurants all across the state. The industry says it’s devastating.
Illinois Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Dan Clausner said his members are in a tough spot on whether to comply or defy.
“Some of them have said if I close now, I’m closing for good, so I’m going to stay open and force the government to close me down because I’m going to close anyway,” Clausner said.
In a separate news conference, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the studies the governor is relying on to impact the industry isn’t relevant to Illinois.
“Those aren’t reliable documents to make a decision that we’re going to shut down the restaurants in Chicago because of some studies that were done outside the United States and also how the COVID virus spreads on ship line cruises,” Durkin said.
Durkin reiterated what Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the spread is happening in private gatherings. He favored negotiations over litigation.
Pritzker says grants are available from the federal government the state is managing, but Edison Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa McIntyre, who joined Durkin’s virtual press conference, said those aren’t being distributed fairly.
“Many of our businesses have not through the city or the state have not really qualified for these grants because they’re not a low-income area,” McIntyre said.
Durkin said the grants aren’t enough and businesses should be allowed to operate their business safely.
Separately, Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said the legislature must hold hearings to hold the Pritzker administration accountable.
“The legislature needs to get involved in this,” Brady said. “It’s time to stop just unilateral actions on the part of the governor and convene the General Assembly to jointly make decisions that are good for the people of Illinois with transparent data.”
Senate President Don Harmon’s office didn’t indicate if Harmon would call a public hearing, but said that is something Harmon would review.
“President Harmon looks forward to continuing to work with Leader Brady toward the shared goal of protecting the health and safety of the people of Illinois,” said Harmon spokesman John Patterson.
ISP TO CONDUCT OREP'S NEXT MONTH IN WABASH/EDWARDS COUNTIES
Carmi – Illinois State Police (ISP) District 19 Commander, Captain Nathan Douglas, announces the ISP will conduct Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrols (OREP) in Wabash, Edwards, and Saline Counties during November. OREPs allow the ISP to focus on safety belt and child safety seat laws. Illinois law requires all vehicle passengers (front and back) to buckle up!
Safety belts are still one of the most effective safety devices in vehicles, estimated to save nearly 14,000 lives each year. Half of vehicle occupants killed in a traffic crash were not properly buckled up. The objective of this program is to increase occupant restraint compliance through education, child seat inspections, and enforcement.
Mt. Carmel Man Arrested On Warrant Following Traffic Stop
On 10/28/2020, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Tyler L. Wade, age 27, of Mt. Carmel, on an Edwards County Failure to Appear warrant. Wade was located as a passenger in a vehicle stop at 9th & Poplar Street, where he was taken into custody. Wade was extradited back to Edwards County by the Wabash County Sheriff’s Office.
Trespassing At Tower Heights Results In Mt. Carmel Woman's Arrest
On 10/22/2020, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Tabetha E. Pohl, age 35, of Mt. Carmel, for Criminal Trespass to State Supported Land. Pohl was observed on the property of Tower Heights, which is government-supported, after being barred from the property previously. Pohl was issued the above-stated charge and released on a Notice to Appear in court.
Mt. Carmel Man Arrested On Meth Delivery Warrant
On 10/28/2020, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Michael I. Perkins, age 51, of Mt. Carmel, on a Wabash County Warrant for Delivery of Methamphetamine. The warrant stemmed from an MCPD investigation into the illegal sale of narcotics in Mt. Carmel. Perkins was located in the 1100 block of Poplar Street, where he was taken into custody. Perkins was issued his warrant and held at the Wabash County Jail on a $4000 cash bond.
Bellmont Man Faces Several Charges After Fleeing Police On ATV
On 10/22/2020, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Curt E. Dill, age 37, of Bellmont, for Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Driving While License Revoked, Possession of Cannabis –More than 100 grams less than 500 grams, Possession of a Hypodermic Syringe, Resisting a Peace Officer, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Methamphetamine –Under 5 grams. Dill’s arrest came after an officer observed him operating an ATV on River Road. When the officer attempted to stop the ATV, it fled north on River Road. Officers were able to stop the ATV at E 1280 Rd (rural River Road) and N 1560 Ln. Dill then fled on foot but was apprehended by one of the responding officers. When Dill was taken into custody, officers located, among other things, methamphetamine and approximately 120 grams of cannabis. Dill was transported to the Wabash County Jail, where he was charged and held on a $1000 cash bond. The Wabash County Sheriff’s Office assisted MCPD.