Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, quoting Lincoln: "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis; the great point is to bring them the real facts."
"These words are still so true."
Ezike: In the last 24 hours, more than 42,000 lab results have been reported for a total of more than 3.1 million tests performed in Illinois.
1,645 more Illinoisans diagnosed and 16 people died.
Ezike: "My concern is growing each day about the direction our numbers are going."
Ezike: "And no, it's not that every new diagnosis leads to death; nobody's trying to over-dramatize. It's absolutely not the case. Most people actually have mild to moderate symptoms that clear within a few weeks. ...
"But we don't know about the longterm effects, and there are smaller numbers that suffer severe symptoms and, in some cases, of course, death."
Ezike: Since the beginning of July, number of people going to the ER for coronavirus has increased. New cases and positivity rate increasing, as well.
Ezike: "Fact: This is not a normal event. And, as all trauma, this has caused alternating and varying amounts of fear, of anxiety, of panic and, for some, denial. We're all faced with tough decisions, and these tough decisions and tough questions require even tougher answers. ...
"And no answer satisfies everyone. But we're all in this together. Like it or not, your actions impact me and my actions impact you. So we need to be decent and understanding and respectful of each other."
Ezike: When wearing a mask, make sure you keep your nose covered. Wash your hands. Keep 6 feet of distancing.
Pritzker: "It's our small businesses, working families, communities of color that have paid the highest price."
Pritzker: He banned residential evictions and place a moratorium on utility shutoffs months ago. He halted vehicle repossessions.
Pritzker: "Overall, the BIG program will support thousands of small businesses who have suffered losses due to the COVID pandemic with a substantial allotment set aside specifically for child care providers, an essential underpinning of our workforce for countless working ...
"families. The federal PPP program seems to have overlooked too many entrepreneurs and small shops."
Pritzker: They're taking the partnership a step further, investing $1 million in outreach and trying to reach entrepreneurs of color through four community navigators, like the Chicago Urban League.
Pritzker: "Our effort to support families and revitalize our economy are ongoing, and I intend to do everything in my power to alleviate the pain that COVID is inflicting across Illinois."
Pritzker: 11 Restore Illinois regions trending in different directions, "the majority of which are negative." Comparing yesterday to a week ago, regions 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9 have seen increase in their seven-day rolling average positivity rates. Regions 6 and 8 have seen slight drop.
Pritzker: "Local officials should pay close attention to the data for their communities and, where necessary, step up and impose greater mitigations on a targeted basis to bring down the number of infections or the positivity rate. Otherwise, it will only be a matter of time ...
"before the state will be forced to step in and roll things back on a regional basis." They don't want to do that.
Pritzker: "The virus is till among us and will be until a treatment or vaccine is developed. In the meantime, masking and distancing" are two of the most important things to do to stay safe.
Michael Negron of DCEO: They're excited to announce the first wave of BIG grants.
Negron: "Ultimately, revitalizing our economy must start with getting the outbreak under control." That means staying 6 feet apart, wearing a mask, washing your hands.
Negron: Half of the businesses getting grants today are minority-owned.
Negron: "We know there are thousands more that still need help." They're finalizing plans for more rounds of grants.
Negron: They expect to open the applications for the next wave of funds in coming weeks. There will be info online: http://Illinois.gov/DCEO .
Karen Freeman-Wilson of Chicago Urban League: "Every day, we encounter members of the small business community in our daily work at the Chicago Urban League. We know that small business is particularly the lifeblood of the communities on the South and West sides. ...
"We also know that the thriving of a small business can present the opportunity to develop or narrow, I should say, the wealth gap in these communities. And so, like many of you, none of these business owners thought at the beginning of the year, as they planned for the growth...
"and expansion of their businesses, that they would be hit by, first, a pandemic and the closing of most of those businesses ..., and then the civil unrest that led to further destruction in those businesses. ... This program presents a tremendous opportunity for those ...
"businesses. Because even though they come to us to ask for advice about marketing during a pandemic or pivoting their product through a pandemic or thinking ahead to look towards the next interruption in their businesses — as good as that advice and mentoring may be, there is...
"nothing that can change the trajectory of a business like the infusion of revenue. And so that's what we have been able to do through this program."
"This program can be the difference between sustaining your business through a difficult time and having to suspend operation either temporarily or permanently."
Vanetta Roy, a grant recipient and owner of Surf's Up South Shore: "... This money will be used for hiring, training and to fully get back on track as we were prior to the events of COVID-19 and the civil unrest. As a Black woman in business, this money will allow me to ...
"continue to progress and to be successful and to show that we as a people can be just as successful as anyone else."
Pritzker reiterates this is a "make or break moment for Illinois and for the city of Chicago."
Pritzker: "... If we can bring those numbers down ... we're all working hard to get this done, it's why the rule we got passed yesterday was so important. It's one more step in a series of steps along a path to make sure we don't become a hot spot."
Pritzker: "No. 1, there's no doubt, as you see the mobility data, that has an impact on transmission rates." But wearing a mask and being socially distant has a "tremendously positive effect" at bringing down transmission rates.
Pritzker: "To be clear, we don't want to go back to where we're shutting things down. We don't want to. It's the last thing that's on my mind, if I can avoid it. But the truth is if we keep going in the wrong direction, we will inevitably get there."
Pritzker: "On a typical busy street in the city of Chicago, you can't maintain social distance. You just can't."
Pritzker: "First of all, anybody who is looting or shooting or breaking the law should be held responsible. Period. End of sentence. Let's set that as a baseline.
"People who are protesting and voicing their concerns and standing up for people's rights and doing it in a ...
"peaceful fashion, they have every right to do that. But those are two very different things."
Pritzker: He's heard from people who care deeply about hockey and want to make sure there's an opportunity to people to play.
"These are the last things that i want to do. All we're trying desperately to do is do the best thing we can to keep people safe and healthy."
Pritzker on Kamala Harris: "I was a Tammy Duckworth fan. I think she's wonderful. But Kamala Harris is a great choice for Biden. She'll be a great vice president for the United States."
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