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Illinois Department of Public Health is starting to see clusters of COVID-19 cases at essential businesses

(Springfield-jm) -- Unemployment claims once again spiked in Illinois. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor, 178,133 workers filed for unemployment benefits for the week ending March 28, a 56 percent increase over last week’s record 114,114 filings. The number of filings continues to climb as employers feel the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Nationally, more than 6.6 million Americans filed unemployment claims.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health is starting to see clusters of COVID-19 cases at essential businesses. Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike says businesses that remain open must take steps to protect workers and customers…

 

State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. Ezike says businesses should be thoroughly clean each day and consider ways to keep customers and staff six feet away from each other. That may include roping off areas or installing plexiglass at the checkout counter.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Recreational cannabis sales neared the $36 million mark in March, according to preliminary figures from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Statewide adult-use cannabis sales totaled $35,902,543 from the sale of 812,203 products during the month. Illinois residents spent about $27 million on recreational cannabis products while out-of-state residents spent about $8.8 million, according to IDFPR numbers. Both medical and adult-use cannabis dispensaries are considered essential businesses under Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order, which was issued March 21 to slow the spread of COVID-19.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois State Police officials have received nearly 50,000 firearm transfer inquiries since March 13. Illinois State Police officials provided updated numbers on Thursday. Since March 13, ISP’s Firearms Services Bureau has received 49,342 inquiries. That’s up from 38,929 requests announced from March 13 to March 25, and up from 18,980 inquiries from March 13 to March 18. 

 

 

(Washington-jm) -- Congress has passed a 2 trillion dollar stimulus bill to help American families who are hurting financially due to Coronavirus. But how will the stimulus package help you? WPXN’s Jason Madden has the details…

 

 

 

(Urbana-jm) -- Ramona Sullivan, one of four candidates running for the Democratic nomination for the Champaign County judgeship position, still leads following the counting of mail in ballots. Sullivan received 9,674 votes compared to second place finisher Ruth Wyman who received 9,435 votes. Sullivan will go up against Republican Cherie Kesler for the spot.

 

 

(Champaign-jm) -- Spring is here and the weather is getting warmer. But how does the forecast outlook look for the rest of spring? State Climatologist Trent Ford provides the forecast…

 

 

State Climatologist Trent Ford.

 

(Urbana-jm) -- OSF HealthCare is taking precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. A tent has been placed outside of the Emergency Departments at OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary and OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Centers. Those tents are where patients entering the hospital will be screened prior to entry. Also, to protect patients, family members, and staff from the spread of infectious conditions, OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary and OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Centers have implemented strict visitor guidelines and hospital access. OSF Heart of Mary and OSF Sacred Heart will restrict visitors to one visitor per patient for only critically ill patients, patients at the end of life and patients in labor & delivery.

 

(Paxton-jm) -- The Paxton Park District is canceling all spring activities. In a post on facebook, the park district is canceling the entire youth soccer season, remainder of ballet, gymnastics and tumbling sessions and karate. The daddy/daughter dance will be rescheduled at a later date. The park district says summer programs so far are going forward as planned. The deadline to register is April 15th.

 

(Washington-jm) -- Stocks of old crop grains and soybeans are smaller than they were a year ago. Gary Crawford reports from Washington…

 

 

 

(Watseka--jc)  -- One local county has three more cases of Covid-19. WPXN;s Joel Cluver reports…

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- A growing number of out-of-work Illinoisans are frustrated with the state's unemployment application process, which has buckled amid a record number of claims. Illinoisans trying to file for unemployment benefits found the Illinois Department of Employment Security website temporarily down for part of Thursday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said the computers the state uses to process claims were ten years old and the systems weren't acting properly given the volume of applications. He has asked people to space out filings by only applying on specific days based on the first letter of your last name.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- As of April 1, 10 states have ordered the release of inmates at the state level, 23 states have ordered the release of inmates on the local level, and 17 have not released inmates due to coronavirus. Some state-level changes have been made by courts. The governors of Michigan and Illinois issued executive orders allowing local governments to release incarcerated individuals who are vulnerable to the disease and do not pose a risk to the public.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- The new “All in Illinois” statewide initiative aims to reinforce the state’s message to stay home. Officials say they probably sound like a broken record, but the call to social distance and stay home is vitally important. Governor J-B Pritzker says the new “All In” campaign hammers home that point…

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritkzer. Cases of COVID-19 in Illinois are now over 76 hundred. It’s been found in 61 counties and 157 people have died. The initiative’s website is: all in dot illinois dot gov.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Drug treatment centers and other behavioral health facilities are struggling to continue to serve those who need help as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Illinois. A survey of 147 community-based organizations found that their estimated Medicaid billing to the state had plummeted by $6.3 million at the end of March. The survey also found that their non-Medicaid billing is expected to balloon by about $800,000.

 

 

(Paxton-cf)-- There are a lot of questions surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic leaving most people scrambling for answers. The best answer is to follow our governmental leaders, says 53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington… 

 

 

 53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington


 

(Bloomington-jm) -- Special Olympics Illinois is canceling their state summer games. The games were to be held June 12-14 in Bloomington. The group says they are canceling to protect the safety of athletes and volunteers due to COVID-19.

 

 

(Paxton-cf)-- Not only do all Illinoisians have to stay home until April 30th, many area businesses including Subway in Paxton have changed their hours to keep their employees safe, they are now from 9am to 7pm says Manager Alicia Weber…

 

 

Paxton Subway Manager Alicia Weber

 

 

(Urbana-jm) -- The University of Illinois announced Thursday summer classes will be done online due to COVID-19. Registration for classes will begin April 20th. Summer study abroad programs have also been suspended.

 

 

(Ashkum-jm) -- District 21 Illinois State Police in Ashkum will be conducting Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement Patrols in April. WPXN’s Jason Madden has the details…

 

 

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