Quick hits: Illinois news in brief for Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021
Pritzker declares disaster after snowstorms
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has declared a winter weather disaster for the entire state of Illinois.
That could open up state and federal aid for some small municipalities that manage their own natural gas to cover significant spikes.
Ameren Illinois said it see the same demand for natural gas but the utility has ten different pipelines and 12 underground storage fields where it stores supply to hedge winter demands.
Springfield engineer encourages balanced energy portfolio
An engineer for the municipality-owned coal-fired power plant in Springfield is cautious about moving away from coal.
Doug Brown with City Water Light and Power told the Springfield City Council Tuesday going too fast to 100 percent renewable or green energy will create problems in Illinois seen in California and Texas.
Brown urged for a balanced energy portfolio, including coal.
New effort could require fingerprints for gun owners
There could be a renewed effort to require fingerprints for applicants seeking a Firearm Owner Identification Card.
Democratic state Sen. Ram Villivalam told the Chicago Tribune he plans to sponsor such a bill.
Republican state Rep. Andrew Chesney filed House Bill 1770 to repeal the FOID Card Act, saying persistent FOID processing delays are violating people’s rights.
The Illinois State Rifle Association who’s suing the state over delays said the system is obsolete and should be ended.
New Census delays could put Illinois’ primary date in question
There are new uncertainties about when Illinois will be able to draw new political boundaries.
U.S. Census officials Friday announced a six-month delay in releasing reapportionment data, pushing the date to Sept. 30.
That’s a month into when candidates begin gathering petitions for the March 2022 primary, leaving uncertainty for where political boundaries would lie for statehouse and congressional races.
COVID-19 cases fall as vaccination numbers increase
Of more than 46,000 COVID-19 tests conducted in the latest report from public health officials, there were fewer than 1,400 positive cases.
That’s the lowest number of positive cases since Sept. 9.
The state reports it has vaccinated nearly 3.4 percent of the state’s population with more than 430,000 residents getting both doses of the available vaccine.
Majority of Illinoisans want drive-thru vaccine clinics
More than half, or 53 percent of those polled in Illinois would rather have a drive-thru vaccine appointment than a walk-in one, according to a poll released by Quantrell Subaru.
A statement about the poll said Illinois aligned with much of the U.S. which found 55 percent would prefer drive-through vaccinations.
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