Quick hits: Illinois news in brief for Thursday, April 1, 2021
13,000 Illinois residents file for unemployment benefits
Another 13,000 Illinois filed for initial unemployment claims last week.
That’s in addition to around 2,400 independent contractors from the state that filed for benefits last week.
All filers combine getting continued benefits in Illinois totals nearly 391,000 workers out of work getting benefits.
Lawmakers propose requiring fingerprints for gun ownership
Some lawmakers are backing another effort to require Illinois gun owners to submit their fingerprints to Illinois State Police in order to get a Firearm Owner Identification Card.
State Sen. Ram Villivilam’s bill would also increase the cost of the FOID card. It’s unclear how such a bill would clear a backlog of applications.
The state faces several lawsuits in state and federal court over backlogs of applications lasting months and in some cases more than a year.
Pritzker’s political war chest dwarfs Republicans vying to challenge him
Illinois businessman Gary Rabine said Tuesday he’s in it to beat Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but he’ll support whoever gets the Republican nomination.
State Sen. Darren Bailey and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf both said Wednesday they’d also support whoever the candidate is.
The primary is March 2022. Pritzker gave himself $35 million last month. All three Republicans combined have less than a million on hand.
Pritzker criticizes Wisconsin Supreme Court
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court for its ruling Wednesday that their governor overstepped his constitutional powers with COVID-19 orders, including a statewide mask mandate.
Pritzker has similar economic restrictions being challenged in the courts and said the Wisconsin high court was quote “hyper-political” and “Republican-controlled.” He said masks are necessary.
His order for Illinois won’t expire until this summer
State fails to meet COVID-19 reopening metrics
Illinois reached the 70 percent threshold for seniors who’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19, but it’s not enough to satisfy the governor’s plan for further reopening.
The Pritzker administration again Wednesday said not all of the metrics needed to advance to a new phase with fewer restrictions on the economy as part of the governor’s plan have been met.
New program aims to help farmers with mental, physical health
SIU Medicine in Carbondale along with the Illinois Department of Agriculture has launched a new program called the Farm Family Resource Initiative.
The goal of the pilot program is to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of Illinois farm owners and their families. The number is 1-833-FARM-SOS.
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