Quicks hits: Illinois news in brief for Friday, Aug. 13, 2021
Illinois’ shrinking counties
All but 15 Illinois counties lost population over the past decade, according to the latest U.S. Census data released Thursday. Kendall County grew at the fastest rate of nearly 15 percent. Monroe and Johnson counties grew by more than 5 percent. Every other county grew less than 5 percent, with the most losing population over the decade. Illinois is the only state in the Midwest and only of three states overall to lose population, decreasing by 18,124 over the decade.
School blinks first on mask standoff
The Christian school the Illinois State Board of Education punished for a mask-optional policy says they’re working with the board to regain their recognition status. The Chicago Tribune reports officials with Timothy Christian Schools in Elmhurst said they never meant to defy the order. ISBE notified the school their graduating students won’t be recognized, they can’t play sports or get scholarships through the Invest In Kids program.
Express yourself
After canceling the ribbon cutting Thursday because of severe weather, Gov. J.B. Pritzker held events ringing in the Illinois State Fair in Springfield that he canceled last year amid COVID-19. But, after a few ribbon cuttings and events in Springfield, he’s back to Chicago for a bill signing his office says “provides students with more freedom of expression by preventing hair discrimination in schools.”
COVID-19 not headlining Lolla
It appears Lollapalooza was not the coronavirus super spreading event that some feared. The music festival attracted nearly 400,000 people two weeks ago. Dr. Allison Arwady(AHR-wah-dee) said while they are still investigating, they’ve found a very small number of cases related to the event: an estimated 203 people.
State Fare
As the Illinois State Fair kicks off, fair officials are reminding attendees they’ll be alerted by public address announcements and via push alerts from the Illinois State Fair mobile app of any severe weather. Officials canceled Thursday evening’s event, including the Twilight Parade and a performance from Sammy Hagar, because of severe weather. The weekend forecast in Springfield calls for sunshine and highs in the lower 80s.
Cupboard’s still empty
Families have to save for emergencies and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza says government should too. Mendoza said in a news release the state only has 30 minutes worth of savings on hand to cover emergencies. She’s promoting House Bill 4118 as a tool to automatically transfer money to budget and pension stabilization funds when backlogged bills are less than $3 billion, the point her office says is within a 30-day pay cycle.
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