Pritzker noncommittal on eviction moratorium amid COVID-19 surge

Pritzker noncommittal on eviction moratorium amid COVID-19 surge

By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t directly say Monday whether he would extend the state’s eviction moratorium for those facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic as cases, deaths and hospitalizations for the virus continue to rise.

“We’ve looked at that, we continue to look at it. We’ll make a decision about that soon,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference in Springfield when asked if he would extend the moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

The governor’s comments come as COVID-19 intensive care bed utilization has increased by 290 percent on a weekly average since July 11. Positivity rates and death counts also continue to rise, although vaccinations have picked up in recent days as well.

When it comes to evictions, Illinois courts are currently under a Supreme Court order until Sept. 1 allowing for the filing of eviction claims but staying certain final trials and judgements. Pritzker’s current disaster declaration and associated eviction moratorium is due to be renewed or expire on Aug. 21.

The governor has routinely extended his executive orders at the end of the 30-day disaster declaration each month, and he has made several changes to eviction orders along the way, including most recently allowing for evictions of “non-covered persons.” 

The state is in the process of paying out about $500 million through the Illinois Rental Payment Program run by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Thus far, 24,174 applicants have received more than $209.7 million from the fund, according to IHDA’s website. That’s an average of about $8,600 per household.

IHDA has received more than 97,000 applications thus far, and the agency estimated earlier this month that it could help about 63,000 renters with the $500 million in funding. While the window to apply through the IHDA portal has closed, aid is still available through IDHS service providers at https://www.illinoisrentalassistance.org.

A court-based program designed to connect renters with aid is set to launch in September.

“So a lot of work has gone into ramping down the eviction moratorium,” Pritzker said, noting the federal government has filed its own moratorium lasting through Oct. 3. But that moratorium, which prevents enforcement action on evictions in virtually all Illinois counties, is being challenged in the courts.

“So we’ll be working with all of the organizations across the state as well as renters and landlords to alleviate the pain that people may experience,” Pritzker said. “But either way people won’t be, you know, forced out of their homes right away, if they are part of this process that we’ve created.”

The pandemic picture in Illinois, meanwhile, continues to worsen.

There were 423 intensive care beds in use for COVID-19 as of Sunday night, a high since May 13. On a seven-day average from Monday to Sunday, there were 354 ICU beds in use daily, a 39 percent increase from a week ago and a 290 percent increase from the week ending July 11.

There were 1,862 hospital beds in use for COVID-19 patients as of Sunday night, while 1,661 were in use on average over the previous seven days, a 34 percent increase from a week ago. Ventilators in use by COVID-19 patients were up 44 percent from a week ago on average, with 195 in use as of Sunday night.

Over the past five days, 73 people have died of COVID-19, or about 15 per day on average.

The Illinois Department of Public Health only reports breakthrough cases and deaths for people who have been vaccinated every Wednesday, and has not reported case counts for those who have been vaccinated. Since Jan. 1, only 189 of the COVID-19 related deaths – or 2.68 percent – have been in unvaccinated individuals.

Only 899 of the 6.6 million fully vaccinated Illinoisans had been hospitalized in 2021 as of Wednesday, Aug. 11. About 52 percent of the state’s population is vaccinated.

The pace of vaccinations has increased recently amid the surge, with 38,840 administered on average daily over the past seven days. That’s a 123 percent increase from July 26.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Leave a Comment





Local News

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Neighbors

Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer rides in the Fourth of July parade in 2022. (File photo)

Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…

Veronica Shaw

Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction

Spread the love

Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…

Sheri Cannataro, of Cannataro Farms, demonstrates the gear she wears to extract honey from a bee hive for visitors who stopped by to see her products at the Hills Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…

Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters speaks about zoning codes at the March 25 council meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…

Ridgeland sd122 logo

SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound March 27, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the love

Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice,…