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.
Local News
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski,…
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Spread the loveGabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized…
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
Spread the loveBy Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos…
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
Spread the loveBy Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time.…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…
Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season
Spread the love. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central…
Dread over car drifters on streets
Spread the love. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by…
Don’t raise pilots’ retirement age, García says
Spread the love. From staff reports U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently led a letter joined by 121 Members of Congress urging House Democratic leadership to reject any changes to the pilot retirement age in a final version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill.…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
Spread the love. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer…
Neighbors
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Saint Xavier men’s volleyball finishes historic season in nation’s top 4
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team made history by advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship. But the Cougars fell to eventual national champion Georgetown (Kentucky), 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10, on May 3 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Although there was…
St. Francis first baseman Nate Maliska earns conference POW honors
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent The University of St. Francis sophomore first baseman Nate Maliska was chosen the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week in baseball for April 7. In helping the Saints to four wins that week, Maliska went 9-for-15 (.600) with eight RBI and seven runs scored. The St. Laurence…
Baseball | Marist claws way back to .500
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent This season has thus far not been what Marist had expected, but the RedHawks came into this week at .500. Marist was 2-8 after 10 games this season, with three of those first eight losses coming via shutout. But the RedHawks turned things around with a stretch of eight…
Red Stars fall to Spirit for third loss in past four matches
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent After enjoying one of their best starts in franchise history, the Chicago Red Stars have slid to the middle of the NWSL standings, with the latest setback being a 4-2 loss to Washington at SeatGeek Stadium. The Stars (3-3-1) entered this week having dropped three of their past four…
Red Stars take aim at NWSL attendance record with Wrigley game
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars are thinking big when it comes to their upcoming game at Wrigley Field. The team is taking aim at the NWSL record for single-game attendance when it hosts Bay FC at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs on June 8. The record is held…