Quick Hits: Illinois News In Brief For Aug. 31

From The Center Square:

Pritzker's COVID-19 restrictions face criticism

There’s bipartisan criticism of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mitigations for two regions of the state. Nearly a week into new restrictions prohibiting indoor service at bars and restaurants in Will and Kankakee counties makes nearly two weeks of lesser restrictions on the Metro East St. Louis Region.

Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit said it doesn’t make sense to be uneven, and criticized the open-shut-open approach, calling it bad policy that’s bad for the economy.

Some schools report successful return amid pandemic

While they’ve only been in class for a week, Williamsville schools superintendent Tip Reedy said one thing crucial to their success is parents conducting daily health screenings of children before sending them off.

Reedy said if there are positive cases, they will take appropriate action, but will also return to in-person instruction.

And while he said they can have classes without 20 percent of students, they can't without 20 percent of teaching staff.

Statewide contact tracing efforts ramp up in Illinois

If you get a call from a contact tracer, they won’t tell you who you were around who tested positive, and you may have to self-quarantine for a period of time, that’s according to Sangamon County Public Health Director Gail O’Neill.

The state is granting around $300 million to county public health departments throughout the state for contact tracers and pandemic public health navigators.

Two Chicago police officers in stable condition after shooting

After another violent weekend in Chicago, two Chicago police officers are reportedly in stable condition following a shooting.

The Chicago Tribune reported the officers pulled someone over in an area considered a hot spot for violence early Sunday morning and that the suspect inside a car had a firearm.

Shots were then fired with two officers and a suspect reportedly in serious but stable condition.

Illinois Republican Party leader hopes for election gains

The chairman of the Illinois Republican Party said he thinks Republicans can gain some ground in Illinois with the upcoming election, despite being in the super minority and having limited resources.

Tim Schneider said Republicans in Illinois will never politically outspend Democrats but taxpayers, especially those in the suburbs, he said, see the state’s high tax burden, corruption charges and Chicago violence under Democratic rule.

More than 1 million voters in Illinois request mail-in ballots

More than 1 million voters have applied for a mail-in ballot. That’s more than double the number of mail-in ballot requests from the 2018 election.

Around 6.4 million voters in Illinois were sent notices about the ability to request a mail-in ballot.

Beginning Sept. 24, ballots will be mailed to voters. They must be postmarked no later than election day, Nov. 3, to be counted.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Illinois is state- and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility. For more stories from The Center Square, visit TheCenterSquare.com.