Bullying Gov. Pritzker Worked: Auburn Gresham Gets Testing Sites

CHICAGO — Gov. J.B. Pritzker deserves a hearty pat on the back.

Sixty days after the state's first new coronavirus fatality struck the 60620 ZIP code, 45 days after an election judge there died from COVID-19 and more than two weeks after state Sen. Jacqueline Collins started publicly complaining, the governor finally brought a COVID-19 testing site to African American neighborhoods where people are getting sick and dying at an alarming rate.

Pritzker made the announcement Friday while trying to sell Illinoisans on the idea that his administration has done a great job increasing coronavirus testing by pointing to statistical rankings that lack context, and fuzzy calculations of data hastily cobbled together and presented to the public as meaningful facts.

But today, I refuse to let a steaming pile of political spin get in the way of praising the governor for doing something wonderful ... that he should have done months ago.

A new COVID-19 testing site is set to open at Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th Street, a spot strategically selected by the Illinois National Guard.

Count me among the people who couldn't be more proud of Pritzker making it happen, even though it took weeks of constant bullying to get the governor to do the right thing.

"I'm thankful that we did get the testing site no matter what it took. Advocacy. Agitation. Whatever it took. It paid off," Sen. Collins said.

"The bottom line is that we did get a testing site. I feel it came at a time necessary to curtail and mitigate damage done to communities ravaged by COVID-19 cases and deaths. I'm just so thankful that we got it."

A reasonable person might think that given the data showing the 60620 ZIP code as a coronavirus hot spot it would be a no-brainer to put a testing site there. But South Siders have learned over the years not to expect reasonable treatment from government. Nothing good comes without a fight.

"This time the fight was our consistently asking," the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church said. "We asked hospitals. We asked the state. We asked the city. Medical places. Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting. We were constantly asking. Trying to figure out every day why this community didn't have a testing site. And it was discouraging ... until about two weeks ago. And now we've got two testing sites opening simultaneously."

On Monday, Friend Health, in a partnership with the city, University of Chicago Medicine and the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, will begin conducting drive-thru and walk-up COVID-19 testing at 79th and Racine at the crossroad of CTA bus routes and a stroll from seven senior citizen buildings.

Good work, governor. Have a cold one. Get some rest.

Now that we know how to get your attention, there's a lot more to discuss.

Mark Konkol, recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and Emmy-nominated producer, was a producer, writer and narrator for the "Chicagoland" docu-series on CNN. He was a consulting producer on the Showtime documentary, "16 Shots."

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