THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All
November 8, 2021
Good morning again, and happy Monday.
Time changes are stupid. Thankfully, the Bloomington Pantagraph agrees.
I understand the need when it was enacted before the invent of rural electrification that farmers needed to milk cows and feed chickens in sunlight, but today we need daylight more at 4pm than 5am.
Can we fix this? Please?
Anybody? Shouldn’t it be simple? Unlike Indiana, which has 12 counties on central time and 80 on eastern time. Hoosiers, man.
That said, get an early start on your daily reading by becoming one of our paid subscribers. Subscribers get two exclusive newsletters delivered to their inboxes each week. They also got three additional e-mails last week with breaking news. That’s worth $7.99 a month, don’t you think?
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As always, drop me a note at patrick@theillinoize.com. I’m always interested in your thoughts and comments.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
Fall back? Illinois COVID-19 cases up nearly 20% as temperatures drop and people head indoors (Chicago Sun-Times)
New cases of COVID-19 jumped nearly 20% across Illinois over the past week as colder autumn weather sends more people inside.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday reported 17,462 positive coronavirus tests for the week — about 2,495 new infections each day — compared to 14,616 throughout the prior week. The case spike outpaced a 3% increase in the number of tests performed.
Previously, weekly case counts had shrunk by more than half in Illinois since the state’s Delta variant surge peaked in late August.
Experts have long anticipated a seasonal uptick in cases, but they don’t expect it to get as bad as the devastating surge the state suffered last fall — thanks to an abundance of life-saving vaccines now readily available for residents as young as 5.
“It’s just gotten cold here, people have moved inside much more, and this is the time of year, when that happens, that we typically see respiratory viruses spread most easily,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. “It’s why flu season doesn’t happen in the middle of July. It’s why cold season and other respiratory infection season really tends to be more often this time of year.”
Related: Federal COVID shot opt-out not as clear as Democrats claim (Associated Press)
Springfield teacher who risked her job over vaccination status was vaccinated all along. (State Journal-Register)
Opinion: Allowing religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines is a mistake (Chicago Tribune)
How COVID-19 obscured true picture of homeless suburban students (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Kinzinger decision disappointing (Bloomington Pantagraph)
One of the disappointing results of the redistricting of Illinois is how many popular elected officials may or already have removed themselves from Congressional races.
Adam Kinzinger has already made his decision – he won’t be running for Congress.
One unfortunate fact is clear. At least one and potentially three men supported for years by an electorate may be removed from the national picture just because of the way the districts were drawn. That has to be viewed as a loss in some fashion.
I don’t think the Pantagraph editorial board was paying attention to Kinzinger’s status with primary voters and Republicans loyal to the cult of Trumpism following the 2020 election when they wrote this piece.
But they’re absolutely right, that anyone who would has been represented by Kinzinger the past 11 years will be losing someone who has done a spectacular job.
The making of a respectable lobbyist (Illinois Times)
Randy Witter has learned a thing or two during his 48 years of lobbying work at the Illinois State Capitol.
"I learned early on that if you treat everyone the same way, whether it's the governor or the janitor, with the same respect, you're going to get further ahead," said the 72-year-old Witter. "You don't necessarily have to get along with them, but you have to respect them."
Witter, the principal of Cook-Witter Inc. of Springfield, retired Oct. 1 after a lobbying career that began in 1973. Although his experiences could fill several volumes, Witter confessed, "I'm not going to write a book, I don't want to say this or that person was crazy." But he has picked up some wisdom along the way about how things really get done under the Capitol dome.
"Political Science 101 and political reality are not the same thing." Witter said. "You can pick up the formal education of how a bill becomes law, but to really understand the nuances, the people and the organizational dynamics, well, I am still learning now."
"I've seen God, flag, apple pie and motherhood all go down the drain and I've seen pieces of legislation I never thought would pass, get passed," Witter said. "Most people don't realize why we have the laws that we have, what goes into the final result."
Witter has had more than a front-row seat to the machinations of the Illinois General Assembly during his lifetime of work. He has been an active, behind-the-scenes participant in some of the key issues of our time, working tirelessly to pass, defeat or change laws that impact our daily lives.
Randy is one of our subscribers. I hope he enjoys retirement.
Who wears the power sweater vest better? Democrats or Republicans? (Daily Herald)
During his Virginia gubernatorial campaign, Republican Glenn Youngkin's red sweater vest became a sartorial celebrity.
Media from The New York Times to Politico to Rolling Stone referenced the comfy attire Youngkin donned at rallies.
Politics aside, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is no novice at the sweater vest game. Although typically adorned in a business suit, Pritzker has his own version of the power sweater vest that's appeared at a number of events.
What's the significance of sweater vests?
Harper College's Nupur Sharma thinks that "sweater vests are the underdogs of the fashion world."
I don’t know if there’s a bro under 30 east of the Appalachian Mountains that doesn’t own multiple Patagonia vests.
Obviously, the Governor was trying to relate to people by wearing more casual clothing on the trail. You look pretty out of place downstate if you roll into a union hall in a $5,000 bespoke suit.
The other thing that’s great about the vest…and as a fellow member of the rounded tummy club…it does a great job of hiding the extra padding we have in the front.
Anyway, not hard news, but still fun to see how politicians have made them such a fashion statement.
SOME TOP LINKS FROM LAST WEEK
Republicans May Not Submit Full Redistricting Counterproposal to Federal Court
Rep. Mark Batinick, One of the House GOP's Perennially Endangered Members, Won't Seek Re-Election
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