THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All
August 12, 2021
Good morning and welcome to our Thursday Free for All. Governor JB Pritzker was part of the annual ceremony to unveil the Butter Cow at the Illinois State Fair. While the guy looks as out of place as you would expect a billionaire to look in an agricultural setting, at least he isn’t trying to fake it like his predecessor.
By the way, if you want to watch a live webcam of the buttery bovine, click here.
We hope you’re enjoying our new Free for All emails. Let me know what you’d like to see more of, see differently, or for me to just quit bothering you in the morning at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Remember, if you aren’t yet a paid subscriber, you’re missing out on exclusive content. Just for you, we’re knocking $10 off a yearly subscription- to just $65.
Click here to join our growing community!
Let’s get to the latest.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
State giving $250 million in business grants (Crain’s Chicago Business)
The state of Illinois is rolling out a new program to help small businesses that have been whacked by COVID-19 but didn’t get financial aid in a previous package.
Under an initiative announced by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, $250 million in grants of $5,000 to $250,000 will be offered to firms that can prove they lost revenue to COVID in 2020.
Only companies with regular revenue of under $20 million a year will be eligible, and officials said that while any company can apply, the priority will go to restaurants, taverns, hotels and arts organizations, all of which were particularly hurt by the pandemic.
Groups based in high-poverty "disproportionately impacted areas" also will get priority access to the new money.
My understanding is the federal American Rescue Plan is the source for the funding.
Record breaking rise in COVID-19 cases in southern Illinois, including children (The Southern)
The Jackson County Health Department was notified of 115 cases on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous daily record of 87 cases from November 12, 2020, according to a news release.
Through the first 11 days of August, there have been 451 new cases in Jackson County, which exceeds every monthly case total except for three: November and December of 2020; and January of this year.
Meanwhile, children made up 37% of the Southern Seven Health Department's new daily cases on Wednesday — a new trend described as "alarming" by Nathan Ryder, contact tracing outreach coordinator.
Related: A Peoria-area school district will require masks on students, but not because of the Governor’s mandate (Peoria Journal Star)
Chicago Public Schools leaders say schools will open fully and safely (Chicago Tribune)
Noted Pritzker sue-and-lose attorney Tom DeVore is back at it (Belleville News-Democrat)
Numerous lawmakers won’t say if they’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine (WBEZ)
Brenden Moore: A Chicagoan’s ode to the Illinois State Fair (Lee Newspapers)
My first fair, I covered a little bit of everything, snagging a one-on-one interview with then-Gov. Bruce Rauner one day as the lone reporter to cover a veterans event he attended. I also chatted with regular fairgoers about their experience and vendors about how they were doing compared to previous years.
As I covered more events, I quickly fell in love with the fair.
There was just an ambiance to it all — the throngs of people passing through the Dairy Building to get a glimpse of the Butter Cow, the screams of children going down the Giant Slide, the music blasting from the free acts in the beer tents and from the paid acts at the Grandstand.
It’s also a giant celebration of Illinois and of the state’s largest industry: agriculture. This is spotlighted every year in the Governor’s Sale of Champions, a marquee event in the Coliseum where champion livestock are auctioned off.
Maybe the farm kid in me has just been to way too many hot, humid, thunderstorm-y county and state fairs over the years to share his excitement, but I appreciate the romanticized view Brenden has.
I hope you check Brenden out on Twitter. He’s doing really good work for Lee.
“Is this heaven?” Nope. It’s a White Sox game in Iowa. (Chicago Sun-Times)
“You take a corner, and all of a sudden you can see the light stanchions for the fields, and I literally got chills,” [FOX Director Matt] Gangl said. “I’m like, This is exactly why we’re doing this, to provide that moment of wow. You get those goosebumps. It’s like nothing I can fully explain as you drive up the first time.”
The fields Gangl referred to are the movie site, now a tourist attraction, and the nearby pop-up stadium that will host the “Field of Dreams” Game on Thursday between the White Sox and Yankees. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other players from the 1919 Sox were featured in the movie. Hence, the Sox’ inclusion in the game. Fox will broadcast the game, and Gangl will direct.
“This game is not only gonna draw baseball fans, but fans of the movie and people who are just intrigued to see how they put a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield,” Gangl said.
Not just a baseball field, but a full-on TV production. Just as the stadium was built from scratch, the broadcast will be, too.
It’s interesting the mystique a 32-year-old baseball ghost movie has. I’ll admit, it’s probably my favorite movie, too. But as someone who literally grew up surrounded by corn, I’m not sure the views will be quite that pleasing. And, they’re not even playing on the same field where James Earl Jones gave the iconic “baseball, Ray” speech in the movie.
JOIN US