We. Are. Peoria (Area)

Good news!
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Ini­tial un­em­ploy­ment claims edged down to 1.3 mil­lion and work­ers re­ceiv­ing ben­e­fits eased slightly to 18.1 mil­lion in the lat­est week, signs the la­bor mar­ket con­tin­ues to heal.“

This is good news for the economy and for the president. We need people back to work. 32% of U.S. households missed their July mortgage payment. That's not good for anyone. The health problems caused by the lockdown will plague us for decades I believe. And yet some continue to support further lockdowns even amidst a declining death rate of the virus. Astonishing!

"And yet some continue to support further lockdowns even amidst a declining death rate of the virus."

Having a declining death rate is very good news. But what's not good is the rise in the spread of the disease in certain areas.

One of our close church friends is now under quarantine because her son tested positive, and has symptoms; but I believe he's at home. I was told by another church member that he had a rough weekend. His mom is elderly, at high risk, but retired, lives home alone but is being checked on. The uncertainty is that this church friend had lunch with my MIL just before finding out she was exposed. And we spent time with the MIL last Sunday along with daughter, SIL and grandson. Let's hope this COVID didn't somehow spread any further to any of us.

I'm saying what started out with just 1 person being infected has the potential to spread to at least another 7 people. And since we didn't know, since it was a family get-together on Sunday, we didn't wear masks.

Lockdowns are inconvenient, but in many cases necessary to slow the spread. Complain about JB Pritzker and Illinois all you want, but look at how Illinois as fared better in reopening than other states that reopened to soon.

DennisinMH wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:16 pmComplain about JB Pritzker and Illinois all you want, but look at how Illinois as fared better in reopening than other states that reopened to soon.

In what way has Illinois fared better?

Tazewell wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:29 pm

DennisinMH wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:16 pmComplain about JB Pritzker and Illinois all you want, but look at how Illinois as fared better in reopening than other states that reopened to soon.

In what way has Illinois fared better?

Illinois has fared better in declining new cases and deaths. Other states are seeing increasing cases.

DennisinMH wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:22 amIllinois has fared better in declining new cases and deaths. Other states are seeing increasing cases.

Illinois already had one of the worst economies in the nation. It is now at the point where the leadership is going to be begging for Federal bailouts. On top of this, Illinois is 8th in deaths per million. So, we have an economy that went from bad to worse and more deaths per million than 42 other states and that is faring better?

"Illinois already had one of the worst economies in the nation. It is now at the point where the leadership is going to be begging for Federal bailouts."

Illinois's economy was already suffering before the Pandemic due to inaction and lack of leadership from both parties. (Will Madigan ever retire?) Also, Illinois will not be the only Democrat or GOP state asking for bailouts.

DennisinMH wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:22 am

Tazewell wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:29 pm

DennisinMH wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:16 pmComplain about JB Pritzker and Illinois all you want, but look at how Illinois as fared better in reopening than other states that reopened to soon.

In what way has Illinois fared better?

Illinois has fared better in declining new cases and deaths. Other states are seeing increasing cases.

This simply isn’t true. While a handful of states have seen some uptick in cases, they certainly aren’t in the majority. And Chicago continues to struggle with new cases, even though the whole state is still under partial lockdown.
Illinois’ unemployment rate continues to be 2-3 percentage points ABOVE the national average. We’ve “fared better” than other blue states that have had prolonged lockdowns (like California and New Jersey), but that’s a pretty low hurdle. At least 10 Republican-led states have unemployment rates in the single digits, while none that are run by Democrats do.

"And Chicago continues to struggle with new cases, even though the whole state is still under partial lock down."

Agreed, Chicago is still a hot spot, so I could see a partial lock down there; but the rest of the state is doing better, with some exceptions. Woodford County has seen a few more cases than normal.

Tell me how the rest of the state outside of Chicago is still under a partial lock down? Priztker lifted the Stay at Home restriction May 29.

And no one was ever totally locked down. You could still grocery shop, shop at Walmart, hardware stores, gas stations, get take-out food from restaurants. You could go for walks in your neighborhood or parks as long as you social distanced, wore a mask.

If there's still a partial lock down, why since June 26th have I been seeing people coming inside to dine at Jason's Deli? Why am I able to visit,a local diner, sit inside for breakfast?

@DennisinMH said:
“ If there's still a partial lock down, why since June 26th have I been seeing people coming inside to dine at Jason's Deli? Why am I able to visit,a local diner, sit inside for breakfast?”

By order of the governor, restaurants must space tables so they are 6’ apart, with no more than 10 people at a table. This cuts into a restaurant’s profits. Is Jason’s defying that order? THAT is what I mean by a PARTIAL lock down.
In addition to the orders regarding restaurants, many other facilities are still unable to reopen. Park Districts can’t reopen pools, wedding/party venues, or even splash pads, and have fired the people who maintained these facilities. Basketball players cannot practice at their schools. There is no one to clean the gyms, as janitorial staff have been laid off.
Since, by order of the governor, we still cannot have gatherings of more than 50 people, thousands of wedding receptions have been cancelled. This has lead to the following groups of people being unemployed:
Those who own/work in formal wear rental stores
Those who own/work in stores that sell wedding dresses
Seamstresses who alter wedding dresses
Musicians and DJs
Florists
Caterers and their serving staff
Wedding cake bakers and decorators
Photographers and videographers

Do you have any idea how many people are unemployed because of the continued (partial) shutdown?