Some restaurants continue to defy closure orders
The owner of a restaurant in Champaign County says he will continue to operate despite getting daily fines.
Lil Buford’s owner Jeff Buckler streamed video of his interaction with health inspectors last week while he had customers inside.
Buckler is defying the prohibition of indoor service.
He’s getting $500 in daily fines, but said it’s time to take a stand.
Republican lawmaker says businesses want to get back to work
A Republican lawmaker said taxpayer grants will help bars and restaurants impacted by government COVID-19 restrictions, but state Rep. Mike Murphy said what will really help is letting them get back to work.
Murphy joined a group outside the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield on Saturday protesting the governor’s COVID-19 mitigations being enforced in Sangamon County.
Group seeks COVID-19 vaccine for people in prison
A variety of community groups are pushing to make prisoners in Illinois prisons among the first to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
The groups include attorneys, community organizers, ex-prisoners and warehouse workers are demanding essential workers include warehouse workers, but also prisoners who live in congregate settings.
Corrections staff are considered among those being prioritized in the next round after health care workers and nursing homes.
Prisons can’t use University of Illinois Urbana COVID-19 test without FDA approval
The Illinois Department of Corrections says they can’t use COVID-19 tests that aren’t approved by the FDA.
During a hearing on Friday state Sen. Pat McGuire expressed hope the saliva tests being used at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign could be used in the state’s prisons soon, but IDOC Director Rob Jeffreys said they can’t use them because they have not been approved by the FDA for emergency use.
Conference of Catholic Bishops approves COVID-19 vaccine
The Catholic Conference of Illinois says the new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are morally acceptable because they’re not connected to abortion.
The group of Illinois’ Catholic bishops said they join with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in its document examining the origins of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines it says does not use what the religious leaders called “morally compromised cell lines” during vaccine production.
Pritzker ends daily COVID-19 news briefings
Gov. J.B. Pritzker won’t be holding daily COVID-19 news briefings anymore.
On Friday, the governor said he and other state officials will regularly communicate the latest updates as the situation evolves, but there won’t be daily briefings.
They’ll hold briefings on an “as-needed basis.”
