By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced a big number and a little one Friday in Peoria.
One was the number of coronavirus tests performed in Illinois: more than one million.
The other was the positivity rate among the tests of the past 24 hours: six percent.
But it was not long before the subject became racism and the police-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That’s where Peoria-area lawmakers came in.
“This feels similar to 1968,” said State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), whose resume includes working for the United Farm Workers under Cesar Chavez. “We’re at a crossroads. We now have to stop talking about things and start doing things. That is the one piece of hope that I have.”
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) talked about how centuries of disinvestment in African-Americans has led to blacks bearing a disproportionate share of economic and health problems.
“There is no bill, there is no amount of investment and resources, that will eradicate systemic racism; but what will do that is all of us standing collectively against these policies and this mindset day in and day out.”
The setting for Friday’s news conference was a coronavirus testing site in Peoria.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
