100′s of local government workers to receive pandemic pay

County department heads are not eligible for the bonuses, which will come from $520,000 in COVID relief funds from the federal government. (Photo courtesy HOI ABC)

By HOI ABC

BLOOMINGTON – Elected McLean County government leaders are opting to pay bonuses to all county employees who worked during the early months of the pandemic instead of using the money as an incentive to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Roughly 750 union and non-union employees, who worked on-site instead of remotely from March to December 2020, will get up to $1,000 following county board action Thursday night, County Administrator Cassy Taylor told Heart of Illinois ABC.

These are the workers who kept county government running during the pandemic, said Taylor.

County department heads are not eligible for the bonuses, which will come from $520,000 in COVID relief funds from the federal government.

The county board earlier tabled the idea of paying bonuses to workers for getting the COVID vaccine.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…