Pritzker says lawmakers should return to Springfield

Posted on May 12, 2020
Gov. JB Pritzker with his coronavirus briefing live from his house. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has gotten off the dime, after previously deferring to legislative leaders, and wants the General Assembly back in Springfield while it is still May.

“The legislature must convene, so we may begin to put our financial and economic house back in order, even as we battle this terrible virus,” said the governor during his daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday.

Also, Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike had something for those who doubt the state’s numbers.

“Some are concerned the numbers are inflated. Others think the numbers reflect undercounting,” Ezike said. “In Illinois, we are reporting those deaths that have been tested, and laboratory-confirmed test indicates that they are COVID(-19) positive. As we learn more about the disease, there may have been less typical presentation of COVID-19.”

That is, those may not have been correctly classified if they were not suspected of coronavirus.

The state Tuesday reported 83,021 coronavirus cases and 3,601 deaths.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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