Today In The Port

7 hours ago

Pritzker loosens some COVID-19 restrictions, but indoor dining won't return immediately

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that three regions of the state will be allowed to move out of Tier 3 mitigations in a move that will allow those regions to loosen restrictions, but the indoor dining won't return right away, further frustrating business owners hit hard by the pandemic.

The areas going back to Tier 2 mitigations are Region 1 (northern Illinois), Region 2 (north-central Illinois) and Region 5 (southern Illinois).

Under the state’s guidelines, a region can move to Tier 2 mitigations if it has a test positivity rate of less than 12% for three straight days, and more than 20% of ICU and hospital beds are available, as well as a declining number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in 7 of the previous 10 days.

The move to Tier 2 will mean the return of group fitness classes, and the reopening of casinos and museums with capacity limits, but still no indoor service at bars and restaurants.

“Things are heading in the right direction, and bars and restaurants and other businesses will be able to reopen even more as we move down back toward Phase 4,” Pritzker said.

The Illinois Restaurant Association said it was disappointed with the governor's decision.

"While every step towards reopening helps, today’s announcement falls short of the restaurant industry's critical needs and expectations," Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia said in a statement. "As outlined, restaurants in all of our state’s regions will remain closed for indoor dining until they reach Tier 1 – adding to growing debt, devastating job loss, and business closures."

Toia said once indoor service is allowed to resume, the governor's capacity limits will put a damper on business.

"Additionally, the restaurants located in Tier 1 regions able to offer limited indoor dining can do so only at the lesser of 25% capacity, or 25 total guests per room. No restaurant can break even at that volume, let alone hire back their team members," he said. "As one of the most highly regulated industries in terms of health and safety – and with enhanced measures introduced during COVID-19 – Illinois restaurants know how to protect the wellbeing of their guests and team members."

Pritzker also announced that the next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations will begin on Jan. 25. Phase 1B, which will center on residents 65 and older and frontline essential workers, including first responders, teachers and child care workers, grocery store employees and postal workers. This comes as state health officials announced that a highly contagious strain of the coronavirus has made its way to Illinois.

“We have now formally identified the first Illinois case of the more contagious British variant, and top of that there are new variants from Japan, South Africa Nigeria and Brazil” Pritzker said.

Chicago public health officials reported the person with the variant had traveled to the United Kingdom prior to being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The new variant was first identified in the United States in Colorado and has found in 12 states. ... See MoreSee Less

Today In The Port

1 day ago

FHN Holding Virtual Hiring Event

FREEPORT — FHN is accepting applications and holding virtual interviews for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs), experienced Registered Nurses (RNs), and Behavioral Health Technicians through January 28.

Interested candidates can apply online at any time; qualified candidates will be contacted to arrange a virtual interview beginning Monday, Jan. 18.

All positions offer a competitive salary, day-one benefits, tuition assistance and opportunities for career advancement. Commitment awards are available for all positions.

Candidates must complete a formal application online before the interview is conducted. For more information or to apply online, visit www.fhn.org/virtualhiring. Information is also available through FHN Human Resources at 815-599-6706.

FHN, a not-for-profit organization with nearly 1,200 employees, is an award-winning regional healthcare system committed to the health and well-being of the people of northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin. FHN Memorial Hospital has been recognized as one of the state’s top hospitals for safety by the Leapfrog group and Healthgrades as well as by the world’s largest, completely independent, non-profit product- and service-testing organization. FHN caregivers serve an average of 1,500 people each day across FHN’s 19 locations in 5 counties spanning northwest Illinois. Organized in 1995 as an integrated healthcare delivery system, FHN is comprised of FHN Memorial Hospital, the Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center at FHN Memorial Hospital, 13 family healthcare centers offering primary and specialty medical care, hospice, and outpatient mental health services. For more information about FHN, please visit www.fhn.org. ... See MoreSee Less