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Today Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle signed Executive Order 2020-9 to create the Community Recovery Initiative, which creates an emergency relief fund for businesses and 1099 workers in suburban Cook County. Cook County will seed an initial $10 million for the fund, which will grant loans to gig workers and small businesses to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The creation of this fund comes days after President Preckwinkle announced the County's new technical assistance network with the American Business Immigration Coalition, the Illinois Restaurant Association, and the National Partnership for New Americans to help suburban small businesses and contract workers quickly and successfully access $377 billion in new small business loans created as part of the CARES Act recently passed by Congress. Together with the technical assistance and outreach, this fund comprises part of the comprehensive Cook County Community Recovery Initiative.
"Unprecedented problems call for unprecedented solutions," said President Preckwinkle. "Small businesses and entrepreneurs are at the heart of the towns and villages throughout Cook County, and my administration will do all it can to support them through this dark time. This virus may dictate our present, but it will not write our future."
The new fund created by Cook County's Bureau of Economic Development will offer one-time, zero-interest loans to suburban Cook County small businesses with up to 25 employees and to suburban Cook County residents who make more than half their income in 1099 contract employment. The loans will be up to $20,000 for small businesses and $10,000 for individuals, and the fund will be administered by the Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) with the support of several community lenders who will distribute the funds.
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Originally puslished 04/07/2020 on chicagobusiness.com | Photo: Crain's / Alamy
The Cook County Jail is among the winners of the Abbott Labs rapid COVID test scramble, as the jail rises to national prominence for being the nation’s top hot spot of the virus.
“We were able to secure some help to get testing done. We have two testers at the jail,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in an interview today. “The analyzers can test people in five minutes.”
Where did the tests come from? “Magic,” Preckwinkle joked. In reality, she put in a call to Abbott Labs Executive Chairman Miles White.
Abbott said it began distributing its rapid point-of-care COVID-19 tests for its ID NOW system last week and estimated it would ship 190,000 tests to customers in 21 states as of last Friday, Illinois among them.
Cook County Health, which operates Cermak Hospital on the jail’s grounds, confirmed it has received the swab-based Abbott test and is training staff on how to use it. The agency plans for full deployment in the next week or so.
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Originally published 04/06/2020 on usatoday.com | Image: USA Today
Preckwinkle said hotels are attractive because they offer flexibility, have separate rooms and bathrooms, and ventilation in each room. The county plans to use hotels to house people who tested positive, but have mild cases and no place to self quarantine, including the homeless. They also plan to provide rooms for first responders who don’t want to go home and put their families in jeopardy… “This is going to be a very difficult time and it’s going to be months, not weeks,’’ said Preckwinkle. "What people have to understand is we can’t snap our fingers and make this go away. It’s going to be a trial for all of us. We need to take care of ourselves and look after the people we love.’’
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The Forest Preserves of Cook County remain open, but we have closed public access to sites and facilities that are areas of concern due to COVID-19. The health and well-being of Forest Preserves visitors and staff are our primary concern. We know that access to nature is critical right now—for both mental and physical wellness.
We implore the public to help us keep locations throughout the Forest Preserves available for fresh air and exercise. If you visit the preserves, you must follow public health guidelines on hygiene and social distancing.
In mid-March, the Forest Preserves closed our public buildings; all six nature centers, grounds and trails; the Swallow Cliff stairs in the Palos Preserves; and all Forest Preserves campgrounds. We also cancelled all public events, volunteer activities and permitted events through May 11, following CDC recommendations.
At the locations that remain open, each and every visitor has new responsibilities in today’s world: stay at that six-foot healthy distance from anyone who does not live in your household, let people know when you’re passing on the trail, don’t congregate in groups, and wash your hands before your trip and when you get home. Also know that all public restrooms in the Preserves, both public and portable, are closed.
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