Today’s update discusses Governor Pritzker joining forces with surrounding state Governors in an effort to coordinate reopening the Midwest economy and his uncertainty on whether to extend the quickly approaching expiration of the statewide stay-at-home order. Additionally, this update discusses the Governor’s decision to relax the state’s stringent eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 testing.

EMERGENCY POWERS

 ECONOMY

  • Governor Pritzker joins Governors Mike DeWine of Ohio, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, and Any Beshear of Kentucky in a partnership to coordinate reopening of the economy in the Midwest. A statement from Governor Pritzker’s office indicated that before deciding the best time to reopen the economy, the states will examine sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, enhanced ability to test and trace, sufficient health care capacity to handle resurgence, and best practices for social distancing in the workplace. While this is a joint effort, the Governors made clear that this does not mean the economy will reopen all at once; their coordination efforts will ensure that the economy is open in a way that will make sense and get this done right. For more information, visit https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/4/16/21223969/pritzker-governor-coalition-coronavirus-indiana-michigan-ohio-midwest.

 SOCIAL LIFE

 HEALTH

HeplerBroom attorney Emilee M. Bramstedt contributed to this blog post.