Relief for Restaurants, Bars
The DuPage County Board approved $2.5 million in relief funds for DuPage County bars and restaurants struggling due to the current pandemic. The money will come from the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Security, or CARES Act, as part of the Reinvest DuPage small business relief grant program overseen by Choose DuPage. The proposal will also raise the revenue limit in the grant program aimed at restaurants and bars from $1.5 million to $4 million to expand eligibility. Information about the grant program can be found on the Choose DuPage website.
Record Voting in DuPage
DuPage County is reporting record numbers of voting, with over a third of registered voters already having cast their ballots. As of Monday over 124,000 mail-in respondents and over 100,000 early voters had weighed in on this year’s general election. That made for a total of 224,408 votes: a more than 34% turnout. DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek says her office continues to see records of daily increases of thousands at early voting sites compared to years past. She added that the county is already well past the halfway point of the 2016 record final turnout of 434,050, with Election Day itself still several days away.
Colleges Adjust Due to COVID
Local colleges have made some adjustments due to rising positivity rates of COVID-19 throughout the region. As of October 23, North Central College began restricting the number of students, faculty and staff that can gather casually to 10, requesting that all wear masks and maintain social distance. Any college approved in-person events are limited to 25. All dining must be taken to go. North Central College has seen a rise in cases over the past week, with 22 positive cases reported in students and one case in a staff member since October 20. College of DuPage has announced they will continue their current remote and hybrid format into the spring term. The school will continue to waive its online course Internet fee for all students.
Celebrating Veterans
This year DuPage County is creating a virtual portal to celebrate veterans, in lieu of their usual in-person Veterans Day Ceremony. The interactive portal allows residents to create an Honor Post to highlight a loved one who has served. Photos and written tributes can be shared. The site also features information about the holiday itself along with poems, quotes, and videos.
Winter Sport Guidelines
Yesterday Governor J.B. Pritzker released an updated set of Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines and risk assessments for recreational sports. Under those guidelines, basketball has now been moved to the high-risk category, joining other sports including hockey and wrestling. Under the IDPH’s current guidelines, those sports will only be allowed to conduct no-contact practice and training. Cheerleading and dance have been downgraded to low-risk. With masks and distancing, those sports, along with bowling, gymnastics, swimming and diving will be permitted to play during winter. The IHSA is meeting today to discuss further direction on winter sports.
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