Merry Christmas, from all of us at QuadCities.com! We wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe holiday! Enjoy the day with your loved ones…  Read More

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 10,959 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 192 additional deaths. Some data reported to IDPH is delayed from the weekends, including this past holiday weekend. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 759,562 cases, including 12,830 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.  Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 106,778 specimens for a total 10,806,364.  As of last night, 5,653 in Illinois were reported... Read More

Covid-19 numbers in Illinois are soaring as post-Thanksgiving infections begin surging in, with infection numbers doubling and record-high death tolls reported. Illinois had 238 people die from covid-19 over the past 24 hours, marking the deadliest day for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous high had been 192 deaths on May 13, during the first wave of the pandemic. The total number of deaths in the state recorded is now 12,639 deaths since March. Over the past week, numbers have spiked dangerously, with 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high... Read More

UPDATED: Illinois will remain under tier 3 covid mitigations for at least two to three more weeks, and could elevate to a more restrictive level if numbers get worse, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said during his press conference today. Illinois covid numbers leapt back up after a few days of numbers getting better. After yesterday’s report of just 6,190 new cases, today’s report listed 12,542 new cases in Illinois and 125 new deaths over the past 24 hours. It should be noted that today marks six days from “Blackout Wednesday,” that traditional unofficial day of inebriation... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Statewide tier 3 mitigations put in place Nov. 20 will remain in place ‘for the foreseeable future,’ Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said during his press conference today. “We have got to take the time to evaluate any Thanksgiving effect before we make any premature adjustments,” Pritzker said. “I spoke with Dr. Fauci last week, and he said the massive number of indoor gatherings will likely bring another post-Thanksgiving surge, and this is no time to pull back on mitigations.” Pritzker spoke to a number of other doctors and experts, and all agree the... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois High School sports will be put on hold effective immediately, and could be delayed through 2020 and into spring 2021 due to covid-19 mitigations, according to a statement released this evening by IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. The statement was released following Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s announcement of moving Illinois to Tier 3 mitigations for covid-19 starting Friday. There’s no set date for the return of sporting activities, however the statement says the IHSA remains “optimistic” for a return soon. The statement reads as follows: IHSA... Read More

BREAKING NEWS (UPDATED): Illinois will be moving back to Tier 3 mitigations starting Friday, closing up restaurants and bars to indoor service, severely curtailing all businesses in the state, shutting down sporting events including youth sports, and more. Governor JB Pritzker announced the move in his coronavirus update at 2:30 p.m. today. “With COVID-19 spread now exponential in every region of the state, our statewide positivity rate at record highs and hospitalizations already surpassing our Spring peak, all 11 regions will move into Tier 3 effective November 20 at midnight,”... Read More

UPDATED — The Illinois Quad-Cities could see another mandatory stay-at-home order as soon as next week if numbers in our region continue to soar. The Quad-Cities has exploded in its number of cases and is now inside the top ten most rapidly spiking hot spots nationwide, sitting at number 7 today, according to CDC numbers. In his media address today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that the rapidly spiking numbers statewide — with numbers in some regions doubling daily — could lead to another statewide mandatory stay-at-home order similar to the one imposed in the spring,... Read More

EXCLUSIVE — Illinois Quad-Cities businesses have been notified by the state to begin preparing for a shutdown and covid mitigation procedures beginning Wednesday, multiple sources who asked not to be identified told QuadCities.com today. The sources are all local small business owners, and were notified last night so they could begin preparing. An official announcement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will be forthcoming Monday. According to the sources, there will be a number of mitigation actions put in place, including no indoor dining, limits to the number of people gathered in any... Read More

I’m sick of the politics. I’m sick of the politicians. With more people struggling than ever, with more businesses closing, with the covid numbers increasing yet again, just like the scientists predicted (amazing how you can listen to intelligent, learned people and get accurate predictions on what’s likely to happen, isn’t it?), IT’S TIME TO PASS ANOTHER STIMULUS BILL TO HELP PEOPLE STRUGGLING FROM COVID. I wrote another story today, one of probably over 100 this year, about a business closing down due to covid. This time it was Big Swing, in downtown Rock Island,... Read More