April 16 Evening Edition

WHITE HOUSE
— President Trump’s Guidelines for Opening Up America Again!
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600daily/

ABC7
— Coronavirus Illinois: Deadliest day since COVID-19 pandemic began as IL death toll surpasses 1K, 25K cases – Liz Nagy and Sarah Schulte
https://abc7chicago.com/health/illinois-sees-deadliest-day-since-covid-19-pandemic-began/6108376/
— Trump unveils phased approach to reopening economy amid coronavirus outbreak – AP
https://abc7chicago.com/politics/trump-unveils-phased-approach-to-reopening-economy/6107987/
— Michigan: Thousands protest social distance order amid coronavirus outbreak – AP
https://abc7chicago.com/politics/thousands-protest-social-distance-order-amid-covid-19-outbreak/6107539/

NBC5
— 3 Chicago Suburbs (Skokie, Cicero, Glenview) Now Require Masks in Public
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/3-chicago-suburbs-now-require-masks-in-public/2256877/
— Illinois Coronavirus Updates: Deadliest Day So Far, Midwest Governors Pact
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/illinois-coronavirus-updates-hundreds-of-nursing-home-deaths-lightfoot-to-visit-food-pantry-at-wrigley/2256762/

CBS2
— Pritzker Teams Up With 6 Midwest Governors To Coordinate Plans To Reopen Regional Economy; 25,733 COVID-19 Cases, 1,072 Deaths In Illinois
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/04/16/pritzker-teams-up-with-6-midwest-governors-to-coordinate-plans-to-reopen-regional-economy/
— Precious Cargo: Secret Flight From China Brings Badly Needed COVID-19 Supplies To Illinois – Chris Tye
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/04/16/precious-cargo-secret-flight-from-china-brings-badly-needed-covid-19-supplies-to-illinois/
— Wrigley Field Gets Ready To Serve As A Local Food Pantry Outpost
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/04/16/wrigley-field-gets-ready-to-stock-local-food-pantry/
— Wisconsin’s Governor Extends Stay-At-Home Order Until May 26
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/04/16/wisconsins-governor-extends-stay-at-home-order-until-may-26/

FOX NEWS CHICAGO
— Illinois COVID-19 death toll surpasses 1k with largest single-day jump in deaths so far
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-covid-19-death-toll-surpasses-1k-with-largest-single-day-jump-in-deaths-so-far

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Pritzker says Illinois is expanding testing to include anyone with symptoms, as officials announce state death toll passes 1,000
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-pandemic-chicago-illinois-news-20200416-yspbx6q2x5ajvnesqkg3nofvmu-story.html
— Coronavirus may cost Chicago-area transit agencies nearly $1 billion, with the CTA taking the biggest hit – Mary Wisniewski
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-chicago-transit-agencies-budget-loss-cta-metra-pace-20200416-7xk2fqgi4bgjvonqprdjly5hcu-story.html
— 5.2 million more Americans seek unemployment aid – AP
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-coronavirus-unemployment-surge-20200416-3nfdrgk2rzhb3hwr3veucygzrm-story.html
— President Trump gives governors a 3-phase plan to reopen the economy, saying ‘we’re starting our life again’ – AP
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-trump-coronavirus-states-reopen-guidelines-20200416-b6qt6nm7tjh65ldsyult2lkxbe-story.html
— Democratic U.S. Reps. Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood hold big cash advantage over GOP challengers – RICK PEARSON
https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-congressional-finance-reports-20200416-bwjvni4m7nholb76qo52bmveau-story.html
— First batch of GM-made ventilators headed for Chicago – DAVID HEINZMANN
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-gm-ventilators-illinois-20200417-jdhyd63nq5e2laxcklbbakqi3i-story.html

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Illinois sees biggest spike in coronavirus deaths – 125 – as toll tops 1,000 The grim daily death toll is a reminder the state might not have reached its peak, although Gov. J.B. Pritzker has for days signaled some optimism based on the “doubling rate” of infections slowing down. – Tina Sfondeles
https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/16/21224032/illinois-coronavirus-deaths-cases-april-16
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Trump-haters say “Don’t let Trump starve the postal service to improve his reelection odds – or beat up on Jeff Bezos The U.S. Post Office is just too important to be undone by a vengeful and shortsighted president.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/4/16/21221182/postal-service-amazon-jeff-bezos-washington-post-pandemic-stimulus-package-donald-trump-editorial

DAILY HERALD
— Pritzker fights COVID-19 from Chicago, irking some downstate – AP
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20200416/pritzker-fights-covid-19-from-chicago-irking-some-downstate
— Geneva’s Swedish Days festival canceled amid coronavirus pandemic
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20200416/genevas-swedish-days-festival-canceled-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
— Illinois unemployment claims hit 634,000 due to pandemic – Jerry Nowicki
https://www.dailyherald.com/business/20200416/illinois-unemployment-claims-hit-634000-due-to-pandemic

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Fitch downgrades Illinois debt The ratings agency cites increased pressure from the COVID economic downturn on state finances that already were weak. – GREG HINZ
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hinz-politics/fitch-downgrades-illinois-debt
— Midwest governors form COVID coalition Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his regional colleagues are working together to judge when best to start easing stay-at-home restrictions and reopen their states’ economies. – GREG HINZ
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hinz-politics/midwest-governors-form-covid-coalition
— Two new field hospitals for Chicago New units are being set up outside Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan and the University of Chicago Medicine’s Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey. – STEPHANIE GOLDBERG
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/two-new-field-hospitals-chicago

WBEZ
— Illinois Partners With Six Midwest States To Decide When To Reopen Economy As Illinois COVID-19 deaths exceed 1,000, state joins Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan in new compact – Dave McKinney, Tony Arnold
https://www.wbez.org/stories/illinois-partners-with-six-midwest-states-to-decide-when-to-reopen-economy/58b35e78-73d6-45b0-ac3d-39f1173e7f30

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Pritzker fights COVID-19 from Chicago, and downstate notices – AP
https://www.sj-r.com/news/20200416/pritzker-fights-covid-19-from-chicago-and-downstate-notices

SUBURBAN LIFE
— Eighty news cases of COVID-19 reported in DuPage County, including 6 deaths Total reported cases stand at 1,473, including 70 deaths
https://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2020/04/16/eighty-news-cases-of-covid-19-reported-in-dupage-county-including-6-deaths/ademorj/

NEWS CHANNEL 20
— Illinois unemployment rate up to 4.6% in March
https://newschannel20.com/news/local/illinois-unemployment-rate-up-to-46-in-march

ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— FEDERAL RESERVE THROWS CREDIT LIFELINE TO NEAR-JUNK ILLINOIS – Adam Schuster
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/federal-reserve-throws-credit-lifeline-to-near-junk-illinois/

CAPITOL FAX
— House cancels next week’s session
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/house-cancels-next-weeks-session/
— White House releases its plan
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/white-house-releases-its-plan/
— Fitch: “Illinois will be challenged to maintain its investment-grade” status
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/fitch-illinois-will-be-challenged-to-maintain-its-investment-grade-status/
— Pritzker says testing problems finally addressed – Virtually eliminated supply problems for VTM and swabs – Expands testing eligibility – Working to choose best immunity tests – Cooperating with regional governors to share “best ideas” – Says Illinois did not get “scammed” on PPE – Claims unemployment insurance application process is improving – Asked multiple times about extending the stay at home order – Asked why Iowa is not on regional cooperation list – Dr. Ezike says some medicines are in short supply – Expanding shifts at state testing labs – Working to release names of nursing homes where patients/staff have tested positive – Explains process for prisoner release
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/pritzker-says-testing-problems-finally-addressed/
— 1,140 new cases, 125 additional deaths
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/1140-new-cases-125-additional-deaths/
— COVID-19 roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/covid-19-roundup-19/
— Pritzker to work in “close coordination” with regional governors about how and when to reopen the economy
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/pritzker-to-work-in-close-coordination-with-regional-governors-about-how-and-when-to-reopen-the-economy/
— A look at the revised budget numbers
https://capitolfax.com/2020/04/16/a-look-at-the-revised-budget-numbers/

BREITBART
— Let Americans Work and Earn – Halt Foreign Worker Visas Now – Jeff Sessions: 
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2020/04/16/jeff-sessions-let-americans-work-and-earn-halt-foreign-worker-visas-now/

NEWS BUSTERS
— Bernie Blames Media for 2020 Loss – Tim Graham (DIERSEN: I should write a book about Republican candidates, their campaign managers, their political consultants, their staff members, their volunteers, their operatives, their dupes, their etc. who have blamed me, my GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails, and/or my service as a Republican Precinct Committeeman, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member, Milton Township Republican Organization webmaster, Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, and/or American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member for their losses since 2000. I would focus on candidates who have been on ballots in my precinct since 2000.) 
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2020/04/16/bernie-blames-media-2020-loss-cnns-cillizza-cries-easy-scapegoat

THE HILL
— Trump guidelines on reopening economy to let governors make final decision – BRETT SAMUELS, MORGAN CHALFANT AND REID WILSON
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493222-trump-guidelines-reopening-economy-to-let-governors-make-final-decision
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A Trump-hater “warns of deadly risks if country reopens too soon.” 
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/493176-pelosi-warns-of-deadly-risks-if-country-reopens-too-soon
— Propaganda in the coronavirus era – JOHN HAMILTON AND KEVIN KOSAR (DIERSEN: According to my critics/opponents, all government and political news and commentary is propaganda except for the government and political news and commentary that they put out or bless.)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/493242-propaganda-in-the-coronavirus-era

NEW YORK TIMES
— US Job Losses Mount as Trump Presses Plan to Reopen Business – AP
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/16/world/europe/ap-virus-outbreak.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: ‘Pretty Catastrophic’ Month for Retailers, and Now a Race to Survive March brought a record sales plunge as the coronavirus outbreak closed stores. A long shutdown could leave lasting changes in the shopping landscape. – Sapna Maheshwari and Ben Casselman
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/business/economy/coronavirus-retail-sales.html?searchResultPosition=2
— FRONT PAGE: After Coronavirus, Colleges Worry: Will Students Come Back? The pandemic has already cost universities millions of dollars. As they consider the possibility of remote classes into the fall, they’re worried about losing students, too. – Anemona Hartocollis
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/us/coronavirus-colleges-universities-admissions.html
— Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship. – Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/us/politics/coronavirus-navy-roosevelt-crozier.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A Trump-hater says “Trump’s Deadly Search for a Scapegoat If the president had listened to the World Health Organization, American lives would have been saved.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/opinion/coronavirus-trump-world-health-organization-who.html
— ‘This Is Going to Kill Small-Town America’ – David Gelles
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/business/coronavirus-small-towns.html
— Even Google and Facebook May Face an Ad Slump Though ad sales at the two companies are expected to be down, they are likely to fare better than smaller peers and publishers. – Daisuke Wakabayashi, Tiffany Hsu and Mike Isaac
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/technology/coronavirus-google-facebook-advertising.html
— How the Government Pulls Coronavirus Relief Money Out of Thin Air Once-fringe ideas in economic theory are now nearly official policy as government borrowing surges and the Federal Reserve signals it could buy unlimited debt. – Matt Phillips
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/business/coronavirus-stimulus-money.html
— States Are in a Quandary as Taxes Evaporate and Virus Spending Soars With businesses closed and obligations mounting, state governments are looking at a mix of remedies. – Mary Williams Walsh
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/business/economy/state-tax-revenue-debt-coronavirus.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A Trump-hater promotes hatred against conservatives and against Trump’s advisers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-who.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Covid-19 is rapidly becoming America’s leading cause of death – Dan Keating and Chiqui Esteban
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/16/coronavirus-leading-cause-death/
— How an outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt became a defining moment for the U.S. military – Dan Lamothe, Shawn Boburg and Paul Sonne 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/how-an-outbreak-on-the-uss-roosevelt-became-a-defining-moment-for-the-us-military/2020/04/16/2735f85c-7f24-11ea-8de7-9fdff6d5d83e_story.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Lack of Savings Worsens the Pain of Coronavirus Downturn Many of the millions of restaurant, hotel and store workers affected by shutdowns are expected to fall behind on rent and other bills – David Harrison
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lack-ofsavingsworsens-the-pain-of-coronavirus-downturn-11586943001

BLOOMBERG
— Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Wants to Test All Employees for Covid-19 – Matt Day
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-16/amazon-s-jeff-bezos-wants-to-test-all-employees-for-covid-19

GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— How to Manage a Multi-Generational Federal Workforce – Bill Bennett (DIERSEN: My Democrat GAO superiors encouraged/forced their employees who were younger, Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran to help them get rid of their employees who were Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who they had not promoted to GS-13 (currently $101,176) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $119,559) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $140,634) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $170,800) by age 40.)
https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/04/how-manage-multi-generational-federal-workforce/164688/

NEW YORK MAGAZINE
— How Do You Campaign When You Can’t Hit the Campaign Trail? – Gabriel Debenedetti
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/bidens-presidential-campaign-under-coronavirus.html

ATLANTIC
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A Trump-hater says “The WHO Shouldn’t Be a Plaything for Great Powers.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/why-world-health-organization-failed/610063/

SPLC
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, SPLC promotes hatred against individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/04/16/covid-19-updates-splc-continues-fight-against-injustice

RASMUSSEN REPORTS
— 36% Say It’s Time for America To Get Back to Work
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/disease/36_say_it_s_time_for_america_to_get_back_to_work

Author: David Diersen

The opinions that I express in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are based on experience that I have gained doing many things since 1948. I base my opinions on what I learned a) working for the federal government for almost 30 years -- Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter 1983-1996, and being a union member while I worked for the Post Office and IRS; b) earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, a masters degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, and a masters degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997; c) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and passing the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981; c) serving as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000, the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois Chairman 2005-2012, a member of the 2008 Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Platform and Resolutions Committee, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member 2003-2011, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster 2008-2010 and 2000-2004, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007, and an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member 2001-2004; d) attending the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 IRP State Conventions as a delegate; e) being the subject of a nasty 4-page article in the February 1978 issue of Money Magazine; f) pursing litigation including Diersen v. GAO and Diersen v. Chicago Car Exchange; g) being married since 1978; h) living in Crete 1948-1972, in University Park 1972-1976, in Chicago 1976-1978, and in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 1978; and i) being baptized, raised, and confirmed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran.