As we carefully inch our way back to normal with Phase III kicking off in Illinois this Friday–we can once again gather outside (carefully).

In most of Illinois, we can also dine al fresco (but not yet Chicago)–again with regulations.

If you are lucky enough to have an outdoor space available–you can, once again, entertain. You know the drill with regulations.

Pre-made cocktails, which have just been given a green light for delivery and curbside pickup in Illinois, make it easy to entertain.

If you are inviting a little larger group to your outdoor space I|O Godfrey at The Godfrey Hotel is offering the perfect lineup of timely DIY cocktail kits for summer–with the pandemic in mind.

PRITZKER SPRITZER ($40)

Whether you are a fan of Illinois Governor Pritzker and his handling of the pandemic or not, the drink named after him gets my vote. Here’s the deal for the $40 Pritzker Spritzer kit:

A bottle of Ketel One Vodka 375ml & Bottle of Owen’s Craft Mixer 750ml

Choice of Ginger Beer + Lime, Mint + Cucumber + Lime, or Grapefruit + Lime

PLLUS: This kit comes with a face mask, cotton swabs, and hand sanitizer.

MULE KIT FOR 4 ($40)

Bottle of Ketel One Vodka 375ml

& Bottle of Owen’s Ginger Beer + Lime 750ml

STUBBORN AS A MULE ($50)

Mule Kit for 4 & 2 Ketel One Copper Mugs

MULE KIT FOR MORE! ($80)

Bottle of Ketel One Vodka 1 Liter & 2 Bottles of Owen’s Ginger Beer + Lime
750ml & 2 Ketel One Copper Mugs
Choice of Ketel One, Ketel Orange, Ketel Botanical Peach &
Orange Blossom, Ketel Botanicals Grapefruit & Rose or Ketel Botanicals Cucumber & Mint 

In addition to the Ccocktail kits, the Godfrey has a to-go menu for

breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including a kids’ menu (ages 10 and younger), as well as beer, wine, canned cocktails, and champagne by the bottle. Orders can be placed for carryout via text message at 312-533-0344 or by calling 312-374-1830 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Delivery can be placed through third-party app service Caviar. Complete menus can be found here.

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The United States Presidential election is certainly no popularity contest. In two of the last five elections, the popular vote winner lost the Electoral College, and thus the presidency. Donald Trump, despite losing the popular vote by about three million, won the 2016 election because he flipped four states that voted for Barack Obama in 2012: Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. 

He won the E.C. by the slimmest of margins, a total of about 77,000 votes in the states that made the difference. As we look ahead to November, let’s take a look at who’s projected to win in the swing states- Trump or presumptive Demorcratic nominee Joe Biden.

The general polling, most of which has Biden up by just under double digits is important, but the swing state polling is where it’s really at. Online casinos in the U.S. are shifting their efforts to include online betting as part of their gaming portfolio, in time for the election. Next summer and fall will be interesting, as more sports bettors will be looking elsewhere for action while the games remain on hiatus. With almost the entire American sports world on pause, those who typically bet on sports are now wagering on politics or entertaintment. Some are playing the stock market instead. The real action will be in/on the swing states, sometimes referred to as the “battleground states” or “purple states.”

The best central hub on the internet for following the Electoral College race in Electoral-Vote.com as it has an interactive map with the latest state by state polling. It also shows each state’s winners back to 1992. Of the four aforementioned states that Trump turned red last time out, all but Florida, which is too close to call, are expected to turn back blue. Biden is up by 7 points in the most recent Michigan poll, and it’s a state that he could solidify, should he pick their Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, as his running mate. Just like in Michigan (16 electoral votes), the bookies favor Biden in Pennsylvania (his home state, worth 20 EVs) and Wisconsin (10 EVs).

The polls in each state mirror the odds, and vice versa. In recent presidential elections, Florida (29 EVs) and/or Ohio (20 EVs) have been extremely decisive, and they’ll factor in big time this November. Both states are really tight right now, but there is actually a path to the presidency for Biden should he lose both.

Colorado (9 EVs) and Virginia (13 EVs) have been swing states in recent elections, but both are solidly blue according to the latest odds and polls. Elsewhere, Arizona, which hasn’t voted Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1996, conveys a current 6% point lead for Biden. And Georgia, as “Dixie” as a state can get is actually in play. In a state that hasn’t gone blue since 1992, the most recent poll actually has Biden up by a point! With the exception of Virginia or Florida, it’s extremely rare to see a Democrat win a state that was once in the Confederacy.

All in all, Trump’s only path to another Electoral College victory lays in holding the entire line of purple states from ’16. There are no solidly blue states from last time out/recent elections turning into battleground territory for him right now.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.

You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Nothing could have prepared me for what my mother said that Thursday afternoon. As her caregiver, I had grown accustomed to unexpected health issues.  She had been experiencing some severe issues which included a sore arm and back pain; she and I had both agreed that she might have had a small heart attack. So Mom did what any other person would do: she contacted her primary care physician for a check-up. After all, she was heading that Friday for an echocardiogram anyway…but Mom surprised me with a statement after she got off the phone.

“My doctor wants me to go in for a COVID-19 test,” she casually announced.

She changed her schedule, and on Friday morning, underwent a nasal-pharyngeal test for CVOD-19. She was told that if she was positive, she would receive a call from the Department of Health; if she was negative, she would get an email to consult her online chart.

She received the email late Saturday morning; she was negative.

Caregiving for Mom has been a challenge, working through issues around compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout as well as other life issues. Although I was relatively confident she would test negative (Mom’s only outings were for specific medical tests, since she relies on telemedicine for her regular “visits”), this experience left me a bit disconcerted. My mother had a liver transplant ten years ago and takes immunosuppressing drugs; her other health issues make her particularly vulnerable to potential infections. So that Saturday, I went out for a walk to clear my head and (potentially) pick up some needed items. Soon I put on my mask and headed out…and I regretted the decision.

People in my particular neighborhood congregated in front of the local Starbucks maskless and not conforming to social distancing standards. Worse, I was given strange looks as if I were somehow “violating” some unspoken social norm. Only one couple, as I approached one of my potential errands, cared enough to wear masks, and shared a casual hello. Luckily, one of the businesses I needed to engage in had a sign that declared “NO MASK NO SERVICE.”

On the way home, I stopped by a local restaurant offering to-go only service, and thankfully the staff and fellow customers were all wearing masks. But the experience started me thinking about my past experiences as a caregiver during the current COVID-19 crisis…

As the state slowly begins transitioning to Phase Three of the Restore Illinois plan, many people have engaged in questionable behavior. Memorial Day video showing people congregating in public without any regard for public safety. State legislators filing lawsuits and even suggesting removing Governor Pritzker because the state is “not moving fast enough.” Conspiracy theories about how COVID-19 spread and how it is being used for perceived political advantage. All of these things remind me of how some people when they hear that I am a caregiver, make remarks that are inappropriate like “There’s one caregiver in every family” or “You’re a saint.” (Many of them are outlined in this AARP article on caregiving). These behaviors and attitudes, like many recent behaviors around COVID-19, suggest a particular attitude towards those who are more vulnerable in this pandemic:

“Better you than me; you’re more expendable than I am”

No matter how they excuse or rationalize these statements and actions, the truth remains that they sting. “Essential workers” and health care professionals, like caregivers, are neither saints nor heroes; they are doing their jobs and trying to survive a difficult time. For every statement of empathy, people who avoid responsible behavior during COVID-19 are showing a lack of compassion. With almost 100,000 dead in the United States and nearly 5,000 in Illinois, those wanting things to rush into “normal” are missing the point. For those of us trying to remain relatively “normal”, that goal may not be realistic.

So a humble suggestion: we might wish to consider rethinking what “normal” means, and that “normal” springs from the premise that we are caregivers for each other. Perhaps it is overly idealistic, and there are legitimate economic concerns that are driving reopening the state earlier. However, for those who believe that their “freedom” is being compromised, consider that freedom always balances personal responsibility with the greater good. Not wearing masks through a pandemic is like arguing that wearing seat belts is a personal choice: safety measures protect the greater community as well as the individual. Adopting physical and social distancing practices may be inconvenient, but given Wisconsin’s “second spike” of COVID-19, it may be the wisest strategy for our state’s citizens.

Getting back to “normal” has been at the top of my mind since becoming my mother’s caregiver, and I have had to accept a different sense of “normal.” The week after my March birthday, I was surprised to receive a coffee mug at the last public event I attended. It was unexpected and not given as a birthday gift, but that mug now has special resonance for me as a reminder of what I consider “normal”: the gentle realization that kindness, compassion, and honesty may come in small moments, but are always significant in practice.

Because in this pandemic, nobody is expendable.

What are your thoughts? Please leave your comments down below or join the conversation on our Facebook page. Please note that all comments are moderated.

As always, thanks for reading!

After one full listen to “I Am Not a Dog on a Chain,” I wondered what the writing process was for this record? More specifically, who were the writers behind this refreshing batch of songs, and did Moz work more openly with these authors than in the past? Usually, with Marr, Street, Nevin, White, Boorer, and Cobrin, the songs were brought to him with the arrangements in place. Now, with Tobias, Lopez, and Manzur at the helm, I’m wondering if the songwriting was more collaborative? Boz didn’t write any of the songs this time around, which leaves me scratching my head. Maybe there was a reason for that break, and maybe, that break was good for everyone involved.

Jesse Tobias became a prominent part of Morrissey’s writing team during Ringleader of the Tormentors, while Gustavo Manzur and Mando Lopez made their writing debut on Low in High School, and continued residency on I Am Not a Dog on a Chain. Tobias fits in so well because his style is akin to past writers, while Manzur and Lopez bring a contemporary sound with the keyboards and synthesizers. Used a million different ways, these tools have created a new blanket of sounds for a man that has so desperately needed a style upgrade. I say that as a fan.

Even Marr saw it coming as he began to incorporate more piano and keyboard parts into Smiths’ songs. Morrissey’s sound can be very one dimensional, but, when stretched, that beloved voice is capable of miracles. Hence the reason why he’s still relevant and has lasted this long in the music industry.

With I Am Not A Dog On A Chain, his thirteenth studio album, Morrissey has exceeded all expectations, and written one of the best of his career. Of course, not without the help of those three fairly new songwriters we just talked about. I imagine him pouring over these skeletal arrangements with new vigor and a tenacity for redemption. Maybe even a bit of nervousness as he approached compositions that challenged him while enduring the blowback from a slew of off-handed comments that much of his dark army has grown tired of, myself included.

Over the last few years the artist has said some ignorant things, none of which I standby, nor need to get into here. But I think he confronts the demons on this album and takes a shot at leaving a lasting legacy.

At first listen to “Jim Jim Falls,” there’s almost a New Order vibe. It’s brave and daring for the man who has stuck too close to old habits.

“If you’re gonna kill yourself/Then to save face, Get on with it,” is a long way from “Oh Mother, I can feel, the soil falling over my head.”

“Darling, I Hug a Pillow” feels innocent, honest, and vulnerable, like when he was a Smith. Have we ever heard this man ask for physical love?

“Why can’t you give me some physical love? Everything’s in place except for physical love.”

“What Kind of People Live in These Houses?” might be my favorite thing he’s done since Vauxhall or Viva Hate, and that is mostly due to the guitar arrangements, band augmentations, and epic lyrics. “What RoughTrade strangers/frail around these chambers.”

“They look at television thinking it’s their window to the world,
That’s got to hurt/Who cares what people live in these houses?”

“Love Is on Its Way Out,” reminds me of The Beautiful South, or Paul Heaton at times, which is a refreshing nod. I love the gritty touch of soul Thelma Houston adds to “Bobby, Don’t You Think They Know.” The band wrote a soulful rocker that spawns into a complete jam session, touching upon the prog-rock of the 70s. Moz crushes it, mostly by letting the band go and singing in all the right spots.

“I have now produced four studio albums for Morrissey. This is his boldest and most adventurous album yet.  He has pushed the boundaries yet again, both musically and lyrically.” -Joe Chicarelli

The foundation of the financial pyramid is protection.  Protection for individuals is achieved by having the proper types of insurance, documents, and orders in place.  Life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, wills, trusts, and power of attorney to name a few.

Why is life insurance an essential part of the financial pyramid when so many Americans don’t have it or are not properly covered?  Life insurance is one of those things people don’t want to think about because it takes their minds to death almost instantly.  Yet it is a necessity, our greatest asset is ourselves, just as we protect our homes and cars.  Well we actually do not have a choice when financing these purchases as the lender requires insurance.  If a lender requires insurance on your life and car, how much more valuable are you?  Is your life not worth protecting? Is your family not worth being provided for even in your absence?

Unfortunately life insurance on your job is more than likely not enough and also what happens once you’re let go, quit or retire?  Having your own separate life insurance policy is the ideal situation and you want to have enough coverage for your insurable need(s) based on affordability.

There are different types of life insurance there is term insurance as well as permanent insurance (most call this whole life).  There are different types of whole life insurance.  Term insurance is chosen by many because it is affordable, the downside to term is that it expires within 10 to 30 years of getting covered.  Permanent insurance premiums are significantly higher than term premiums when comparing apples to apples, example the premium for a term life insurance policy with a death benefit of one-million dollars for an average 38-year-old woman may only be $50/month. That same type of coverage with a permanent policy may be $1,000/month.  Nevertheless term and permanent policies have their place in individuals’ financial plans.  There isn’t a one size fits all approach so don’t let anyone tell or sell you differently.  Permanent policies include something major surrender values or their cash bucket.  This “bucket” grows compound interest at rates currently beating inflation.

A well-trained life insurance professional will provide a consultation that is education and information as well as assists with determining the clients’ insurable needs.  The goal is to meet your insurable need while focusing on your affordability.

Other protections to consider especially if you are a small business owner or self-employed is health insurance, disability insurance and as mentioned previous wills, trusts and more.