This weekend Eastern, Illinois State, Southern and Western are all scheduled to play home games for the only time on the same weekend in the FCS spring season. Here’s our Prairie State Pigskin look at each school’s policies.

All information was provided by each respective university.

EIU (O’Brien Field in Charleston)

(Jay Grabiec photo)

Tickets

Under State of Illinois COVID-19 guidelines, O’Brien Field may have a capacity of 20 percent.  This season no walk-up game day tickets will be sold at the gate.  The only tickets distributed this season will be to EIU students, Player Pass List, Corporate Sponsor Tickets and Season Tickets. Tickets will be spaced in a socially distant manner in pods.  A limited number of season tickets are still available by calling the EIU ticket office at 217-581-2106.   Tickets for this season will be distributed in an electronic form and may be scanned via your smart phone at the gate or if you print off a digital ticket to be scanned.   A reduced capacity of visitor tickets will be issued to each opponent for their game week and will be distributed through that school’s athletic ticket office. 

Student Tickets

Student tickets will be available for Eastern Illinois students that have paid their fees for the current semester.  Information on how to register for student tickets will be provided directly to EIU students each week through their campus email address.

Parking

Parking lots for this year will open one hour prior to kickoff.  The West O’Brien Lot will be reserved for Panther Club members at the $250 and above level can corporate sponsors. General parking for this season will be in the J-Lot and North Lantz Arena lots.  No parking will be allowed on the South Side of Lantz Arena.  Panther Club parking passes will be distributed digitally and can be shown to the lot attendant at the game. Lots will open 60 minutes prior to kickoff for each home game this year.

Gates Opening & Entrances

Gates will open 60 minutes prior to kickoff for each home game this year.  EIU player pass list will open 60 minutes prior to kickoff at Gate 3.   Entry into the stadium will take place at Gates 1 & 4 on the West side of O’Brien Field.   Visitor gates will open 60 minutes prior to kickoff on the East side of O’Brien Field.  When exiting the venue, fans will be asked to use gates 2 & 3.   This season due to COVID-19 restrictions, EIU will have a no-reentry policy.

Tailgating

Under State of Illinois COVID-19 guidelines, tailgating is not allowed prior to EIU home football games this season.

Masks & Social Distancing

Under State of Illinois COVID-19 guides, all patrons must wear a mask when entering and moving around O’Brien Field.   All seating in the venue is set for social distancing with pods of seating.  Unavailable seats will be marked and fans are asked to follow all mask and socially distance seating regulations.

Concessions

Concessions will be available during the 2021 season with the South Concession stand open during games. 

ISU (Hancock Stadium in Normal)

(photo courtesy of Illinois State University)

Facility capacity will be limited to 20 percent in compliance with Outside Seated Spectator Events guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development under Phase 4 of Restore Illinois. Increased safety measures will include physically-distanced reserved seating in the East and West stands. Fans will be required to wear a face covering while inside Hancock Stadium and will only be permitted to remove their masks when eating or drinking in designated locations. Any patrons exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms are asked to refrain from coming to the game.

TICKETS
•    Current season ticket holders in good standing will be contacted by members of the ISU Athletics.
•    Season ticket holders will be re-seated according to the number of tickets in the account in pods of no more than four.
•    Tickets will be sent via mobile delivery approximately 48 hours before each game. We will send parking passes via email and you will be able to bring the PDF to the lot.
•    300 Illinois State student tickets will be available each game week. Red Alert members will have priority access to claim one ticket per student online on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday morning at 9 a.m. of each game week and running through Friday morning. If tickets remain after the Red Alert priority deadline, all other ISU students will be eligible to purchase a ticket (1 per student) for $5 starting Friday at 9 a.m.
•    Current Hancock Stadium event protocols will be distributed to all fans who will be attending games.

PARKING
•    Everyone who purchases a ticket will receive a parking pass. 
•    Parking for season-ticket holders will be reserved in lots G-73 and G-83 adjacent to the stadium. Ticket holders will be supplied with a pass when buying their tickets and those will be delivered via mobile as well.
•    There is NO TAILGATING allowed in the parking lots this spring, as per Restore Illinois guidelines.
•    Lots will open 1 hour prior to kickoff. 

ENTRY
•    The doors will open 1 hour in advance of kickoff and gates 1, 4, and 8 will be available for entry. The department’s Clear Bag Policy will still be in effect.
•    Masks/face coverings will be required when inside the facility, except while eating or drinking in designated locations.
•    Limited concessions, restrooms, and first aid will all be available for patrons attending the games.
•    Concourses and restrooms will have hand sanitizing stations available for patrons to use.
•    Club and Suite ticket holders will be contacted separately regarding protocols for those areas.

SIU (Saluki Stadium in Carbondale)

(photo courtesy of SIU)

Seating capacity for the games will be limited to approximately 15 percent, based upon a plan approved by the campus Emergency Operations Center and with guidance from the state of Illinois and Jackson County Health Department.

Safety measures will include socially-distanced, assigned seating. Tailgating will not be permitted, and fans will be required to wear a mask or facial covering inside the stadium. It can be removed while eating or drinking. Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the stadium. Gates will open one hour before kickoff, and Saluki Athletics is instituting a clear bag policy for home games.

TICKETS
* Revised four-game home schedule TBA.
* 15% stadium capacity to include season-ticket holders, students and player families.
* All season-ticket holders as of Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. will receive tickets to the game.
* Season-ticket holders will be re-seated, according to the number of tickets in each account, to accommodate social distancing.
* Tickets will be Print-At-Home and loaded into paid accounts.
* Approximately 500 tickets will be available to students at the Banterra Center ticket office from Monday-Wednesday (9 AM-4:30 PM) during the week of the game. A valid student ID is required to claim a ticket. One ticket per student.

PARKING
* Lot S reserved parking passes will be emailed to account holders to Print-At-Home.
* Lots U and C will be open parking.
* Lots open 90 minutes before kickoff.

ENTRY
* No tailgating
* Gates open 60 minutes before kickoff.
* Masks or facial coverings are required, except while eating/drinking.
* Stadium amenities (concessions, restrooms, first aid) will be available.
* Hand-sanitizing stations will be available throughout the stadium.

ACCESS
* The north end zone berm will be closed to fans.
* The Stadium Club will be closed.
* Suite holders will be contacted directly regarding suite policies.

WIU (Hanson Field in Macomb)

(photo courtesy of WIU)

Ticketing
After thorough discussion and consultation with university leaders, Western Illinois Athletics made the decision to decrease seating at all outdoor events this spring; the change limits entry to family members of student-athletes and staff. 

Student-athletes will be permitted to have only their families in attendance, admitted via the player pass list. 

Leatherneck football season ticket holders who previously purchased tickets in the fall will have three options.

Option 1: Transfer season tickets to the fall 2021 season 

Option 2: Transfer payment to the Leatherneck Club as a tax-deductible donation 

Option 3: Receive a full refund

Athletic staff will be in contact with all who renewed for the 2020 season. 

WIU Athletics will continue to monitor the attendance policy throughout the spring. Updates will be provided on GoLeathernecks.com. 

Tailgating
Per current state and local guidelines, tailgating will not be permitted at any athletic event.

28 million cases of Covid-19 in the United States! 500,000 of us have died!

The numbers are daunting. That’s how many Americans have been lost to the Covid-19 pandemic. While all the disease and death has been tragic, it appears we are seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Vaccinations!

In the two months since we started the vaccination process, the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped dramatically. Is it because of the vaccine or is it due to the weather being so horrendous that we’ve all been forced to stay home? Probably some of both, but it’s definitely a good thing.

Almost eighteen million Americans have been fully vaccinated. Although that’s a small percentage of our population, it’s a good start. Still, getting vaccinated isn’t easy. You might even call the process a clusterfuck!

In late January, word hit the street that Illinois was moving to the second phase of the vaccination process. Included was anyone over the age of sixty-five. You know…senior citizenville. That’s me!! I celebrated by trying to find a vaccination location. Good luck with that.

I started at my local Walgreens pharmacy. After all, they deliver flu and shingles shots, so why not Covid? They said they were going to have them, but had no idea when. They had yet to hear from the government. Neither had any of their other locations. I tried some local groceries that had pharmacy facilities. Nothing. Nada. Zip!

My next step was my primary care physician’s office. I had an appointment for something unrelated to Covid but figured that while I was there I might as well see what they knew. My doctor told me that the office hadn’t started giving them to their patients, but would be eventually. In fact, the folks working in the office had yet to receive their shots. Scary. She did say that patients over the age of sixty-five would get the first shots. Somewhat reassuring. She also said if I could get a job helping out at the office part-time, I could move up on the list. I think she was kidding, but in case she wasn’t, I got the hell out of the office fast!

When you put the two early episodes together, what do you get?

CLUSTERFUCK!!

If there was all this hassle before the start date of stage two, I could only imagine what would occur when hundreds of thousands of desperate senior citizens would be fighting for appointment times. But, then a major medical miracle happened. That same doctor’s office called me late on a Friday afternoon. It seemed another of their locations had some cancellations and there was an opening to get vaccinated. All I needed to do was drive thirty miles in the next hour to get there before they closed. When I asked if there was enough for an extra dose for my partner, they said to bring her along. The more the merrier.

We got in the car. CHECK! We drove thirty miles in rush hour traffic. CHECK! We made it to the location and found parking right in front of the building. CHECK! We went through the check-in and temperature check process without an issue. CHECK! We made it to the vaccination desk. BUZZZZZ!!!

Apparently, there was a miscommunication. There was only enough medicine for one vaccination. They asked if I could come back the following Thursday. The words running through my head were “Are you fucking kidding me?” I did manage to clean it up before they left my mouth. Although I did manage to negotiate an appointment for the following morning, I left the office without being vaccinated.

CLUSTERFUCK!!

Surprisingly, the next day went smoothly. The shot process was quick and painless. They even set up an appointment date and time for the follow-up Moderna vaccination. February 20 at 10:00am. Four weeks away. The first three weeks were a breeze. Every so often I’d get a text confirming the date. Although in the back of my head I was always thinking about what could possibly go wrong, it looked like the vaccination was going to be a go. And then it snowed.

There was a lot of snow. More than ten inches. Welcome to winter in Chicago. It’s not that unusual, we just dig out and move forward with our lives. But, the rest of the country was dealing with the same thing and in a lot of cases, much worse. I wondered if it would cause a problem with the vaccines? I got my answer in a text message. My appointment was postponed. Then, I received a phone call telling me the same thing. And then just to make sure I understood, they sent me an e-mail. A little overkill, but okay.

I figured I would eventually hear about a rescheduled date. A couple of days later, I did. It was a text letting me know the new date was on March 6. Cool. Of course, then they followed up with a phone call…..and then there was another e-mail. Enough already with the over communication!

CLUSTERFUCK!!

March 6 wasn’t a horrible date. I could have waited for two more weeks. No big deal. But then last Friday, I get another call. They wanted to know if I was available to move up my appointment to February 21. If I’m interested, give them a call. Of course, I’m interested, but before I could call back, I get a text message. Same thing but with a different number to call. I call the first dude and get his voice mail. It says to leave a message and he’ll get back to me within twenty-four hours. I try the second number and get an actual person. We set an appointment for the 21st. VOILA! All done. Of course, they followed up with another text message and another email. SIGH! Oh yeah, the first dude did call me back the next day. He had no idea I had set a new appointment date. Scary, since he identified himself as the head of the department.

CLUSTERFUCK!!

That brings us to Sunday…February 21st. I woke up to an email confirming my new appointment date/time. A couple of hours later I received a text asking me to let them know if I couldn’t make the vaccination appointment. By then, I’ve lost track of the number of calls, texts and emails I had received. I just erased all of them.

Vaccination day went smoothly. We got there and in less than one hour we had our shots and we were on our way. I know I spent the last one thousand words complaining, but I realize how lucky we were. Over-communication was nothing compared to what many others have gone through. Some people have traveled hundreds of miles to get their shot. One local journalist walked six miles round trip in the snow to get hers. I know someone who is supposed to get her second shot today and still hasn’t heard about the scheduling. Not to mention the thousands of people who can’t navigate the system and are unable to secure an appointment. So yeah, I do realize it could have been worse…much worse…but that doesn’t mean the entire process can’t be done better. That doesn’t mean the entire process isn’t one big…

CLUSTERFUCK!!

Related Post: How far would you drive to get the Covid-19 vaccine?

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There’s been a  huge maelstrom of  varied opinions surrounding Mitch McConnell’s Trump  turnabout.  But I’ve heard no views that express the postulate contained in a mysterious unsigned letter and audiotape I received recently.  It purports to contain a recording of a conversation between Mitch and his wife,Elaine Chao, on the day after Mitch voted against impeaching Trump; though I  must confess that the recorded voices sound suspiciously like my prankster nephew Dexter and his equally mischievously goofy girlfriend, Courtney (or is is Alex or Sydney or some other forename that used to be reserved for males?), in a pale attempt to impersonate both Mitch and Elaine.Though the authenticity of the mailing might be called into question, the theory, unlike Mitch himself, seems to have  some merit.  And so, without further doodoo, the contents:

ELAINE:  So you voted against impeaching that putz . eh?

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE:  You do realize, don’t you, that all  across America there’s been a terrifyingly dramatic eruption in hate crimes against Asian Americans?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE:   Massive numbers of murders, beatings and property damage against  patriotic citizens who were born here. or whose  families and forbears emigrated from China, Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, Myanmar, et cetera.

MITCH: Well,I–

ELAINE:  Do you think the bloodbath might have anything to do with the putz repeatedly referring to Covid 19 as “the Chinese virus”, Mitch?

MITCH:  Well,   I–

ELAINE:  What would you say if I or  members of my family were attacked?

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE:  When are you going to grow a spine and rise up against the putz?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE: Mitch, remember, just because you’re a you’re a big shot in congress, doesn’t necessarily  mean you’ve got a clear shot at carnal congress with your wife.

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE;  So when exactly are your going to take a shot at the putz?

MITCH;  Er…soon?

ELAINE;  Very soon?

MITCH;  Very soon,

ELAINE; Good.

MITCH;  Should we have some some Chinese takeout tonight?  Maybe chop suey?

ELAINE;  Mitch, how many times have I told you that chop suey should never be referred to as Chinese?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE:  Just like Covid 19.

What’s So Bad About February?

Oh, how I loathe February.  The snow is tiresome.  Snow boots are a bother but a necessity, since I fear icy patches, where I might take a spill.  My parka is soiled with patches of dried salt, and I don’t bother to remove it.  At this point, I no longer care.

“I need to run to the bird seed store,” my husband reminds me.  “Don’t we have enough at home already?” I ask.  He doesn’t listen but instead drives to the local shop to pick up more wild bird seed.

He returns to the car.  “See what they gave me for free?” he says excitedly, handing over a rectangular box.  Oh look, it’s a Thermodynamic Drinking Bird – “a personal heat engine in a handy duck shape.”  Just what we needed.  In times like these, I like to quote Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride…

“We were never blessed with such bounty!”

Our next stop is to the grocery store, to pick up a few things.  I sigh from boredom, picking up my book to peruse on this colorless day.

A quote on page on page 37 makes me pause and think.

“If you are ever bored or blue,
stand on the street corner for half an hour.”

Maira Kalman

Of course, she’s right.  I make it a point to stop focusing on my glum attitude and instead take note of what’s happening around me.

An ambulance glides through the intersection, its siren blaring loudly.  Someone is on a gurney inside, heading west to the hospital one mile away.

We pass a newly built Andy’s Frozen Custard, boasting a six-foot frozen cone in front of its doors.  The custard reminds me of whipped marshmallows, with an almost pearl-like sheen, tempting passers-by.

In the Jewel parking lot, cars maneuver among high banks of dirty snow.   Walking through the lot, intricate paths make us avoid frozen patches and drenching puddles.  Impatiently, we wish for spring.

A young man and his wife walk toward the entrance of the grocery store.  He lingers, allowing me to walk in after his wife.  Chivalry and manners aren’t dead.

Inside, the store tells us we’re not alone in our thoughts of springtime.  There are fresh flowers.  Cantaloupe.  And jelly beans.

After paying for our purchases, we start to head out the automatic door, when once again I run into the same gentleman.  He waves his hand.  “After you,” he insists.

I smile back, using my eyes to express my gratitude.  Pandemic masks are like that.

Back in our car, I think of my daughter, who waits at my home.  She stopped by this weekend for a short visit.  We will re-heat the chicken tacos I made last night.  She asked if we can watch an old Columbo movie together.  Of course, I say Yes.

Bird seed.  Chivalry.  Cantaloupe and jelly beans.

Icicles, snowmen, and sleds.

Chicken tacos and an old movie.

And I ask myself… really, what’s so bad about February?

Thank you for reading — PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST

S&P Dow Jones released their December CoreLogic Case Shiller home price indices this morning. The year over year price increase for the nation’s single family homes moved into double digit territory with a 10.4% gain, which is the largest increase in 7 years. That was up from a 9.5% increase for November so price appreciation continues to accelerate. And, since this is a December report, it also represents the price gain for the entire year.

The Case Shiller Chicago area index for single family homes rose by 7.7% in 2020. Now, I’m not going to complain about our home prices rising by 7.7% in a year but, unfortunately, that’s the lowest appreciation rate among 19 metro areas that they track. The second lowest appreciation rate? That would be Las Vegas with a 7.9% gain.

I’ve got these year over year home price appreciation rates for Chicago graphed below and it includes a line for condo prices, which grew by 4.6% last year. That’s actually down slightly from the 5.0% gain in November.

Chicago area single family home prices have shown annual gains for 98 consecutive months

Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI, commented on the trend in the nation’s home price appreciation:

The trend of accelerating prices that began in June 2020 has now reached its seventh month and is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 9.8% and 10.1%, respectively). The market’s strength continues to be broadly-based: 18 of the 19 cities for which we have December data rose, and 18 cities gained more in the 12 months ended in December than they had gained in the 12 months ended in November.

As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy in early 2020, their effect on housing prices was unclear. Price growth decelerated in May and June, and then began a steady climb upward, and December’s report continues that acceleration in an emphatic manner. 2020’s 10.4% gain marks the best performance of housing prices in a calendar year since 2013. From the perspective of more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, December’s year-over-year change ranks within the top decile of all reports.

These data are consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This may indicate a secular shift in housing demand, or may simply represent an acceleration of moves that would have taken place over the next several years anyway.

Case Shiller Chicago Area Home Price Index By Month

This next graph shows the underlying Chicago Case Shiller indices plotted over time so that you can see where home prices are relative to the past. The red line is a trend line I created based upon pre-bubble price history for single family homes. The recent gains buck the normal seasonal drop in home prices. December single family home prices rose by 0.3% instead of falling like they normally do, although condo prices did fall by 1.2%.

Despite recent strong gains we still haven’t recovered to peak prices. Single family home prices are still 8.4% below the peak while condo prices are 4.2% below the peak. To put it another, dramatic, way single family home prices are still lower than they were during the entire period from May 2005 – February 2008 while condo prices are still lower than they were during the October 2005 – July 2008 period.

Don’t get me wrong. We’ve made a lot of progress from the bottom, with single family home prices rising 50.3% and condo prices bouncing 58.6%. On the other hand, if you use the red trend line as your benchmark home prices are depressed 25.9%.

The Chicago real estate market still has a long way to go before catching up to bubble peak prices.

#ChicagoHomePrices #CaseShiller #HomePrices

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

Nothing, absolutely nothing lasts forever; whether good or bad, it will certainly come to an end. If the situation you’re in now has you feeling defeated and depleted, the good news is one day it will be over. You have to hang in there until that day comes. You may not know the day, and you may not be able to make the day come sooner, but you can adjust your attitude while you wait. Change the game and make it work for you. Rather than letting it destroy you, strategically find ways to grow and overcome. Likewise, if you’re in a good place right now, that too is for a limited time only. Therefore, get all you can, can all you get and sit on the can!