This week’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs airs throughout the City:

• Tonight at 8:30 pm and midnight, Cable Ch 21 (CAN TV)
• Tmw night at 9:00 pm, Cable Ch 21 (as the first segment of the Illinois Channel 2 hour package). 

The show also airs in:

• In Aurora at 6 pm, Cable Ch 10 this Wednesday & Saturday
• In Rockford at 8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 17 this Thursday

You can also watch the Public Affairs show 24/7 by clicking here

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Terry Martin and Jeff Berkowitz discuss whether data, logic and science support Gov. Pritzker’s decision to mandate masking of two million public and private school kids seven hours per school day. 

There has been a dramatic change in the Illinois Covid metrics since last fall. Wirepoints data and analyses show that Covid19 daily deaths (7 day average) are down 95% since last Christmas, C19 hospitalizations are down 85% since fall, daily cases down 84% since  fall and covid ICU patients are down 81% since Spring of 2020. Does the Governor realize this?

Further, IL hospitals have 25% excess capacity of “Regular hospital beds,” and 23% excess capacity of ICU beds.  Moreover, that is with hospitals back to “Normal non-Covid uses.” So, there is tremendous buffer for hospitals not being pressed even if there were unforeseeable changes in the demand for their services of any type.

So, why is the Governor masking 2 million kids 7 hours per school day when we know there are substantial mental health issues associated with masking school kids throughout the school day?

Can’t be to protect the teachers, who are relatively young and thus low risk for Covid. Further, teachers were given high priority for C19 vaccination in Chicago and many other areas, so any teacher who wanted to be vaccinated should have been vaccinated at least four months ago.

So, if vaccines work as well as Gov. Pritzker contends, masking can’t be to protect teachers. If there are teachers who are at high risk, they would be relatively few and could be given sick leave with pay, until the risk of Covid has passed.

Masking can’t be to protect other kids, since kids have a 99.997 % Covid19 survival rate. For the very small fraction of kids at risk due to pre-existing conditions, we could protect them by offering remote education and tutors, with them maybe wearing a mask an hour a day, rather than 2 million kids masking up 7 hours per day.

Masking can’t be to protect the unvaccinated adults. Every adult in IL has had ample opportunity and access to vaccinations. If any of those adults choose to take an unneeded risk that primarily only hurts them, why should we try to deal with that by imposing substantial mental health costs on two million innocent school kids by masking them.    

So, why is Gov Pritzker mandating all 2 million IL public and private school kids mask up seven hours per day, when this most likely impairs the mental health of tens of thousand of kids, and is unnecessary to protect any of the two million school age kids?

Is the Governor throwing a bone to the teachers’ unions in IL, who are major contributors and supporters of the Governor.

But why do the teachers unions want the mandatory masking of two million kids if the data and science don’t support the need for that masking? 

Jeff and Terry also discuss potential, November 2022 gubernatorial general election issues, including how well or poorly the Governor has done in his general handling of the Covid issue for the last 16 months; whether the Governor has addressed the $420 billion public sector union pension shortfall; whether IL is spending much more per capita on education and performing less well educationally than other states; and whether IL is losing population, jobs and taxpayers to other states.

Berkowitz predicts that a credible candidate, with organization, resources and brainpower will enter the GOP Gov Primary by the end of August, and that might be followed by an additional credible candidate following suit in short order.

Berkowitz says those candidates are likely to benefit IL because “Competition is the patron saint of the consumer.”

Finally, Berkowitz predicts that if the GOP has a candidate who is vigorous and thoughtful, messages well and has intellectual dexterity, along with substantial financial support in the general election from Ken Griffin and others, we will see a close contest for Governor throughout the November, 2022 general election.