April 1, 2021: President's Office Debrief

Cook County, Illinois sent this bulletin at 04/01/2021 05:12 PM CDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

April 1, 2021: President's Office Debrief

Deadline extension: Emergency Rental Assistance applications open until April 9

The Cook County COVID-19 Recovery Emergency Rental Assistance program deadline has been extended to Friday, April 9.

The $72.8 million program is funded by the Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus COVID Relief legislation passed in late 2020, the program pays up to 12 months of missed rent and utility payments and up to 3 months of future rent payments. The program is designed for suburban Cook County renters and landlords. Payments will be made directly to landlords on behalf of tenants and amounts will vary on need, family size, and eligibility.

Residents can review their eligibility and apply for rental assistance at www.cookcountyil.gov/recovery. The application period opens today, March 11 and will close on April 2. Applications are available through the online portal in many languages including Spanish, Polish, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi.

Best,

Nick Shields
Director of Communications and Public Affairs

Recent Press Releases

Media Clips

Around the Southland: Area agencies offer a helping hand, and more: United Way of Metro Chicago, South-Southwest Suburban Region is holding an April Food Day donation drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12. With the pandemic amplifying the challenges many people face in meeting their basic needs, such as food, shelter and health care, a simple thing such as providing a few meals can make a big difference. [Chicago Tribune]

All essential workers in suburban Cook County eligible for vaccine as ‘limited number’ of doses to open up: Suburban Cook County will allow remaining essential workers who have not yet been eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine to qualify for the shot starting Wednesday. Some of those jobs include employees working in the fields of clergy, restaurants, energy, legal, retail, transportation and construction, according to a news release from the county’s public health department. The next step will be opening up vaccines to all people 16 and older, which should come in the next few weeks, the release said. [Chicago Tribune]

How to Apply For Financial Help With Missed Rent in Illinois, Cook County: Unless extended again, the state of Illinois' current eviction moratorium ends Saturday, April 3. During the moratorium, rent owed was placed on a freeze, but when the moratorium ends, all that back rent still needs to paid. "About 42% of Illinois residents are behind in their rent due to COVID," said Karla Chrobak of CARPLS, a Chicago-based legal aid organization. "We're talking millions of dollars of back rent, millions." [NBC]

Cook County Opening Up 22,000 New Appointments For COVID-19 Vaccines At 4 Suburban Mass Vaccination Sites: Cook County officials will release about 22,000 first-dose appointments for COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday afternoon, covering shots being given out at four suburban mass vaccination sites. Cook County Health said it will open up the new appointments at 4 p.m. Thursday. [WGN]

Cook County Vaccine: 22K Appointments to Be Released Thursday: Cook County Health will release 22,000 first-dose COVID vaccine appointments Thursday afternoon for all Illinois residents eligible in Phases 1A, 1B and 1C. The appointments will be released at 4 p.m. Thursday and can be booked on the Cook County vaccine website or by calling the county's hotline at (833) 308-1988. Cook County's vaccination sites are open to all Illinois residents who qualify and remain by appointment only. [NBC]

Cook County to release 22,000 first-dose Covid vaccine appointments Thursday afternoon: Health officials in Cook County announced Thursday they will release more first-dose vaccine appointments for several of it’s COVID-19 vaccination sites. Approximately 22,000 first-dose appointments will be available at 4 p.m. Thursday. [WGN]

Suburban Cook County Expands COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility To Remaining Phase 1C Essential Workers: The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) today expanded vaccine eligibility to the final groups of essential workers included in Phase 1C. All essential workers – including clergy, restaurant staff, energy, legal, retail and transportation and logistics – are now eligible to receive vaccine. [Patch]

Preckwinkle endorses Clean Energy Jobs Act: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined officials, advocates and an impacted business owner on Monday, March 29, to endorse the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA, HB 804), praising the bill for advancing equity and helping Illinois to mitigate climate change. [Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle]

Cook County Department of Public Health on how non-ambulatory people can get a vaccine: Cook County Department of Public Health Senior Medical Director and co-lead Dr. Kiran Joshi joins John Williams to discuss vaccination options for those who are homebound. [WGN]

IL COVID vaccine efforts expand across state as other COVID-19 metrics rise: COVID-19 cases are rising across Illinois, as the state works to expand vaccine eligibility and opportunities. The Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 1,761 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and five deaths Monday. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 22-28 is 3.8%. [ABC]

Deadline for Cook County emergency rental assistance nears: There is still more time for people living in Suburban Cook County to get help with rent and utilities. The Emergency Rental Assistance program is accepting applications through Friday. The program pays up to 12 months of missed rent and utilities. The program also pays up to three months of future rent. [WGN]

25,000 Cook County vaccine appointments filled within 2 hours: Thousands of vaccine appointments in Cook County were snatched up within hours of release. The news comes after the Cook County Department of Public Health opened 25,000 first-dose vaccine appointments Sunday amid rising case numbers statewide and across the country. Health officials say in less than two hours, residents booked all vaccine appointments. That’s a rate of 240 appointments per minute. [WGN]

State Launching New Mass Vaccination Sites in Multiple Suburbs for All Eligible Illinois Residents: Four suburban mass vaccination sites are expected to open to all eligible Illinois residents this week. New locations are set to open in Kane, Lake and Will counties with another site in Grundy County expanding to all eligible state residents regardless of where they live. “As we continue to get more and more vaccine from the federal government, I’m proud to launch four additional state-supported large mass vaccination sites open to all eligible Illinoisans to ensure residents can receive their vaccines as efficiently and equitably as possible,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. [NBC]

Cook County Health: All 25K COVID-19 vax appointments booked in less than 2 hours: Sunday was another day of scrambling on cell phones and laptops as Cook County residents tried to make appointments to get the COVID-19 vaccine. At noon, Cook County Health released approximately 25,000 Pfizer first-dose appointments for those eligible under certain phases of the vaccine rollout. Cook County officials told WBBM the appointments were gone in less than two hours. Appointments were booked at a rate of about 240 per minute. [WBBM]

Residents Hopeful as More Vaccination Appointments Open in Cook County Sunday: Sunday will be a big day for those still on the hunt for the COVID vaccine, as Cook County Health plans to release approximately 25,000 appointments for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. More than a million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered in Cook County since the treatments were first approved in December, and starting Sunday another 25,000 people will get the opportunity to put themselves in that growing group of individuals. [NBC]

Cook County to open 25,000 first-dose appointments Sunday for four suburban mass vaccination sites: The Cook County Department of Public Health is slated to open 25,000 first-dose vaccine appointments Sunday amid rising case numbers statewide and across the country. The appointments are for the Pfizer vaccine and can be scheduled at one of four Cook County mass vaccination sites, including the sites in Des Plaines, River Grove, Forest Park and South Holland. The appointments will be open to those classified as Phase 1A and Phase 1B. [WGN]

Cook County Pet Owners Warned That Coyotes Are Out and About: It is the time of year that coyotes are out and about looking for other coyotes to mate with and animal control officials want pet owners to know that it's also a time when coyotes enjoy snacking on dogs and cats. In a news release, the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control is warning residents about the dangers of letting dogs and cats run free in their yards during a mating and birthing season that runs until the end of May. [NBC]

‘You can’t stay quiet any longer’ — hundreds rally in Chinatown to ‘stop Asian hate’ crimes: Hundreds of people attended a rally Saturday in Chinatown to support the city’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities following reports of violence and harassment toward Asian Americans and immigrants during the coronavirus pandemic, including the deadly shootings this month at several Atlanta-area spas. Activists chanted “stop Asian hate” and “this is what America looks like” as they left Grant Park and marched to the South Side neighborhood. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Hundreds gather in Chinatown with Chicago leaders, community groups to rally against recent violence targeting Asian Americans: Hundreds of people huddled with signs reading “#StopAsianHate” on Saturday afternoon steps from Chinatown Square in Chicago’s latest protest against anti-Asian racism after the shooting spree across Atlanta-area spas this month that left eight dead, six of them women of Asian descent. The 2 p.m. rally was led by the Chinatown Security Foundation and the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, with more than 65 other Asian American organizations in attendance, according to an event summary. [Chicago Tribune]

Preckwinkle, Foxx join hundreds in downtown Chicago rally against AAPI hate: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx were joined by hundreds in a downtown Chicago rally against Asian-American and Pacific Islander hate Saturday afternoon. The event is in response to a sustained rise in hate crimes against the Asian-American community, specifically a recent mass shooting in Atlanta that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. [WGN]