Newsletter: News from the Tenth District - Coronavirus Updates, Telephone Town Hall this Thursday

March 25, 2020

I hope you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and managing during these difficult times.

The coronavirus pandemic is a challenge unlike anything any of us have experienced, and we each have an important role to play in this story. Some are standing on call in our hospitals to care for us. Others are working night and day to stock our store shelves with food and household supplies. Still others are working to keep our lights on and our drinking water safe, and to protect our neighborhoods and communities. Most of us are doing our part by staying home to diminish the spread of this virus. Everyone is a hero in this story by doing their part. I can't wait until we can come back together in person to share our stories and thank our heroes.

Please know I and my team are here for you. Although we are working remotely we are available by phone at 847-383-4870 or through our website at /

WORKING FOR YOU

Like many of you, I am adjusting to working at home and using new forms of communication to keep in touch with constituents. Besides countless hours in conversations with colleagues and House leadership about how Congress can best address the effects of the pandemic, I have been actively reaching out to our community. I have spoken with our mayors, village presidents and township supervisors about their most pressing needs. I talked with the CEOs of all our local hospitals and heard firsthand about their challenges, in particular the urgent need for supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep our health care workers safe. I called constituents who have phoned into our office or sent in comments on our website to hear their stories and gather their ideas.

I've also hosted several conference calls with local community and faith leaders. And on a larger scale, we had more than 8,000 people join our telephone town hall last Thursday, and had almost 1,000 small business owners participate in a webinar on Monday on how to apply for emergency loans from the SBA.

Please keep reading below for more details on legislation, resources for small businesses, and instructions on how to participate in our next telephone town hall scheduled for tomorrow.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

First and foremost. I want you to know that I and my fellow elected officials in our local communities, at the state level, and in Congress understand how challenging these times are for all Americans and in particular the most vulnerable among us. We are doing everything we can to ensure, among others things, that people are safe in their homes, that we continue to ensure a safe supply of food, medicines and other staples in our stores, as well as our local food pantries, and perhaps at the top of our priority list at the moment, that we build our supply of the necessary protective gear and medical equipment we need to keep our hospitals open and our health care workers safe.

As I write this newsletter, we are in final negotiations between Congress (Senate and House) and the Trump Administration on a third, expansive, trillion dollar relief package. This legislation should help Americans feed their families and pay their bills, help businesses of all sizes navigate this unprecedented period and keep their employees on the payroll, help strengthen our strained health care system at it's moment of greatest importance, and help ensure the viability and sustainability of our economy when we pass through this crisis.

Regarding the earlier passed legislative packages, our first priority was to lay the groundwork to try to contain the virus, mitigate its spread, and treat those infected. To that end, earlier this month, I helped pass in the House an $8.3 billion funding package that the President then signed into law. It includes more than $3 billion towards the development of treatments and a coronavirus vaccine, provides $2.2 billion in public health funding for prevention, preparedness and response, and funds a low-interest loan program for small business who are affected.

Our second focus was to provide initial help to the families and communities economically affected to ensure they continue to have a source of income. On March 14 I voted for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed four days later by the President. The FFCRA provides

Free testing for coronavirus regardless of insurance coverage
Two weeks of paid sick leave and expanded paid family and medical leave to approximately 83 million more Americans.
Enhanced Unemployment Insurance so states have the resources and flexibility to provide unemployment benefits to laid off and furloughed workers, as well as to those workers who exhaust their allotted paid leave.
Support for food security, including those who depend on SNAP or WIC benefits, school lunch programs, local food banks and programs for low-income seniors.
Finally, support for Health Security, providing federal funds to state Medicaid programs to prevent prevent states from cutting benefits, reducing their Medicaid rolls, or imposing greater costs on enrollees
This bill is not perfect – but this package is what could pass and I gladly supported it because we do not have time for partisan bickering.

CORONAVIRUS IN ILLINOIS – STAY AT HOME ORDER

The situation continues to evolve, but as of Monday, March 23, the Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting 1285 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths in Illinois

Governor Pritzker has moved aggressively to confront the virus. In addition to closing all schools, restaurants, and bars, the Governor has issued a "Stay at Home" order which began this past Saturday.
The order prohibits things like visiting other people's homes (except to provide care or supplies) and gatherings of more than 10 people and closes all nonessential establishments, including most retail, recreation and entertainment businesses. It does NOT prohibit essential activities like going to the grocery store, receiving medical care, or taking your pet for a walk. For more information on what this order means for you, please read the Frequently Asked Questions guide.
Learn the latest on the status of the virus in Illinois at http://coronavirus.illinois.gov/
The Illinois Department of Health has also created a hotline to answer questions about COVID-19 symptoms, testing, and more:
Phone: 1-800-889-3931
Email: DPH.SICK@ILLINOIS.GOV

RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Illinois businesses affected by the coronavirus are now eligible to apply for disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). You can apply for loans here. (Note: we've heard reports that the website is experiencing difficulties under high traffic, and is currently undergoing maintenance to increase capacity. Please continue trying and get in touch at 847-383-4870 if you still have issues)

On Monday, we hosted a webinar with help from the SBA and our local Small Business Development Center (SBDC, located at College of Lake County) to answer commonly asked questions about the SBA disaster loan program. View a recording of the presentation below:

Additional Resources:

UPDATES FOR STUDENTS

Last week, the Trump Administration announced federal student loans will automatically have their interest rates set to 0% for at least the next 60 days. Borrowers will also have the option to suspend payments entirely for at least two months without accruing interest (forbearance), but you must request this by contacting your loan service via phone or online.

Our constituent service representative are available to help any Tenth District residents navigate these new rules. Please get in touch at 847-383-4870.

IRS FILING DEADLINE DELAYED TO JULY 15

I heard from numerous constituents about concerns meeting the April 15 filing deadline, and urged the IRS in a letter to extend the filing deadline. I was pleased that on Friday Secretary Mnuchin announced the IRS will extend the tax filing deadline until July 15 for all filers due to the coronavirus.

More details on my letter here.

NEXT TELEPHONE TOWN HALL THIS THURSDAY

A photo from one of 2019's telephone town halls, broadcast from our DC office. This time I'll be speaking from my home in the Tenth District.

We had more than 8,000 constituents on last week's telephone town hall, and I am hosting another this Thursday evening to discuss and answer questions related to the coronavirus.

I invite all residents of Illinois' Tenth Congressional District to participate on Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 6:30-7:30pm CT.

To participate, either:

Sign-up ahead of time (recommended) to receive a call using the form on schneider.house.gov/live

or
Participate the day of by dialing-in at 855-859-7337 on Thursday evening. (855-962-1312 para español)

Por primera vez, interpretación simultánea en vivo de la llamada estará disponible en español. Oprima *0 para español.

HOW TO GIVE BACK

Looking for ways to give back to your community during the coronavirus epidemic?

The state of Illinois has launched a new website: serve.illinois.gov to coordinate volunteer efforts to help our communities during the epidemic.

In particular, the state is coordinating donations of unopened personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves and masks to help fight critical shortages. A huge thank you to College of Lake County, Oakton Community College, and Lake County Habitat for Humanity, which have donated in recent days. Learn more here: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/serve/Pages/default.aspx

I also applaud all the small businesses across Illinois who are shifting resources to help combat the coronavirus epidemic and to keep Americans working. A great example is 28 Mile Distilling (located in Highwood), which is now manufacturing hand sanitizer.

TWO MOMENTS OF GRATITUDE

I was so moved by someone who left roses on the cars in the Highland Park Hospital employee lot as a beautiful thank you for all the dedicated health care workers on the frontlines of our fight against the coronavirus.

Finally, this video of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a touching reminder of the indomitable human spirit and our ingenuity in the face of adversity. We will get through these tough times as a country and world. I hope this video brings a smile to you like it did me.