Viewpoint

May 6, 2021 • 6

Too many goodbyes left to say

It’s been five months. Five long months, but there are still so many things to do. So many goodbyes left to say. Most of them are symbolic and silent, but they are goodbyes nonetheless. Between just him and me.

Everyone else has said their goodbyes in their own way. They were done long ago.

I’m far from done. I don’t think I’ll ever be done saying goodbye. I would’t want to be, honestly. Saying a final goodbye would be too hard. I’m not ready for that. I won’t ever be.

Still, there are things to do — goodbyes, if you will.

I have to shut off his phone. I plan to do that soon. We’ve transferred all the photos and videos off of it. No one calls him anymore. In fact the phone hasn’t been charged for a few weeks, so there’s no reason, really, to keep the account. No reason except it’s one more difficult goodbye to get through.

All the utilities are still in his name. More goodbyes, once I get to those tasks.

His wallet, driver’s license, watch and glasses. No one needs them anymore. No one can use them. I should get rid of them. I suppose I should say goodbye. Instead they sit in the drawer next to my bed. Sometimes I hold them before sleep or right after waking. Eventually I’ll be ready to say goodbye, but not quite yet.

I’ve yet to transfer car titles. More goodbyes. I still have his vehicle. Probably should sell it at some point. Another goodbye.

His tools. What do I do with his tools? I don’t know how to use them. My kids may want them at some point. Do we keep them just in case, or do we say goodbye?

I donated most of his clothes to charity. His closet is empty, reminding me daily of that goodbye. I packed his shoes up, also for

By

JILL PERTLER

Columnist

donation. They are still in the basement waiting for my goodbye.

I hope to move soon. Saying goodbye to the home where we raised our family will be significant.

There is the wall where we measured each child’s height as they grew from toddlerhood to the teen years. There is the kitchen table where we ate our family meals. There are bedrooms where we read nighttime stories and said our prayers. There is the dining room table where we shared special Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with extended family.

There are the bathrooms and kitchen, which he rebuilt from scratch when we first moved here 20 years ago.

There is the backyard where I planted raspberries, asparagus and my cherished hosta gardens. It’s the same place he built a paver patio and walking path. The backyard was our project. It was our haven. One of them, at least.

I need to move forward. He’ll come with me, I know that to my core. The house is just a house. Still, I’ll have to say goodbye to it.

I have to say goodbye to a lot of things; I already have. But there is more to do. More goodbyes to accomplish. I hate each one, but it is inevitable. It has to be done. So on I go.

Jill Pertler is an award-winning syndicated columnist, published playwright, author and member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Don’t miss a slice; follow the Slices of Life page on Facebook.

Survey shows almost 2/3 Illinoisans favor ‘immunity passports’

MyBioSource.com, a biotechnical products distribution company, recently conducted a survey -of 3,000 people to take the pulse of the nation on the topic of “immunity passports,” that is, a document issued as proof that the person has received the COVID-19 vaccine. The survey found that the opinions were quite divided – overall, 60% of Illinoisans believe immunity passports, compared to a national average of 59%.

The research also found that nearly 1 in 3 (30%) people believe there should be an interstate travel ban for people who have not had their COVID-19 vaccine. Some countries have had immunization certificate requirements in place for a number of years for foreign travelers, to prevent the spread of diseases such as yellow fever and polio.

Moreover, 60% of people think professional sports teams should give preference to ticketholders who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. This follows the announcement that this year, the Super Bowl gave away 7,500 free tickets to healthcare workers who had received both doses of the vaccine, to attend the game on Feb. 7.

Business brief How Illinois can jumpstart a heartland manufacturing revival

By Jim Nowlan

The stars are aligned for Illinois to become a hot spot in the revival of manufacturing across our great American heartland.

For example, I propose a really big, transformative, federal-state-private-sector partnership that would create a cutting-edge, computer chip manufacturing and research facility on Arsenal Island, which straddles the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities.

“But how are the stars aligned, Jim?” you might ask.

I respond: The Biden infrastructure plan includes $50 billion or more for a desperately needed American manufacturing and research renaissance. Illinois is a natural place for such a rebirth.

We have in the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and other research centers probably the greatest concentration of engineering and computer science firepower of any state, with perhaps the exception of Massachusetts and California.

As the heart of the once-proud manufacturing heartland, now called a Rust Belt, we still have a strong tradition of workforce excellence.

Further, Illinois has been an embarrassing laggard overall in economic growth; our population has been declining.

Additionally, Illinois is a blue-blue state, with powerful blue elected officials in U.S. Senate Whip Dick Durbin, vice presidential candidate runner-up Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and a House Dem top player in Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. Duckworth will want to be re-elected next year, but Bustos announced April 30 that she will not be running in 2022.

Why allocate really big manufacturing and research dollars in RED states, where most private investment has been going? Illinois has all the pieces in place. It is a natural.

So, here in a nutshell is my proposal for the Quad Cities (QC), which my district neighbored when I was in the Illinois House decades ago.

QC leaders have been in discussion with the flagship University of Illinois to come to town, and the university is interested.

The U. of I. at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is home to one of the world’s leading computer science and electrical engineering campuses. For example, UIUC annually wins more National Science Foundation grant dollars than any university campus in the nation. And UIUC engineers and scientists are at the forefront of computer chip design.

John Deere, and Caterpillar down the road in Peoria, need both licensed engineers and engineer technicians. And America badly needs to catch up in the computer chip design and manufacturing competition. Our nation has outsourced this function, and now wonders why, and of what we can do about it.

The U. of I. already has collaborative engineering programs with community colleges. Students start at the community colleges and have the opportunity to move on to the four-year bachelor’s program in engineering at UIUC.

In Black Hawk College, the QC has one of the oldest and most solid community colleges in the nation. Black Hawk and UIUC could use the existing collaboration model, locating a new UIUC junior-senior engineer program in the Quad Cities.

The Rock Island Arsenal is also a big player in the QC. Since the Civil War, the Army has operated a munitions manufacturing plant on the two-square-mile Arsenal Island that lies, literally, in the middle of the Mississippi River, between Illinois and Iowa.

But employment at the Arsenal has dwindled from a high of 13,000 to about 5,500, and the future of America’s defense is no longer in bombs. Leaders at the Arsenal and in the QC understand this. They have the space, and are looking for new missions before the facility might one day easily be absorbed into other, much larger Department of Defense operations.

The future of America’s defense lies in ever more sophisticated computer chips to guide and operate Star Warslevel defense programs. Indeed, Sen. Durbin and Congresswoman Bustos were critical several years ago in establishing the Army’s Center of Excellence for Additive and Advanced Manufacturing and the Quad City Manufacturing Laboratory at the Rock Island Arsenal. It’s time to leverage these leading-edge assets.

It all makes so much sense. But elected officials like Durbin and Bustos need proposals that are near “shovel ready.” They are too busy to come to you; you have to give them something to run with. Your metro area may, indeed should, also have ideas for similar projects. Hop to it. Time is of the essence. Claimants are already lining up around Lafayette Square, in front of the White House, to make their pitches for more than their share of the Biden largesse. Making Illinois a world leader in chip production and research could be a game-changer.

For many years, Jim Nowlan was a senior fellow and political science professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He was a state representative, worked for three governors and publishes a weekly newspaper in central Illinois.

Addison Trail’s Jina Patel selected

During its April 26 meeting, the District 88 Board of Education named Addison Trail senior Jina Patel and Willowbrook senior Sarah Fairbank as the recipients of the David Koch/Board of Education Scholarship for the 2020-21 school year.

Since spring 1984, the David Koch/Board of Education Scholarship has been given in honor of former District 88 Superintendent Dr. David F. Koch Jr. Scholarship recipients are chosen from the 18 students named as 88’s Best during the school year.

Jina Patel was named as Addison Trail’s February recipient of 88’s Best recognition for her outstanding service work. Patel, a senior, was

Jina Patel

recognized at the Feb. 22 District 88 Board of Education meeting.

Her involvement at Addison Trail includes:

• National Honor Society (where she serves as Co-President) • International Club • International Dance Show (where she serves as a dance leader) • Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!) series (a program to prepare students to recognize and learn from the diversity around them) • Student Council • Class Board • AT News Channel

Academic achievements: • Completed 13 Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level courses (earned As in all of them) • Completed nine honors courses (earned As in all of them)

After high school, Patel plans to attend college and pursue a career as a doctor. Her top choices include Northwestern University, Washington University and University of Michigan. By choosing medicine as her career, Patel will be able to blend her favorite things – her love of science and her love of service.

Addison Trail Theatre to present ‘An Evening of One Acts’

Addison Trail invites the public to enjoy a night of theatre as the school presents “An Evening of One Acts” on May 7 and 8, beginning at 7 p.m. The event will be livestreamed

The following one-act plays are on the program: 1. “Mrs. Sorken” by Christopher Durang: An older lady welcomes audiences to a live theatre performance with her thoughts on theater. 2. “The Philadelphia” by David Ives: Have you ever been stuck somewhere when everything is going wrong? Unfortunately, Al woke up in Philadelphia. 3. “Universal Language” by David Ives: Dawn, a shy young lady, goes to learn Unamunda, which is supposed to be the “universal language.” Instead, she learns the TRUE universal language. 4. “Funeral Parlor” by Christopher Durang: Everyone has a different way of grieving, and in this funeral parlor, Susan learns how to truly grieve. 5. “Sure Thing” by David Ives: Finding a compatible date is all in the timing, isn’t it?

“An Evening of One Acts” will begin at 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed. A link to access the shows will be shared at dupage88.net.

A limited number of tickets will be available to view the performances in person, and details will be shared at dupage88.net.

•Trial (Continued from front page) being elected to the General Assembly in 2012.

During his first term in office, in March 2013, Cullerton was hired as a union organizer, a full-time position that came with health and pension benefits.

He was hired to the union position by John Coli, the former union leader who agreed to work with federal prosecutors as part of a plea deal. Coli pleaded guilty in federal court to extorting a film studio in Chicago.

Cullerton’s indictment alleges the senator embezzled $274,066 from the union between January 2013 and February 2016—$188,320 in salary and allowances; $64,068 in medical and pension plan contributions; and $21,678 in “reimbursed medical claims.”

According to the indictment, Cullerton also received holiday bonuses for three years and collected about $60,000 from Jan. 15, 2015, through the end of January 2016. Cullerton reported the additional income in a statement of economic interests form with the secretary of state’s office, as required by Illinois law, in 2013 and 2014 but not in 2015 or 2016, according to the indictment. Through his attorneys, Cullerton has denied wrongdoing. Cullerton was reelected to his third state Senate term in 2018. His term ends in 2023. The retired U.S. Army infantryman currently serves as chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the Energy and Public Utilities, Insurance, Labor, State Government and Transportation committees. Daniel Collins, one of Cullerton’s attorneys and a lawyer with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, declined to comment on the April 27 development.

We want to print your news! Is your church hosting a special event? Community Calendar listings are free! Send details to independent@rvpublishing.com

Pritzker signs health care reform measure backed by Black Caucus

Governor calls it ‘sweeping’ action ‘tackling structural racism head on’

By Tim Kirsininkas and Raymon Troncoso

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS

Gov. JB Pritzker declared health care “a right, not a privilege” as he signed a massive reform bill April 27 backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the last of four policy pillars introduced as part of an anti-racism agenda last year.

The “Illinois Health Care and Human Services Reform Act,” contained in House Bill 158, is a 224page bill made up of over a dozen provisions meant to end inequities in the Illinois health care system on the basis of race, income and other socioeconomic factors.

It also seeks to expand access to health care for low-income and rural residents, including residents of color, as well as broadly expand the state’s network of mental health services.

Pritzker said the bill’s passage makes Illinois “a national leader in tackling structural racism head on.”

“This legislation advances a key belief of mine that I know is shared by everyone standing here, and millions of residents across Illinois: Health care is a right, not a privilege,” Pritzker said at a news conference at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. “For too long, too many Illinoisans have been denied that right, whether through health care deserts, inexcusable delays in Medicaid applications, through lack of access, through high premiums, through doctors untrained to recognize symptoms on Black skin.”

Among other provisions, the bill creates two Medicaid-based commissions, one to review the state’s managed care programs delivering Medicaid services and one to direct Medicaid contracts towards businesses owned and operated by minorities, women and residents with disabilities.

It also places a moratorium on hospital closures, enhances state training standards for facilities caring for dementia patients and implements implicit bias training for medical staffs.

The measure also focuses on identifying the causes of violence—creating the Underlying Causes of Crime and Violence Study Act—which will seek to create a process to identify “high violence communities” and prioritize state dollars to address the underlying causes, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

A new certified class of medical professional, known as a “Community Health Worker,” is created under the new law to act as a coordinating bridge between social programs and health care services.

Advocates said the legislation attempts to overhaul every aspect of the Illinois health care system from birth to elder care.

Chief Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, said the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent protests calling for racial justice and equity were influential in showing disproportionate health impacts and barriers to quality care for communities of color across the state.

“Although we have been fighting to eradicate racism for decades, last year, my colleagues and I saw a unique opportunity to make the most radical structural changes in Illinois that they’ve ever seen,” Hunter said.

“The legislation before you is deeply informed and methodology-crafted. We have spent many months and sleepless nights just on the health care pillar alone,” she added.

Chief House sponsor Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, said the bill’s signing is “a significant first step for improving the quality of life for millions.”

“The statistics in the Black community are sobering,” Lilly said. “We suffer from higher rates of chronic diseases, diabetes and hypertension, heart disease, asthma and many cancers. … Black people’s life expectancy should not be determined by their ZIP code. They should just be able to live where they are feeling comfortable in supporting their families.”

Republicans mounted opposition to the legislation on the basis of its price tag, which they have cited as being anywhere between $5 billion and $12 billion to implement fully.

Democrats have disputed those estimates while maintaining that the benefit of improving health care outcomes for Illinoisans would be worth the cost.

A Republican request for a fiscal note was ruled inapplicable by Democratic leadership during House debate on the bill.

A statement from the House Republican caucus criticized Pritzker for “signing a bill that will cost billions of dollars of fantasy money we just don’t have.”

When asked about the costs of the health care reform bill, Pritzker described the bill as “reasonable” and accused Republican opponents of “exaggerating” the actual cost.

A majority of the act’s provisions are subject to state appropriation, meaning the General Assembly will need to vote in the future to allocate the funding needed for each measure, despite the law being effective immediately upon Pritzker’s signature April 27.

“We’re going to work very hard to try to implement the provisions of this law,” Pritzker said. “It will take us some time and effort. I’ll be working together with the legislators to make sure that that happens.”

One Republican Senator, John Curran of Downers Grove, attended the April 27 news conference with members of the Black Caucus, the health care community and the governor. He said he was proud to have supported the measure in the Senate.

“It addresses issues of great importance—health care access, infant mortality and maternal mortality, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and hospital access in low-income and underserved communities,” he said. “This legislation will go far in addressing racial and other imbalances within the Illinois health care system, and takes important steps in expanding medical services in our lower income communities.”

The bill was the final pillar of the Black Caucus legislative agenda unveiled last year to be signed into law and the only one that did not pass in the previous General Assembly.

That agenda included four platforms: health care, public safety, economic opportunity and education. In January’s lame duck session, the General Assembly passed two omnibus bills related to criminal justice and education, and several bills as part of the economic pillar.

The health care package, which failed to gain majority support during that session, was retooled and eventually passed by the General Assembly in March following deep revisions.