McCormick Place ready as COVID-19 takes lives across the state

Illinois Governor and Chicago’s mayor were present at the McCormick Place convention center as it turned into a site to treat COVID-19 patients as the virus is swiping the state with death toll passing 200. The Gov. and mayor were full of praise for the union workers, medical experts, the Illinois National Guard, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as they converted the first 500 beds at the sprawling alternate-care site.

However, the Gov. and Mayor spared nothing when criticizing the Trump administration after White House aide Jerad Kushner said Thursday that the federal stockpile of emergency medical supplies was “ours” and not to be shared with the states. “It’s called the United States of America,” Pritzker said, “and the federal government … is supposed to be backstopping the states. He apparently does not know that.”

Pritzker didn’t stop. He said “that the federal government would abdicate its role and have 50 states — five territories on top of that — all competing with one another and competing against the federal government to get the PPE that’s necessary” He also criticized Jerad Kushner, “I think Jerad Kushner just does not understand this issue. He just does not understand what the federal government’s role is supposed to be in a national emergency.”

Lightfoot not only seconded the Gov., but she also said the state shouldn’t be begging the federal government. She said, “We shouldn’t have to beg the federal government to step up and assume its responsibility here. When we hear from the head of the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that the federal stockpile only has 10,000 ventilators, the question we should ask is what the heck has the Trump administration been doing over the last three and a half years?

She said the lack of planning of the federal government has been revealed. She said, “We’re doing what’s necessary. … But my oh my, somebody like Jerad Kushner casting aspersions on the hard work of governors across this country who have been working tirelessly night and day to be leaders and to care for the residents in their states, that tells you a lot about the character of him.”