JB Pritzker

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that the federal government will provide medical staffing assistance to University of Chicago Medicine’s Ingalls Memorial Hospital in suburban Harvey in an effort to reduce the strain on nurses and doctors as they care for an increasing number of patients ill with coronavirus.c

Illinois health officials are taking a series of steps to help address a surge in COVID cases among hospitalized patients in the state, calling in workers from other states and receiving assistance from the federal government as hospitalizations hit record highs. Lexi Sutter has more details.

As hospitals around the state continue to struggle with a surge in COVID cases, officials are offering assistance to those facilities. NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern reports.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced that victims of straight-line winds and tornadoes in numerous southern Illinois counties will have extra time to file their income tax returns and to make quarterly income tax payments later this spring.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced this week that the state has paid off a $2 billion loan two years ahead of schedule, likely saving the state more than $80 million in interest payments.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will work remotely in coming days after coming into close contact with a state employee who later tested positive for coronavirus, his office said Wednesday.

With many patients reporting sore throats in omicron COVID cases, a debate over whether or not to add throat swabs to testing methods has sparked, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that such advice could be dangerous in some cases.

As the city of Chicago and most of suburban Cook County implement a requirement that customers at specific indoor facilities furnish a proof-of-vaccination, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised the measures, but cautioned that they may not be right for eateries across the state.

Hospitalizations for people with COVID-19 reached a record for the entire pandemic in Illinois Monday, according to data from the state’s health department, and officials fear the number will only grow at the start of the new year in wake of holiday gatherings.

As COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and hospital leaders are urging medical centers to postpone non-emergency surgeries to help keep beds clear for COVID patients.

Soon you’ll have to prove you’re vaccinated to get into many indoor locations in Chicago and Cook County. Illinois has signed on to a digital vaccine verification system that uses a smart health card. NBC 5’s Lauren Petty explains how it works.

As COVID cases surge in Illinois, area children’s hospitals say they are seeing their biggest spike in cases and hospitalizations, with more kids testing positive than ever before during the coronavirus pandemic. NBC 5’s Lauren Petty has the story.

As COVID cases surge in Illinois, area children’s hospitals say they are seeing their biggest spike in cases and hospitalizations, with more kids testing positive than ever before during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pediatric hospitalizations are rising across several states in the U.S., but there are five states in particular that are making up a majority of the increases and Illinois is one of them, according to an NBC News analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data.

Nearly 300 new laws will take effect in Illinois at the start of the new year.

Across the U.S., some states are reporting an increase in pediatric hospitalizations as the new omicron variant continues to spread and Illinois’ top doctor said the state is watching such numbers very closely.

Illinois will soon increase access to both testing and booster shots in an effort to combat the increased spread of the omicron variant across the state, as well as providing staffing assistance to hospitals in need, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday.

In delivering his first COVID update since the omicron variant was first detected in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said the state is taking new measures to address surging cases and hospitalizations and a heightened demand for testing after the Christmas holiday and ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike delivers a COVID update for Illinois as omicron variant cases continue to spread across the state.

In delivering his first COVID update since the omicron variant first arrived in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said the state is taking new measures to address surging cases and hospitalizations and a heightened demand for testing after the Christmas holiday and ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations.