Vol. IV No. 52 Maywood firefighters give back, PAGE 2
Hines, Loyola administer first vaccines The two Proviso Township hospitals among first in the country to receive new COVID-19 vaccines
DECEMBER 23, 2020
theVillageFreePress.org
Westchester woman opens photo studio in pandemic, PAGE 5
CHECKING IT TWICE: Santa Clause was in attendance at Bulger Park in Melrose Park on Dec. 19, for the holiday Winter Wonderland drivethru event. See more Santa sightings on page 2.
Shanel Romain
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Two Proviso Township hospitals — Hines VA Hospital and Loyola University Medical Center — have started administering the first doses of Pfizer’s new COVID-19 vaccine that they received last week. Hines, 5000 5th Ave. in Hines, announced earlier this month that it was one of just 37 VA Hospitals in the country to receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. ABC 7 reported that Melissas Ann Klocker, a 48-year-old army veteran who receives long-term care at Hines, was the first long-term care resident in Illinois to be vaccinated, when Hines staffers gave her the vaccine on Dec. 15. “Klocker served in Kosovo as a sergeant See VACCINES on page 8
Pritzker orders more than $700M in spending cuts Governor says cuts are ‘first step’ in closing $3.9B revenue shortfall By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced more than $700 million in spending cuts on Dec. 15, calling it a “first step” in closing a $3.9 billion revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year’s budget. As part of those cuts, Pritzker said his office is negotiating with employee labor unions to identify $75 million in personnel
cost reductions, which could include furloughs, and that he is establishing a work group to identify possible closures of Department of Corrections facilities due to lower inmate populations. “These cuts reflect the first phase of our path forward, doing what is within my powers, unilaterally and without the legislature,” Pritzker said during a news conference in Chicago. “This is going to be tough. And as my ongoing conversations with General Assembly leaders would
indicate, there is a great deal of work the legislature must do when it convenes next month.” The plan includes hiring freezes at several state agencies as well as reductions or freezes in several grant programs at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources. It also includes a freeze on school maintenance capital grants, which are funded from casino gaming revenues. See SPENDING CUTS on page 4