A high-profile effort to convince Illinois lawmakers to change the way the state draws congressional and state legislative districts has fizzled out after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the General Assembly.

Pushing to reopen the economy, President Donald Trump insists that states can gradually lift lockdowns and still protect people from the coronavirus pandemic, even as he’s also suggesting U.S. deaths could reach 100,000. 

The proposal would cancel rent and mortgage payments statewide for 180 days amid concerns that thousands of Illinois residents have missed rent payments due to the coronavirus.

Health officials on Monday reported 46 deaths in Illinois from the coronavirus. “When I saw that number today, I was hopeful that this is the beginning or continuation of a trend I’ve been praying for,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

Italy started stirring Monday, with millions of people allowed to return to work as Europe's longest coronavirus lockdown started to ease, while the U.S. took halting steps to lift some restrictions even as tens of thousands of new cases were reported every day.

Illinois labs ran 19,417 coronavirus tests during a 24-hour period from Saturday to Sunday – a state record that nearly doubles the 10,000 per day goal Gov. J.B. Pritzker set in early April that took nearly all of last month to reach.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s grateful for the 600,000 swabs Illinois will receive from the federal government, but that the Trump administration should have done more — and still can — to help Illinois and other states.

The governor’s latest stay-at-home order will expire at the end of May. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not take the possibility of an extension off the table. “We’re going to stay in the status quo as long as we need to,” she said. 

“Don’t make us treat you like a criminal,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Saturday, “but if you act like a criminal and you violate the law and you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives in this city during a pandemic we will take you to jail, period.”

The steady rise of cases is “really is a function of doing more tests,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday as labs processed 15,208 specimens in a single day – more than double the tests that were being processed a month ago.

Illinois records more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, which officials attribute to an increase in testing. McCormick Place is winding down operations as an alternate care site. And as a new modified stay-at-home order begins, hundreds protest.

“Today, we are pleased to report that the curve is flattening, and our local hospitals and health care systems continue to operate with capacity,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a joint statement.

The operation will begin with a slow rollout, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that at its peak, there could be about 30 workers per 100,000 Illinois residents – a total of more than 3,800. The governor estimated the cost could reach $80 million.

Several hundred protesters swarmed the Thompson Center in the Loop and the Capitol in Springfield on Friday, calling for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to end the stay-at-home order he says is necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Elected in 2019, Gary Mayor Jerome Prince promised to bring much-needed economic development and growth to the struggling Northwest Indiana city. But just a few months into his first term, things have changed.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot faces a divided City Council determined to help shape the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that has likely created a financial crisis for Chicago, four aldermen said Thursday during an interview for “Chicago Tonight.”