West Central Reporter

The Illinois General Assembly has established a commission to oversee saving jobs and the economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued approximately 50 executive orders since the coronavirus took hold in March, many of which have the goal to help the state's economy, the Caucus Blog reported. The Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission is an advisory committee that will help the state legislature when addressing matter concerning the economy and jobs. 

The House has three members on the committee: Reps. Tom Bennett, Dan Caulkins and Mike  Murphy. While the state wants to restore economic activity, coronavirus cases continue being recorded as regions move through the reopening stages. 

"Metro-East nears 8% COVID-19 test positivity rate; officials warn of Phase 3 actions," the caucus said in its blog. "The 'positivity rate' is the percentage of total coronavirus tests  that come back positive. This rate is a rough, imperfect guide to the speed with which the virus is jumping from person to person.  A high positivity rate means that more people could be carrying the disease and spreading it to other people."

While Illinois is seeing some positive data and economic activity, Missouri, neighboring Illinois, has had an outbreak of the coronavirus. 

"This is significant for the “Metro East” counties of Madison and St. Clair because they are in a metropolitan area that is centered on the Missouri city of St. Louis," the caucus said in its blog. "Current public  health reports indicate that the positivity rate in the Metro East  counties is creeping back up toward 8%, a level where these counties may not be able to safely continue to enjoy the level of economic activity they are currently trying to carry out."