TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: The extraordinary safety measures that will govern the May 20-22 session were delineated in a letter Wednesday from Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to the House minority leader. Legislators will have to pledge to follow Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines to prevent the spread of the highly contagious and potentially lethal coronavirus. They include pre-session testing of all legislators for COVID-19. Eschewing the traditional Capitol setting, the House will be called to order six blocks away at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield, to take advantage of the spacious convention center floor for social distancing. The Senate, whose membership is half the House’s 118 seats, will meet in its regular chamber, Senate President Don Harmon said in a statement. The Oak Park Democrat rallied senators to return to action with the “cooperative spirit of bipartisan achievement” they’ve shown before. “This global pandemic has decimated our state and local economies regardless of political affiliation,” Harmon said. “From far-flung living rooms, kitchen tables and home offices, senators have been working together — while apart — to figure out what we can and need to do now.” Legislators, whom Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared essential workers and not subject to his seven-week-old stay-at-home order scheduled to expire May 30, have nonetheless been absent from the Statehouse since early March to prevent spreading sickness. That period represents the heart of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring-session calendar, ending with a scheduled May 31 adjournment and typically a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Pritzker implored lawmakers to help those left out of initial federal relief deals. “Lots of people fell through the cracks,” Pritzker said at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Chicago. Relief won’t come from the state treasury. Tax revenue lost because of the pandemic has opened a $7 billion deficit in the current budget and next year’s. Illinois will be dependent on the federal government, Pritzker said. “We need to rely upon federal government and its support for all the states in order for us to provide the services that people need or for us to pay for the education that our kids need, and for us to support our businesses and our families,” Pritzker said. Madigan’s letter to House GOP Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said all state representatives must pledge to abide by public health guidelines for safely congregating. In addition to pre-trip testing, they include agreeing to undergo body temperature checks upon entering the building for sessions, wearing provided face coverings whenever meeting with staff members or colleagues, avoiding outside meetings or social engagements, and undergoing another test upon returning home. It won’t be the first time lawmakers convened outside of the current Statehouse, which welcomed its first session in 1877. In recent history, the legislative chambers were undergoing renovation when then-Gov. George Ryan called a special session in the summer of 2000 to temporarily remove the state sales tax on gasoline during a price spike. Sessions were conducted in the auditorium of the Howlett Building next door to the Capitol. ___ Check out more of the AP’s coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Follow Political Writer John O’Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor

SOLUTION: Safety measures to govern Legislature’s return to capital.

PROBLEM: The disease being called “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome” was identified and treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital, KUOW reported. King County Public Health said the patient was a resident of Snohomish County and there have been no other confirmed cases in the area. It involves a “hyper response” of the child’s immune system to the virus, according to Dr. Michael Portman, who directs pediatric cardiovascular research at Children’s. It can lead to inflammation of the blood vessels, and affect the heart’s arteries, leading to coronary aneurysms. In similar diseases, that can lead to lifelong heart issues, Portman said. The syndrome is rare and most children infected with the virus develop only mild illness. The disease is being linked to COVID-19, Portman said, because almost all of the patients have had confirmed cases of the virus, positive antibody tests, or known exposure. Portman said it is very similar and at times appears almost identical to a disease called “Kawasaki disease,” which was identified in Japan in the 1960s. According to Portman, Kawasaki disease is fairly common at Seattle Children’s. Around 30% patients at Children’s with Kawasaki disease are of Asian descent, Portman said. But the disease “seems to affect Hispanic and black children more severely” due to a “more robust inflammatory response.” Most of the cases of the new syndrome have been in the New York area and a handful have been fatal. Portman’s advice to parents is “not to freak out,” but if a child has a persistent fever, which is a symptom, he recommends getting it checked.

SOLUTION: Seattle sees 1st case of childhood disease tied to virus.

PROBLEM: Attorney Will Managhan filed court records saying 27-year-old Tanner Hosek planned to plead guilty to mitigated deliberate homicide by reason of mental disorder. An autopsy found 65-year-old Eric Hosek had been stabbed 10 times. Tanner Hosek’s change-of-plea hearing is set for Nov. 7. He is expected to appear via video from the Montana State Hospital, where he has been committed since last year. Court records say Tanner Hosek has long struggled with mental health issues and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He was a ward of his parents as the time of his father’s death. Linda Hosek told investigators her son had been in a psychotic state for two weeks prior to the stabbing.

SOLUTION:
Whitefish man reaches plea agreement in father’s stabbing.