October 29, 2020
Dear Community,
Please take care of yourself and the others around you. With the second wave upon us, Covid-19 cases are at an all-time high in our country and state, and are rising steadily in our community. Dozens of classes have already been forced to stop in-person instruction. This has sent hundreds of our students home to learn in a sub-optimum way. Additionally, serious symptoms have started to become a reality again r"l. THIS is the time to make a strong stand and strengthen the practice of proper safety protocols. Please minimize social interactions, both among children and adults, maintain handwashing and social distancing, and wear a mask in all public areas. It's a relatively small price to pay in an attempt to keep our schools open and to preserve the health and well-being of our community.
We have been working hard to serve the community's needs, and to provide updates and guidance to local schools, shuls, businesses, and individual families. If we can help you personally in any way, please reach out to us.
Meanwhile, there are two very important and very timely community matters to bring to your attention-
1. STC - The final day for STC donations to fund scholarships for the current school year is November 30th. Please make your Scholarship Tax Credit donation today…it's simply a waste not to.
2. VOTE - Elections are in less thanone week. Please vote! No matter the outcome, each vote draws the attention of our elected officials and gives us a stronger voice in the halls of government. To avoid long lines on Election Day, consider ordering a vote by mail ballot or early voting. Please note that the deadline to order a ballot is tonight. Mail-in ballots can also be hand-delivered to secure drop boxes at all early voting locations.
More information is available on both of these topics below. May all those currently sick be zocheh to a refuah shleimah. May all our children be zocheh to have uninterrupted in school education. And finally, may we be zocheh to see an end to this challenge.
Sincerely,
| | REMINDER - THIS MOTZEI SHABBOS | | | |
Daylight Saving Time. Reminder to switch your clocks back 1 hour this Motzei Shabbos, November 1st.
Please see below for a list of early mincha minyanim.
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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the JUF has played a proactive and impactful role in assisting many organizations representing the families, children, and elderly of the Chicago Jewish community with their food-related programs.
We are grateful to the members of the leadership who have made the decision to employ their continuous support, which directly impacts the ability for these programs to be run by organizations including Agudath Israel of Illinois/KiwiKids, the Chicago Chesed Fund, the Chicago Center for Torah and Chesed, the Chicago Mitzvah Campaign, and the Bubby Fira Food Bank. On behalf of the community , we would like to thank the JUF for their generous support of close to $700,000 since the start of the pandemic. | | | |
We thank Peter Abrahams, General Manager and Yusef Mustafa, Director of Public Safety at the Lincolnwood Town Center Mall for assisting the community in multiple ways over the past number of months. On behalf of the community, they were presented with a plaque thanking them for their dedication and public service. | | DON'T MISS OUT - THIS TUESDAY! | |
Yes, your vote counts! Don't waste this opportunity.
If you aren't yet registered, you can register and vote at any early voting location. See below for a complete list of in-person voting locations.
If you have questions or need any assistance, you can call our office at 773-279-8400 or email Vote@AgudahIL.org | | IMPORTANT STC INFORMATION | |
Many people have called our STC Help Desk this week to learn more about the program. Call us and we will help you get set up in a few easy steps!
The deadline to ensure your tax credit-eligible contributions will fund scholarships for the current school year is approaching. You can only participate if you have a MyTax account, which is easy to create but can take up to 10 days to be processed. Creating the account is free, safe, and does not obligate you to contribute anything.
If you need any assistance, please call us at 773-279-8400 or contact your school's STC coordinator.
Many people think they don't pay taxes or don't realize how much they pay in state income tax. It's easy to find out how much you paid in state income tax last year by looking at page 1 of your Form IL-1040, step 5.
To learn more, call or email us, or talk to your tax professional.
| | As a reminder, due to community feedback Kiwi Kids Pickups will be on WEDNESDAYS now.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is extending its free lunch and breakfast program for everyone under 18 to allow the program to continue throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year! | |
Thank you to everyone who already completed the survey. The information provided here helps us to determine additional methods of helping our community in the future.
If you didn't have a chance to complete the food programs survey, you can still do so below.
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On Tuesday, October 27, Governor Pritzker announced mitigation measures which apply to areas with an uptick in Covid cases. These restrictions went into effect in Suburban Cook County (Region 10) yesterday, and will go into effect in Chicago (Region 11) beginning tomorrow, Friday, October 30th. The new restrictions include: · no indoor dining in restaurants · a limit on social gatherings: the lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity. Schools are exempt from the order. The order also doesn't apply to religious gatherings (shuls).
For places of worship in Chicago, the limit remains 50 people per room, not to exceed 40% capacity. Local data from this past week:
In 60645, there were 57 new positive cases in the week beginning 10/18 and ending 10/24 which was an increase from the 56 new positive cases from the previous week.
In 60659, there were 63 new positive cases in the week beginning 10/18 and ending 10/24 which was an increase from the 59 new positive cases from the previous week.
Please see below for citywide data. | | | | As Covid cases in the community rise, Agudah has been communicating regularly with the Governor's and Mayor's offices, as well as the Department of Public Health. We have been sharing all relevant information and discussing developments with rabbinic and school leaders on an ongoing basis.
Based on data gathered from private schools in Chicago and other studies, the Chicago Department of Public Health recently announced that in-person instruction is safe when schools adhere to public health guidelines. The rate of transmission among students enrolled in remote learning programs is significantly higher than students attending in-person classes.
In partnership with our schools, CDPH has determined that most of the individuals who have tested positive did not contract the virus in school but rather it was "community transmission," that occurred outside of school in other settings. They are asking that we increase our vigilance in all settings. | | NEW! FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS | | ATTENTION SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESIDENTS
Suburban Cook county residents may be eligible for a $600 relief payment as part of a new assistance program.
Residents whose income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level prior to March 1, 2020 can apply here.
You will need:
- One form of government issued id that includes your current residential address or two alternative forms of identification
- Proof of your COVID-19 hardship due to unpaid leave, care for vulnerable or infected relatives, or loss of wages due to business or school closures.
- Proof of household income meeting eligibility requirements.
- Bank information
| | Click here for a list of government financial programs. If you need additional assistance after reading this document, email us at tspielman@agudahil.org call (773) 279-8400 ext. 261, | | For Shaimos questions please call Rabbi Bider at 773-315-7255 or email ybider@agudahil.org | | If you did not receive this email directly and would like to receive it in the future, please click here.
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