Despite there not being a statewide increase of COVID-19 cases from the Thanksgiving holiday, and metrics in various parts of the state within certain goals for fewer restrictions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker isn’t letting up heading into Christmas and the New Year holidays.

The governor held a virtual COVID-19 news briefing Wednesday to talk about vaccines, child care funding and more. But he was asked when he’ll lift restrictions on things like indoor dining.

How well have the efforts of Samuel Witwer and his 117 fellow delegates met the tests he laid out in the convention’s closing moments in the half century that’s passed since the convention’s final adjournment?

The question is especially timely now, as the citizens he cited ratified the delegates’ work 50 years ago this month, on December 15, 1970.

With coronavirus vaccines on the way, the question for Chicago businesses in 2021 is: When will things get back to normal?

Rarely have businesses faced such a wide range of possible market conditions, from booming demand to sputtering stagnation. Betting wrong in either direction could have disastrous consequences. Companies that bulk up in anticipation of a quick recovery could incur heavy losses if the rebound doesn’t materialize. Those that opt to hunker down risk missing a big sales surge in revenue if demand snaps back.

In a bit of an early Christmas gift, Cook County has received a AAA bond rating from one of the ratings agencies, a rare prize lately for financially strapped local governments.

The rating came from Kroll Bond Rating Agency and applies to more than $400 million in sales-tax-backed securities.

Four parents of Illinois high school athletes filed a lawsuit against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois High School Association in La Salle County Court on Monday.

The suit claims that Pritzker’s cancellation of the winter high school sports season “is an unconstitutional violation of the Plaintiffs right to equal protection under the Constitution of the State of Illinois.” The suit seeks to bar Pritzker and the IHSA from enforcing the cancellation of the winter sports season.

Chicago Public Schools plans to use federal stimulus dollars to close a budget gap and reopen school buildings in early 2021, school chief Janice Jackson said Tuesday.

The school district expects to receive about $800 million from the latest coronavirus relief package, netting an estimated $720 million after it sets aside $80 million for private schools. Jackson said $343 million could be used to close a midyear budget hole, while $375 million will go toward emergency expenses connected to remote learning and reopening this school year and next.