Although nearly 3.6 million Illinoisans had already voted by Monday morning, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, nearly 2.3 million ballots are still to be cast if the state is to match the 70.56 percent turnout of 2016.

As of Monday, there were 586,709 mail-in ballots that Illinois voters had requested but not returned. As long as those ballots are post-marked by Tuesday, Nov. 3, they must be accepted by local election authorities if they arrive by Nov. 17 – two weeks after Election Day.

Illinois reported another 6,516 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday as Gov. JB Pritzker put the onus on local officials to bring the virus’ spread back under control.

The number of daily new cases is still below the record shattering number set over the weekend, but other measurements of the resurgence continued to climb.

As businesses continue to deal with state-imposed COVID-19 restrictions, Governor J.B. Pritzker used his daily briefing Monday to highlight business assistance grants.

Pritzker said the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has allocated more than $1 billion in economic relief to state businesses, including more than $270 million into its Business Interruption Grants program.

Top mayoral aides on Tuesday unveiled a five-year, $3.7 billion capital program amid concern about the city’s ability to finance still more massive borrowing and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s demand that aldermen relinquish at least some control over their treasured menu program in exchange for increased “buying power.”

In virtual briefings conspicuously timed for Election Day, aldermen were told the massive borrowing would be bankrolled by a mix of tax increment financing, a first-year bond issue backed by property and/or sales taxes and “interim financing and cash-flow management” in anticipation of future state and federal funding.