With all of us being inundated with information from every platform and every institution (including this one) it is often difficult to know where we are at or where we are going and what, exactly, is expected of us… I thought I would try to simplify things a bit…
Both our City of Chicago and State of Illinois have guidelines and mandates which use metrics provided by various groups monitoring and collecting health data from front-line workers battling this virus. So how do we know where we are at at any given moment?
With the City of Chicago, it is pretty straight forward and you can click the link taking you to the page that says it all. Given the most recent set of controls in place (this morning at 6:00am) you will see a breakdown of what is expected and what is asked.
The State of Illinois has a similar feed to help us all understand the totality of COViD-19 and the Governor’s “Restore Illinois” phased-plan. Important to note we Illinoisans are currently in Phase-4, however, in the past week or so, Gov. Pritzker warned that should the numbers rise at a rate pre-determined by the set phases, we could see restrictions back to the levels we saw earlier on in the pandemic… a Phase-3 or even Phase-2 is not off the table.
How should we live our best life under the waxing periods of this ugly version of a Corona Virus? Listen to the pleads of the CDC, hear the call of public officials – the sooner we all get together to do our part, the sooner we can see a life like we have always known and loved. I am not fear-mongering, by any means, and I know there are a million (or at least, 333,000,000 in the U.S.) opinions out there and who knows if any one is greater than the other, but it docent take mush to wear a mask; it isn’t really too much effort to bypass having 20 friends over in a 800 square-foot condo; and it surely isn’t a crime to expect hand washing to be at the top of the list for things to do after being out in public… or is it? Just know that with all of the safe practices we utilize in our daily [COViD] lives, we can hit these benchmarks 100% or as humanly close to this perfection, and still be brought down by the bug – living proof, right here as I am typing out these words – that docent mean we stop trying!
OK, its up to you, and it is up to me, and it is up to them too, but we can do it together. Keep on keeping on with those fantastic and stylish masks, Zoom your parties – I fought it at first, but it is kinda fun; use some creativity to keep it fresh – and ash your hands after being socially distant.
On to the safety steps here at JK…
While we have discussed these temporary changes in operations, it has been a couple of weeks since we initially broadcasted any news; with that in mind and in no particular order, here are some changes in place for the near future:
In-Unit Work Orders – given the current staffing challenges, this one is pretty obvious – we want everyone to keep safe and healthy, so unless there is an emergency, staff will not be performing in-unit work orders. We will revisit on a monthly basis with reminders out every other week or so. PLEASE, do not search out the staff and try to pull them in for a quick hand, please. outside of putting them in a very sticky position, just the additional contact puts everyone at a completely unnecessary risk. Okay? Thanks in advance!
Package Deliveries vs. Large Deliveries – all the package professionals are completely welcome to stop by the usual 13 times a day with boxes galore; this means Amazon, UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS, and other messenger/package delivery type carriers are fine to continue as they have been. When it comes to the LARGER deliveries, such as Abt, Room and Board, Design Within Reach, Ethan Allen, etc., we are asking (just asking) that if you really don’t have to have it, hold off on ordering… at the time of writing this message, there is a request from the Mayor to limit in-home workers to “essential” – I love a good wine fridge, especially when it holds 513 bottles of my favorite grape juice, but is it essential? OK, is it REALLY ESSENTIAL… not really. Use your best judgement, but the Mayor is clear on the ask and should this turn into a mandate (which can happen overnight) please know that we will comply – we have to, there is no doubt. We sincerely appreciate your help in this plan!
Home Remodeling – as we discussed a couple weeks ago, we are in the process of seeing about 15 projects put on the finishing touches and at this time no new projects are being approved. What if my bathtub suddenly explodes and I have no place for all my bathing accoutrement? Well, don’t worry, that will defiantly fall under the guise of an “emergency” act of remodeling. For all the other projects, please know that we want you to make your home your own, we want these finishes to be a boost in property value for you – a bump for one is a bump for all! What we do not want is the increase in non-essential people entering our buildings. It stands to reason that if we are being asked to only go out for essential purposes, we would only want people coming in for essential purposes. Your understanding and patience, as always, means more than you know… we have over 60 individual homes at our Association and with about 1,000 people, it can get pretty busy and before you know it, our community of 1,000 can turn to double if everyone decided to have at least one additional non-essential person in their home – need I say more? Probably not, ew all “get it.” BIG THANKS for helping out!
I really do want to thank each and every one of you. Thank you for your kind words – we need them; it keeps us going. Thank you for asking about those out sick with the yucky-stuff of 2020. Thank you for always keeping positive (subliminal advertising). Most of all, thank you for allowing us to be here and hopefully making life a little better for you each day… these are trying times, but we are all hopeful for a return to normal, and we will get there soon – you gotta have a little faith!
Be well, stay healthy, keep smiling =)