Illinois Governor J.B.  Pritzker held a press conference on Wednesday for this Daily COVID-19 update, following up on a Tuesday press conference outlining the Thanksgiving restrictions that will be occurring in his state as a result of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases. Pritzker joins the chorus of Democrats (and a few Republican) governors who have called for their constituents to abandon plans for family gatherings for Thanksgiving.

From the AP:

“Under the newly announced restrictions, retail stores must lower customer capacity to 25% from the current 50%, though grocery stores will be excluded and can operate at 50% capacity. Gyms will also be capped at 25% and indoor classes will no longer be allowed.

The first-term Democrat stopped short of a stay-at-home order, calling it a last resort. The entire state was under such an order for six weeks last spring at the onset of the virus. –

“If these numbers don’t start to curve,” he said, “then it is clear that we’re going to have to take more difficult measures and go to a stay-at-home order.”

Kelly Bauer, a non-profit newsroom reporter based in Chicago, live-tweeted Pritzker’s Wednesday conference, which included some outright fabrication of information, care of CNN’s “hero nurse” and likely fraud, Jodi Doering. Doering’s story has been called into question here at RedState, including her claims of witnessing mass deathbed-denials and her coverage in a COVID-19 ward, as her hospital has only seen 6 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

"grocery stores and pots and pans banging in unison at 8 o'clock at night? Well, hospital leaders tell me that's all come to a grinding halt. Now, health care workers are" being verbally assaulted by people coming to the hospital with COVID-19. "Doctors and nurses tell me that…

— Kelly Bauer (@BauerJournalism) November 18, 2020

"some people who come into emergency rooms with COVID, sometimes struggling to breathe, are screaming at hospital workers about how the disease is a hoax or some sort of hospital profit scheme. It's beyond tragic for all involved," and it's not true.

— Kelly Bauer (@BauerJournalism) November 18, 2020

This is precisely how false narratives start (on both sides of the aisle).  They start with someone making a patently false statement under the color of authority, only to have those same statements repeated, regardless of the source’s credibility or the likelihood of the events occurring.  Numerous reports from both the hospital and other nurses throughout the country show that Doering’s account is either extremely isolated or fabricated.

Either way, to have Pritzker out repeating this narrative is a complete shame.