Illinois Quick Hits: Illinois to join WHO's alert network

Illinois Quick Hits: Illinois to join WHO’s alert network

February 3, 2026/
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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Illinois is joining the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.

The governor’s move follows the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO on Jan. 22. GOARN is a WHO-coordinated partnership of national governments, public health institutions, academic centers and other organizations focused on detecting and responding to emerging public health threats.

CTU SAYS TAX THE RICH

The Chicago Teachers Union is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to tax the rich in order to expand the state budget and pay for pensions.

After the governor announced plans to reduce the state’s unfunded pension liability by expanding the pension buyout program and transferring unexpected revenue, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter said Pritzker does not have to wrestle with where revenue can come from.

Potter said states like Massachusetts raised “multiple billions” for schools, college and transit by taxing millionaires.

GUATEMALAN SENTENCED FOR FAILURE TO REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDER

A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to 14 months behind bars for failing to update his sex offender registration and for being in the United States illegally after he was removed.

Prosecutors said Roberto Nicolas Simon, 24, was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Champaign County, removed from the country in 2021 and illegally reentered in 2024.

Nicolas-Simon was discovered in a joint investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service.

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