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The [Thursday] Papers
"Can the state tell your favorite local restaurant to close, or tell you that you must stay at home unless it's absolutely necessary to leave, because of an emergency? The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have closed down bars, movie theaters and dine-in restaurants. Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have imposed a shelter-in-place order that allows people to leave their homes only for essential activities," Politico reports.
"In response to these drastic measures intended to slow down the spread of coronavirus, there are plenty of voices on social media, and even some in government, denouncing such measures as unprecedented, un-American and unconstitutional. Most of us have never imagined such impositions outside of a situation of armed conflict, but allegations that those measures in the current circumstances are unlawful are wrong."
I've been wondering about this. In short: Can they do this?
Now, bear in mind I don't think it's wrong to shut (nearly) everything down, I've just wondered where the authority came from. Emergency public health statutes, I've presumed. (And indeeed I believe Gov. J.B. Pritzker provided the statutory language/authority in one of his orders.)
Let's read on and learn more!
"States - and their cities and counties by extension - possess what has long been known as a 'police power' to govern for the health, welfare and safety of their citizens. This broad authority, which can be traced to English common law and is reserved to the states by the 10th Amendment, is far from radical; it justifies why states can regulate at all.
The police power of the states has been invoked on multiple occasions by the Supreme Court, often in contrast to the limited powers of the federal government - for example, in Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion in the 2012 Obamacare case. This power also has been recognized in the context of public health for decades. In a 1905 Supreme Court case that upheld mandatory smallpox vaccinations, the court observed that "upon the principle of self-defense, of paramount necessity, a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members."What does this mean for the drastic coronavirus responses we're seeing across the country? State and local governments can indeed decide to force even unwilling businesses to shut down, require people to stay mostly at home, impose curfews and even threaten noncompliance with arrest if necessary."
Good to know, because shelter-in-place is coming to Illinois.
But see also: Protecting Civil Liberties During A Public Health Crisis.
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New on the Beachwood today . . .
Coronavirus Pandemic Reveals Just How Devastating The Greed Of For-Profit Insurance Industry Has Become
"Don't be fooled by the industry's campaign to make us think they're good corporate citizens truly interested in your health and well-being. Take it from me, a former insider: what they truly care about are profits."
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Today's Coronavirus Novel
You think that's bad, John Kass calls it the Madigan Virus. https://t.co/6qRhIma1Xi
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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The United States and South Korea detected their first coronavirus cases on the same day. South Korea responded by testing hundreds of thousands of people. The United States did not https://t.co/zaXE9J3KUg pic.twitter.com/S6yQKMLpZc
— Mark Berman (@markberman) March 19, 2020
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If Bruce Rauner was still governor, he'd be talking about the need for more testin'.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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I know Alinea's $35 per person to-go order is a good deal for Alinea, but please stop calling it "affordable."
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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Costco = Lord of the Flies meets Dawn of the Dead. This was 15 minutes before opening on Clybourn, and the line went all the way around the OTHER side of the building not shown here. I did not stick around. pic.twitter.com/lpjFLn6bgz
— Jim DeRogatis (@JimDeRogatis) March 19, 2020
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we are entering an era of unprecedented recipe substitutions
— Shay Spence (@chezspence) March 19, 2020
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#CrazyBernie | Texas is urging patients to seek remote health care. Some insurance plans won't pay for it. https://t.co/kFDoubVBv5 via @TexasTribune
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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We are the Third World country. We are the baddies. https://t.co/7V7t9FNerI
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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"What is unusual about this moment is that the [national] debt was already so high before the current crisis, standing at $23.5T." - Seeking Alpha
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) March 19, 2020
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They wanted to destroy the federal government, after all. https://t.co/ClYwOdFDqU
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) March 19, 2020
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And one day they will be our corporate leaders. https://t.co/KImPiG0XuH
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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FDA guy has to begin with the ritual paternoster of thanking the President for his leadership, and how grateful he is.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 19, 2020
This is now as predictable as the opening of any speech at the Soviet Central Committee in 1980.
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This secret recording of @SenatorBurr suggests some in the GOP fully grasped how serious COVID 19 would be, but refused to say so publicly -- putting American lives at risk to maintain allegiance to the Trump WH: https://t.co/QJJT2manDT
— Alex Wagner (@alexwagner) March 19, 2020
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ChicagoReddit
Lost wallet from r/chicago
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ChicagoGram
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ChicagoTube
Walles Music, Chicago.
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BeachBook
Are Disney's Turkey Legs Really Emu Legs?
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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.
#ThursdayThrowback I don't remember what this was about https://t.co/HjPtOs3X2r
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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#ThursdayThrowback https://t.co/7NYOCWJkIm
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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#ThursdayThrowback https://t.co/8jIPRTjtBB
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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#ThursdayThrowback https://t.co/iDauMDsPdy
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 19, 2020
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Pour your misery down.
Posted on March 19, 2020
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