Hello everyone,
I will compile in this blog some information to try to ease the pain of this situation.
If you get laid off in the State of Illinois or if you get a reduced pay check, this website could be precious:
https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/default.aspx
It is updated everyday with new information on how you can get help and what type of help you can get.
If you have very little money saved up and are afraid to end up in the street because you cannot pay your rent or your mortgage, the governor of Illinois has stated that there will be no evictions during this crisis. Although I am sure this directive can be found on an official website, I refer you to this video:
For culture and entertainment there are a few sites that might help us all keep an active brain:
The Chicago Public Library offers a great catalog of all sorts of material from books to movies, from magazines to classes. All you need is a Library card.
https://www.chipublib.org/
From this website you can read books online:
https://www.chipublib.org/explore/?related-format=ebooks&sort=featured
You can stream movies:
https://chipublib.overdrive.com/collections/featured/3
Look at magazines:
https://chipublib.rbdigital.com/search/emagazine?page-index=0&page-size=60
There is much more available on the Chicago Public Library site, dig and you shall find.
For all sorts of interesting and entertaining material on a website without any ads the internet archive is a great one to explore:
https://archive.org/
For a website that gives you the news without a political bias:
https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news
For conferences and talks about all sorts of subjects:
https://www.ted.com/
On that site, I recommend a very impressive and entertaining segment. This inspiring performer starts by playing a few pieces, then, at the 16 minutes 20 seconds mark, she proceeds to become truly unbelievable.
This what I’ve got for a first batch. I will keep you posted as I gather more information to help us go through this crisis. Good luck to you all.