CHICAGO (AUBURN-GRESHAM) A South Side state senator is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to open a testing site easily accessible to the residents of Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, a community with the one of the highest infection rates of coronavirus in the state and home of the first known woman in Illinois to lose her life to the deadly pandemic.

"This pandemic has made clear that the residents in Auburn Gresham are more vulnerable due to lack of fresh food access and health care and suffer disproportionately with the underlying chronic conditions of asthma, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and kidney failure," State Sen. Jacqueline Collins said in a news release. "Patricia Frieson, the first woman in Illinois to lose her life to COVID-19, was a unique and beloved person who nonetheless was far from the only one in these dire straits."

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There is a 30-year lifespan difference between life expectancy for North Side and South, according to a Chicago Tribune report. The average lifespan for a Streeterville resident is 90,but for many South Side residents in Chicago’s socio-economic vulnerable zip codes, the life expectancy is 60. Collins said for her 16th District constituents, who may lack transportation options, other testing sites have become all but inaccessible.

"Gov. Pritzker has made admirable strides in increasing the state’s testing capacity but until we have a comprehensive plan of testing, tracing and treatment, there’s no way to mitigate the damage being done in the community," Collins said.

As of May 3, the Auburn Gresham 60620 zip code has seen 730 cases of COVID-19, and 2,811 tested, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The nearest test site to Auburn-Gresham is 4.1 miles away at OSF-Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park.

Many of the residents of Auburn Gresham are the essential workers who cannot afford to shelter-in-place because they are the bus drivers, store clerks, janitors and nursing home employees. The community has a large population of senior citizens who live in a number of senior buildings dotting the neighborhood, Collins said.

"In Auburn Gresham, a neighborhood where few indeed are privileged with work that allows them to telecommute, these tests are needed to let essential workers know when they need to self-isolate and protect their fellow members of the community from the virus," Collins said.

More on Patch:

Illinois Coronavirus Update May 3: 2,994 New Cases, 63 Deaths