CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Friday visited the COVID-19 testing facility at Stroger Hospital.

The visit came on the heels of the news that Cook County is set to overtake Queens, New York as the county with the most COVID-19 cases nationwide, according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis.

“Half of our patients, half of our patients in the hospital right now are COVID-19 patients,” said Preckwinkle.

Durbin said it would be a catastrophe for Cook County and Stroger Hospital if the uninsured lose their Affordable Care Act coverage during a global health crisis.

“The Supreme Court now has the Affordable Care Act before it, and could strike it down next week,” he said. “It’d be gone. Then where would we be? Twenty million Americans are counting on the Affordable Care Act. We’ve got to keep it there.”

Stroger Hospital — like many safety net hospitals across Chicago — plays a vital role in underserved communities.

“This pandemic has highlighted the health inequities that have always plagued our country,” said Preckwinkle.

More than half of all the COVID-19 deaths in Illinois have happened in Cook County.

Durbin offered encouraging news Friday, announcing the allocation of federal money. Nearly half a billion dollars issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earmarked for Chicago and Illinois.

Durbin said that money will be used to boost testing capacity across the state. 

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