Illinois has begun vaccinating people over age 65, while continuing with vaccinations for health care workers and nursing home residents. You can sign up now through the Lake County Health Department to be notified when it’s your turn to get the Covid vaccine. They will ask your age and risk factors so they can let you know when it’s time to make an appointment. If you have friends or family in Cook County, they can sign up here to receive updates on vaccine availability and scheduling. Pharmacies and health care systems will also be distributing vaccines, so you may want to contact your pharmacy and your doctor’s office to make sure you are on their lists as well. The State of Illinois has this site where you can find vaccine locations.

There are approximately 3 million additional people eligible for the vaccine in Illinois as of this week, so it will take some time to get vaccines to everyone who wants them. Please be patient and continue taking precautions —  wear a mask when leaving your home, maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet from people of outside of your household, and stay home if you are sick.

There has been a large increase in fraudulent unemployment claims in recent months. Someone filed a false claim for unemployment in my name late last year, and the same thing happened to my husband this week. You can find out about this in several ways:

• You may receive a letter from the State about unemployment benefits that you did not request.
• Your employer may be contacted to verify that you are not employed anymore.
• You may receive a debit card in the mail from Key Bank.

If you receive a letter from the State or a debit card from Key Bank, go to this page to report the fraud. Do not call Key Bank or use the debit card. Keep the letter, debit card, and copies of any other documentation in a safe place as you may need this information as you work to resolve the issue.

Check your credit report with Equifax, Transunion and Experian to be sure there is no other fraudulent activity. You may want to put a security freeze on your accounts at the credit bureaus.