Illinois Senate GOP leader Dan McConchie said he tested positive with a breakthrough case of COVID-19 a day after attending Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair.

       McConchie, of Hawthorne Woods, revealed the positive test Friday. On Saturday, his office said he had been vaccinated earlier in the spring and has “very mild symptoms.” Contact tracing was begun immediately after he received the positive test result, his office said.

       “I am very grateful to have been vaccinated and experiencing only mild symptoms,” McConchie said in a statement. “I encourage everyone reading these words to be vaccinated and protect themselves and their families against the virus. I encourage anyone with whom I have had the most brief contact in the last few days to be tested as a safeguard.”

       Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, delivers his remarks during Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair on the Director's Lawn at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP) (Just L. Fowler / AP)

       Democratic Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park said Monday he had tested positive with a breakthrough case after suffering mild symptoms last week. Harmon, who was vaccinated in the spring, did not attend last week’s Democrat Day activities associated with the fair.

       A day before his positive test, McConchie on Thursday attended both a Republican State Central Committee and county chairmen indoor meeting at a Springfield hotel and then went to the state fairgrounds for outdoor activities for Republican Day.

       The pandemic and Republican reactions to responding to the virus became a major topic, particularly among the three announced candidates seeking to challenge Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker next year: Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine, state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo.

       Rabine has said he previously had COVID-19 and does not need to be vaccinated despite a contrary recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabine also again repeated misinformation about the safety of the vaccine, contending it caused “thousands of deaths.” Only three fatal cases have been identified and were associated with rare blood clots from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which are now treatable.

       Bailey has unsuccessfully fought Pritzker’s emergency mitigation orders and in May the House voted to remove him from the chamber for refusing to wear a mask. Bailey has refused to say whether he was vaccinated, and both he and Rabine are not encouraging people to get vaccinations.

       Schimpf has said he is vaccinated and has encouraged others to get the vaccine.

       Illinois Senate Republican leader has breakthrough COVID-19 case a day after GOP Day at State Fair

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