Illinois Legislators from Region 1 sent a bipartisan request to Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), to delay Region 1 restaurant and bar closures, so IDPH can re-evaluate the data before issuing new orders.
The delegation urged, “before implementing a decision that will lead to thousands of layoffs and permanent business closures, we owe the communities that we represent and the businesses that have worked so hard to comply with these regulations, the opportunity to discuss this plan.”
The letter was co-signed by
- Senators Neil Anderson, Brian Stewart, and Dave Syverson
- Representatives John Cabello, Andrew Chesney, Tom Demmer, Jeff Keicher, Tony McCombie, Joe Sosnowski, and Maurice West
“The positivity rate is only one piece of the puzzle–Region 1 has not reached warning levels on hospital bed and ICU utilization..” stated Rep. McCombie. Many Counties in Region 1 show, through contact tracing, that bars and restaurants are not the source of spread.”
She and other local leaders communicated with Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, who administers the Business Interruption Grants. They urged that businesses affected by these additional restrictions will be given priority for funding in grant awards.
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