McLean County Times

Republican Leader Bill Brady is calling for the state Senate to have a hearing on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s implementation of new mitigation measures in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a post on his website, Brady called for the Governor’s office to share with legislators data it has used in implementing stricter mitigation measures. He criticized what he called Pritzker's lack of transparency in justifying recent mitigation measures that included closing indoor dining for restaurants throughout Illinois.

The Illinois Restaurant Association on its website said that “conservative estimates indicate that at least 20% of restaurants will be forced to close their doors permanently,” because of the resurgence of mitigations. “This would mean 120,000 jobs in Illinois, gone. We cannot allow this to happen. Closing restaurants down now means closing them for good!” the Illinois Restaurant Association’s website said.

All 11 regions in Illinois have been operating under resurgence mitigation framework since Nov. 4, when Region 2 joined the other regions under coronavirus resurgence mitigations because of increased positivity rates. Region 2, like other regions, had a seven-day rolling average test positivity rate of 8% or above for three consecutive days, which exceeds the thresholds set for establishing mitigation measures under the state’s Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.

Mitigations include no indoor dining or bar service at restaurants.

In criticizing Pritzker’s lack of transparency in providing data that would support the closure of indoor dining, Brady said Pritzker has not followed through with his promise to provide contact tracers in combating coronavirus, a program for which the General Assembly appropriated $800 million.

“What's the status of this program? Great question,” Brady said. “Despite the Administration promising transparency about this data to legislators from both sides of the aisle, we still haven't seen data collected through contact tracing. Why does that matter? Because if we don't know where the virus is spreading, we can't possibly hope to stop it.”

Brady said in the website post that the governor may be unnecessarily shutting down restaurants, in light of evidence from contact tracers that two-thirds of people who tested positive for coronavirus in Chicago contracted it in a non-public setting or at home.

“The vast majority of restaurants in Illinois have diligently worked to provide a safe and healthy environment to their patrons. They've spaced out seating, and required patrons and staff to wear masks,” Brady said. “They've adapted to survive, and now they're being told, without any transparency about the science to back up the decisions, that they're the reason mitigation measures are necessary.”

Restaurants aren’t to blame for the rising coronavirus cases in the state, the Illinois Restaurant Association said on its website. Restaurant owners/operators are encouraged to send an email to Pritzker and the General Assembly.

“The Illinois Restaurant Association is calling on Gov. Pritzker and the General Assembly to take a pragmatic, tiered approach to mitigations and provide direct financial support to struggling restaurants around the state,” the association said on its website. “Unless the State of Illinois takes a more reasonable approach to mitigation, thousands of restaurants are at risk of permanent closure.”