|
 A
Chicago alderman’s warning about sudden polling place closures thanks to
COVID-19 orders had a Cook County commissioner asking Illinois Gov. J.B.
Pritzker to reassure voters a statewide closure will not be used to impact the
election.
And Pritzker reacted: “The governor is not going to stop the election from
taking place,” his spokeswoman stated Oct. 30. “We have given instructions to
locals on how best to conduct elections in this environment and polling places
are not subject to the mitigation.”
The concern started when embattled Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, 14th Ward, sent a
letter to constituents urging early voting to avoid sudden Election Day
closures.
“Remember, thirty percent of the polling locations in the 14th Ward have been
relocated due to COVID-19. With COVID-19 on the rise, the likelihood of polling
place locations closing is possible, without notice, as happened in the March
election,” Burke’s letter states.
That set off Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison, a Republican from Palos
Park, who called on Pritzker to tell voters he would not issue shutdown orders
for Election Day gain.
“I publicly challenge the governor to assure Illinois voters he will not
interfere with the November 3rd election by proclaiming an emergency COVID
shutdown similar to the one he proclaimed in March,” Morrison told Illinois
Review.
Pritzker then responded with the assurance.
The suspicions came as Illinois bars and restaurants are becoming more combative
over Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders to close their indoor facilities just as the
weather has grown colder. The Illinois Restaurant Association is challenging
Pritzker’s data used to determine they are spreading the virus, and its
president said it is “exploring all possible legal remedies.”
“COVID-19 cases are rising in Illinois, but the fact is that
restaurants are not to blame. Restaurants are highly regulated, frequently
inspected, and held to the highest health standards. Keeping people safe is what
restaurants do every single day,” the group stated in an appeal to Pritzker and
state lawmakers.
“Closing restaurants for indoor service will result in the exact opposite of the
intended impact of slowing the spread, as it drives people further into
uncontrolled, unmonitored private gatherings where few safety precautions are in
place.”
Kristan Vaughan and her family owned seven Irish restaurants and pubs in and
near Chicago before the pandemic but were forced to sell one and are trying to
sell another as a result of the closure orders. Pritzker’s COVID-19 order is
again shutting down her indoor facilities Oct. 30.
Two of her 160 employees tested positive for the virus, but both contracted it
from small settings outside the restaurant. Neither spread it to patrons, she
said.
“I would never choose income over someone’s life. That’s why we take precautions
and make sure customers are comfortable with coming in,” she said.
“I’m very disturbed the restaurant industry is being singled out. The evidence
does not show we are the cause of the spread,” she said.
[ to
top of second column] |
Restaurants pressed Pritzker for proof that they
were causing the spread, and the Illinois Department of Public
Health responded with a chart that showed contact tracers determined
that of 17,939 positive cases, 2,300 people had visited a restaurant
in the prior two weeks. Pritzker admitted to WLS-TV in Chicago the
link between cause and effect was thin.
“Contact tracing data doesn’t tell you where somebody’s caught it.
In fact, there’s no way really… to know where somebody’s contracted
COVID-19,” Pritzker said.
A steakhouse in Geneva, Illinois, is challenging the authority
Pritzker is using to force closures and won a court order to stay
open as the case continues. The order only applies to FoxFire
restaurant, which stated on Facebook that they can better determine
what is safe and reasonable for their customers and staff.
“Closing would not only devastate our family and business, but it
would also have a worse effect on our staff and those who deem our
little restaurant essential to their livelihood; our vendors,
farmers, and the local community. Please note this by no means mean
we are throwing our masks into the Garbage, or changing how we do
things! We will do all we can to keep our staff and our guests safe
during this pandemic.”
Estimates of how many restaurants will permanently close from the
COVID-19 mandates range from 5,000 to 21,700 establishments. The
state’s restaurant association said the 5,000 number would mean
120,000 lost jobs.
Pritzker has declared nine separate statewide emergencies resulting
from COVID-19, and used those declarations to issue emergency orders
such as the restaurant closures. State law neither allows nor
prohibits his continual disaster declarations, but lawmakers have
failed to restrict his powers.
That could change: Five Chicago-area Democratic state lawmakers
wrote Pritzker with concerns about the orders’ impacts on
businesses. A sixth, state Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, said
Pritzker “can’t rule with an iron fist.” He said Illinoisans need to
be heard and he insisted on public hearings.
“Taxpayers deserve to be included in this process so they can share
their data as well,” Ford said.
Pritzker’s powers and the statewide question on his “fair tax”
factor in to both the COVID-19 closed polling places issue as well
as the restaurant issue.
Morrison’s worry about statewide restrictions closing polling places
might impact the tax question if opponents of Pritzker’s “fair tax”
are more likely to vote in person. The tax scheme could have a big
impact on more than 100,000 small businesses, including restaurants,
because they would face tax increases of up to 47% as they struggle
to recover from COVID-19 mandates.
Illinois’ restaurants and bars face significant challenges to their
survival. Clearer answers about the science used to determine their
fates would help, but so would the certainty voters could provide by
rejecting Pritzker’s “fair tax” on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article
|
