Galesburg Reporter

State Sen. Jill Tracy (R-Quincy) and Senate Republican leader Bill Brady called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to explain the reasons for further COVID-19 business restrictions, saying the process lacked transparency.

The Illinois Department of Public Health enacted further pandemic restrictions on businesses in West Central Illinois (Region 3) starting Nov. 1.

"Because of a glaring lack of transparency about the data behind COVID-19 mitigation decisions, I don’t support the governor’s action to place the entire Region 3 under further restrictions,” Tracy said on her website. “The Pritzker Administration issues these one-size-fits-all decisions that hurt an entire region without letting us know where the higher incidence of COVID-19 cases are found, and what populations are affected. Perhaps one local hot spot is responsible for the increase in cases."

On October 28 Brady called on Pritzker and staffers to explain to the Illinois Senate the rationale for the restrictions and the data used to come to the decision.  

Tracy said businesses in the state have worked hard to put safety measures in place and the state is in a far different position than it was at the beginning of the pandemic.

"When COVID-19 first started its terrible journey in Illinois, we did not question the need to stay at home, to flatten the curve and to do what we could to protect our healthcare system from being overwhelmed,” she said. “Now more than seven months into this pandemic, our local businesses, residents and communities have worked hard to implement and follow realistic health and safety protocols.

"They have a strong incentive to operate safely – the health and well-being of their customers and employees, as well as their livelihoods, their jobs and the economic well-being of their communities depend on it,” Tracy added. “So give them the data and let them decide if they want to go out or not. Trust them to know what is best for their communities."

As an example, officials of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will go forward with their winter basketball season despite the restrictions from Pritzker.

"After diligent discussion, the (ISHA) Board has made the decision today to follow the recommendation of the IHSA SMAC (Sports Medicine Advisory Committee) as it relates to basketball," a statement from the IHSA read. "The Board remains considerate of rising COVID-19 cases in Illinois and understands the importance of adhering to safety guidelines for the good of all citizens. However, the Board has not been presented any causal evidence that rising COVID-19 cases make basketball more dangerous to play by the IDPH or any other health organization nationally or internationally. On the contrary, the IHSA has been looking to bordering states who have sponsored both medium risk and high risk sports in the fall that have noted a low incident rate of COVID-19 spread."

The areas impacted are the Illinois counties of Hancock, Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Scott, Brown, Schuyler, Cass, Morgan, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Sangamon, Logan, Menard and Mason.