DeKalb Times

People in DeKalb who fail to wear a face mask or violate social distancing mandates could be fined $300 or more under an ordinance revision approved by City Council last month.

The nuisance gathering ordinance states failing to follow regulations such as 10 people or more gathering without masks or failing to keep at least 6 feet apart would be fined, the Daily Chronicle reported. The action comes as DeKalb tries to stop the recent increase in COVID-19 cases. City Manager Bill Nicklas said several hundred people have attended gathering on private and public parking lots.

"Here's our issue: we are on the rise in DeKalb County," Nicklas told the Daily Chronicle. "In the last month or so, we've had large gatherings, disproportionately wearing masks, looking for something to do. How is that enforced? We don't have a mask ordinance but there are very strict prohibitions against this from the governor's office."

The spike in cases attributed to the Northern Illinois University campus resulted in the Illinois Department of Public Health giving the county a warning level. The number of new positive cases more than doubled in a week, with the positivity rate jumping from 4.9% to 8.4%. After NIU reported 182 cases, President Lisa Freeman said classes would shift to online-only for two weeks.

Alderman Carolyn Morris, who was the lone member of council to vote against the ordinance, asked if it would be equally enforced, as many people with lower income have smaller homes and have to gather outside. She also worried that it would deter people from protesting.

"I really wasn't in favor of doing much enforcement on this," Morris said. "However, I guess the way I feel is if we're going to be putting this out there for people congregating outside, we really need to be communicating the same to businesses. I had someone specifically tell me that a very large business in the area would not even ask people to put on a mask if they came in not wearing a mask."

Nicklas said they plan to enforce it equally.