DeKalb Times

House and Senate Republicans are urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to provide data to support his latest mitigation rules behind why he wants to shut down restaurants, according to a news release.

“It’s long past time for the Governor to allow the General Assembly to become a participating member of this process,” said Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) in the news release. 

“Participating in a sitdown dinner with your family versus drinking at a bar, mingling around, and standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers are vastly different activities with vastly different health risks,” said State Sen Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) in the news release. 

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“So to place these activities in the same category with the same mitigation rules is simply unfair, especially to do so without providing contact tracing data that suggests these two activities result in the same outcomes,” said DeWitte.

The Republicans, including State Sens. DeWitte, Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) and Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) and State Reps. Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa), Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore), Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) and Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) sent four questions to Pritzker's administration requesting the data. Data being requested include where the data shows that restaurants are the main cause of COVID-19, why local health departments have been left out of the decisionmaking process, why the plan changed and what data is behind allowing casinos open but not restaurants.

“If we’re entering into a second wave of the pandemic, then this is an appropriate time for us to be called into Special Session to determine whether we need a new Disaster Declaration, and to codify the emergency rules he’s issued since March and provide sunset dates. We are not being allowed to represent our constituents. The Governor just said elected officials need to lead. It’d be nice if he’d allow us to do that,” said Reick.

Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) said pushing people out of restaurants wasn't the right thing to do.

“People are going to gather," Ugaste said in the news release, "We should help them do that responsibly.”