DeKalb Times

Dixon Mayor Liandro “Li” Arellano wonders how much Gov. J.B. Pritzker thinks small businesses owners across the state can really take.

“It’s come to this because owners and businesses only have so much money to survive and the governor’s constant restrictions are forcing to them to make use of all that and then some,” Arenallo told the DeKalb Times. "As that money has run out, these owners are being forced to choose between adhering to the governor’s orders or their best chance of survival.”

With the stakes being as high as they are, some like McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally are taking their outrage a step further, with Kenneally now vowing not to enforce the ban on indoor dining the governor recently enacted across the region.

“It’s like I said, people are fighting for survival and when you’re faced with something like that you make tough decisions,” Arenallo added. “It stands to reason that more people would now be taking a stand against the governor’s actions.”

Arenallo said he’s also not surprised to see the governor now essentially throwing a tantrum by threatening to strip businesses that violate his order of state licenses.

“He’s been hinting at that for a while now,” he said. “It’s really hard to tell if he’s really serious or just doing more posturing. I think we all want to see our small businesses survive, so it bothers me to see things being made harder for them.”

Arenallo said things have pretty much been that way ever since the COVID-19 virus hit.

“I wish the governor would have taken the regional approach he put in place after facing all the criticism from the start,” he said. “Not every part of Illinois was hit in the same way, but businesses everywhere were forced to close and burn through cash reserves. Right about now, they could use that.”