Dear Friend,

On May 5, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his five-step, phase-in plan to reopen the state of Illinois.

I issued the following statement in response to the proposal: 

"While I can recognize the value of finally having a plan to begin moving our state forward, the Governor's proposal will put Illinois behind other Midwestern states in terms of economic recovery, particularly parts of Illinois that have not been nearly as severely impacted as the Chicagoland area.

I have as much due regard and concern for the public health of Illinoisans in my district and across the state as does Governor Pritzker. I appreciate his concern in that regard.

In his plan, the Governor has taken one of the most diverse states in the country and divided it into only four regions. By doing so, he has taken areas that have only been marginally affected by the actual number of COVID-19 cases and tied them with areas that have been substantially more impacted by this health situation. The reality is, Gov. Pritzker's plan leaves small businesses out of work and people unemployed because their recovery rate is determined by how the situation is impacting an area hours away. 

Furthermore, the Governor’s proposal calls for an arbitrary 28-day waiting period before regions are allowed to move to the next phase. New York, which is the epicenter of this crisis and just as diverse as Illinois, has implemented a 14-day phase-in procedure allowing employers and employees to get back to work more quickly. 

I respectfully urge the Governor to work with all of us in the General Assembly to provide a reasonable and realistic bipartisan solution to reopen the state.” 

State Senator Dale Righter