Local leaders voice concerns about “Restore Illinois” plan

Local government leaders are voicing concerns about Gov. JB Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan to gradually bring the state out of quarantine and back to normal.

The plan divides the state into four “health regions,” which will move through the five phases independent of one another based on COVID-19 data and health care capacity within the region. The Northeast region covers nine counties: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, McHenry, Lake and Will.

“The governor and the state’s Democratic leaders have ignored calls from Republican representatives and senators from across Illinois to return to Springfield to have our voices heard on the best way to move forward handling the pandemic,” stated Ugaste. “I believe the law is clear, the governor can only issue a disaster declaration for 30 days, that’s it. The time has expired. With his plan to reopen the state, the governor indicates that he will continue to issue emergency declarations for many months to come, and further usurp the power, authority and voices of the General Assembly, which until March 16 of this year had been a separate and co-equal branch of government.”

Ugaste has called on the governor and leaders of the General Assembly to go back to Springfield to create a fair, comprehensive and data driven plan for regional reopening of the state, as well as address the other critical and urgent matters facing Illinois.

Read More at the Kane County Chronicle: https://www.kcchronicle.com/2020/05/06/local-leaders-voice-concerns-about-restore-illinois-plan/ao50z8n/