You wonât need to listen very long before you hear this plea, âGet the country open again.â This is not a lone voice pleading the case for resuming a normal life. After staying home week after week building to month after month, weâre hearing more of a collective shout that has registered with people throughout the U.S. âGet the country open again,â has become a rallying cry. This contrasts squarely with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker calling for us to completely return to normal (Phase 5) once we either have a vaccine for COVID-19 or a reliable treatment. Pritzker and staff have created five phases under whatâs called Restore Illinois. The state is in Phase 2 of a gradual phased reopening and ending of quarantine. The state is further divided into four health regions and eleven smaller emergency medical services regions that have McHenry, Kane, Lake, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall, and Will Counties together in the Northeast region.
McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks has joined all 25 of McHenry Countyâs mayors and village presidents in urging Pritzker to move McHenry County into its own unique recovery region. âMcHenry County has four hospitals to handle our health needs, and a lower infection rate than the other collar counties,â Franks said. Theyâre looking at ways to see businesses open sooner with common-sense precautions in place. One way they feel is for the Governor to order that McHenry County be moved to the neighboring 27-county North Central Region. âWhen it comes to recovery, our situation is much more akin to Boone and DeKalb Counties and points west than the Chicago metro area. While we must flatten the curve and slow COVID-19âs spread, we also have to recognize that the economic havoc the shutdown is wreaking on people and businesses is as serious an issue. It makes more sense to tie our re-opening to these more rural counties,â Franks said.
City and village leaders are hoping to hear very soon on the request for moving McHenry County to a new COVID-19 health region. Franks and the city mayors and village presidents are also prepared should their proposal fail. Franks and the board chairmen of Kane and Kendall Counties are prepared should the need arise to propose the three counties join together for a single health region under the Restore Illinois plan. The good news is that McHenry County is moving from Phase 2 (flattening of the new infectionâs curve) to Phase 3, allowing for the opening of retail, barbershops, and other businesses with the caveat the newly reopened will follow CDC guidelines including the wearing of masks and limits on how many people may be in a facility at any one time.
For businesses, Phase 3 canât come soon enough. Much of retail is hurting, some to the point of never re-opening. This fact has weighed heavily on law enforcement with the task of enforcement of the Governorâs directive. For Kane County, Sheriff Ron Hain outlined his response on the departmentâs website www.KaneSheriff.com. Key parts of Hainâs comments read, âIt is clear that deputies do not have immunity if they attempt to enforce the Orders and there is no legislated law that applies to the violation of the orders. Therefore, Kane County Sheriffâs deputies will not be taking enforcement action against any one person or entity for Order violations, without the issuance of a judicial order.â Also itâs very clear in Hainâs comments on the Kane County Sheriffâs position on Pritzkerâs executive orders that this is not a time to test law enforcement âor challenge the Governorâs direction with blatant and egregious activity that may be harmful to society. It is a time to view this as a global health concern and to act in the best interest of your fellow citizens,â Hain said. He outlined how deputies are looking at roles theyâve had before but not to any great depth in the past. âSheriffâs deputies will continue to serve in new, varying humanitarian related roles, such as caring for the homeless, supporting quarantined seniors, and networking with business owners to help them make proper safeguards to continue their operations while mitigating the spread of the virus,â Hain said. All of this from Hain says businesses could potentially face a violation from the state. In Hainâs statement to retail in Kane County, he advises those businesses licensed through the state. âI do recommend businesses consult with their attorney as there may be penalties issued against them if the State determines some level of violation. People and businesses may also want to research their liability if they host events or gatherings and risk exposure,â Hain said. From McHenry County Sheriffâs Police, Sheriff Bill Prim is instructing his deputies that have received complaint calls in connection with COVID-19 to respond and educate the business of the guidelines followed by the state. The business owners are then asked for voluntary compliance. âWe would not take any enforcement action,â Sheriffâs Police explained. Huntley Police Chief Robert Porter continues with a similar theme that begins with education and information for businesses that are raising concerns over the Governorâs Executive Order. âWe would refer them to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for further questions and concerns. If the complaint pertains to working conditions, the matter may be referred to the Illinois Attorney General or the County Health Department,â Porter said.
Pritzker has not been the lone governor issuing an executive order effectively keeping people at home unless theyâre involved in essential service jobs. How Pritzker and other governors that sense law enforcement may not be on the same page is a developing story in itself. It is true that the month of May ushers in additional essential services, however weâre moving at a very slow pace toward a resumption of normalcy in Illinois.
With people looking for signs of optimism and hope, the mixed messages about stay-at-home are increasing desperation and despair and may be leading to a mental health crisis. As news reports are telling us of more deaths from coronavirus than during the Vietnam War, weâre overwhelmed. Our political leaders talk of ending our economic calamity when the time is right. Part of the stress is in looking for answers to the question of âwhen is the time right?â Weâve proven in words and deeds that we donât want more people facing the prospect of death and weâve shown how weâre trying to protect the most vulnerable. But weâre also hearing of what appears to be arbitrary calls for one type of business considered essential over another. A call for churches to reopen is gathering steam and more people are saying the vast majority of deaths are in nursing homes. People are showing concern about whether the economy can recover if we go through the phases in a very slow and methodical way. In all of whatâs in front of us, weâre facing such an incredible amount of stress, not only from the virus itself but from how the cure of stay-at-home is affecting our liberties and mental health.
