Pritzker to Allow Indoor Dining, Bar Service Sooner Than Originally Planned, But Not Yet
Governor JB Pritzker announced Friday he is lowering the threshold to allow bars and restaurants around the state to open for some indoor service legally, but none of the state’s regions have met qualifications yet.
Governor JB Pritzker announced a lower threshold for indoor bar and restaurant service Friday.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday the state has loosened the criteria for allowing limited indoor restaurant and bar service under the state’s coronavirus recovery plan, though don’t start making any reservations just yet.
None of the state’s 11 regions have yet met those new standards and indoor dining remains prohibited statewide, even though the ban has been widely ignored, sometimes with the backing of local officials who’ve refused to enforce the rules.
However, some coronavirus restrictions in effect statewide since Nov. 20 were lifted Friday in three regions: the northwest corner of the state; the 20 county north-central region, stretching from Kendall and Grundy counties west to the Quad Cities and including Peoria and Bloomington; and the state’s 20 southernmost counties.
In those regions, capacity limits on retail stores will go back to 50%, up from 25%, and groups of up to 10 people may resume gathering outside of their own households. Museums and other cultural institutions can reopen, as can casinos in East Peoria, Rock Island and Metropolis beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
While restaurants remain closed for dining and bars service, video gambling terminals at establishments in those regions also will be turned on at 8 a.m. Saturday, potentially generating much needed revenue for those businesses.
I spoke to a bar owner a few weeks ago who said video gaming revenue was the last thing keeping many bars afloat.
Bars which serve food and restaurants would be able to open for indoor service limited to 25% capacity or 25 people per room, whichever is least when a region hits an 8% positivity rate or lower for three consecutive days.
Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia, who called for the Governor to open bars and restaurants for indoor service immediately, said waiting for reopening will force restaurants into worse situations “adding to growing debt, devastating job loss, and business closures.”
In a statement, Toia criticized the Governor’s plan to reduce capacity to 25%.
“No restaurant can break even at that volume, let alone hire back their team members,” he said. “As one of the most highly regulated industries in terms of health and safety — and with enhanced measures introduced during COVID-19 — Illinois restaurants know how to protect the well being of their guests and team members. They are capable of safely serving more guests than what the state will currently allow, and they need more to survive this crisis.”
Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wanted Pritzker to allow restaurants to re-open sooner.
“I am very, very focused on getting our restaurants reopened. If we look at the various criteria that the state has set, we are meeting most if not all of those. So that’s a conversation that I will have with the governor,” Lightfoot said at a news conference about the city’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution sites. “But I want to get our restaurants and our bars reopened as quickly as possible.”
But, Pritzker said Friday data doesn’t allow for larger gatherings yet.
“My great hope is that all of our regions will move out of the tiers of resurgence mitigations,” he said, noting vaccines will help reduce spread of the Coronavirus. “We will see meaningful reductions in COVID infections and deaths.”
Far southern Illinois, including Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, and Harrisburg and west central and western Illinois, including Springfield, Jacksonville, and Quincy, could be the first regions in the state allowed to open for indoor service legally. If they continue to meet the new thresholds, they could meet the standard for re-opening early next week.