We're all dining al fresco!
Governor expands Phase 3 of Restore Illinois to allow outdoor service for bars, restaurants
Gov. Pritzker announces restaurants and bars will be open for service outdoors — with social distancing — in the upcoming third phase of the plan to Restore Illinois. (Illinois.gov)
By Ted Cox
The governor announced a major change to the upcoming third phase of the plan to Restore Illinois on Wednesday by allowing restaurants and bars to serve patrons outdoors.
Bemoaning the terrible impact the COVID-19 stay-at-home has had on restaurants and bars, and emphasizing that the decision was made in consultation with scientists and public health officials, Gov. Pritzker said, “The epidemiologists now believe that summer offers us an opportunity if proper precautions are taken by businesses and their patrons. So after listening to and working with restaurant representatives, together with our epidemiologists, today I am announcing an additional option for bars and restaurants interested in resuming operations earlier — opening for outdoor seating when Phase 3 begins, likely for everyone just nine days from now.”
Pritzker said many of the existing demands for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 would have to be maintained — wearing masks when possible, keeping tables 6 feet apart and away from sidewalks — but he granted broad leeway to local governments “to do whatever is in their power” to help the businesses reopen, for instance by closing down streets to create the space for outdoor seating.
Sam Toia, president of the llinois Restaurant Association, granted that it wasn’t a solution for all businesses, but he called it “a lifeline” and “a step in the right direction” for owners of restaurants and bars and their employees, as combined they account for the largest private industry in the state with more than 500,000 workers, most of whom have been laid off.
“More than half of our restaurants have closed, and sales are down 70 to 80 percent,” he said. “Gov. Pritzker and his team are listening. Today’s announcement provides a glimmer of light at the end of this very dark tunnel.”
Toia endorsed social-distancing requirements, with guidelines to be set along with local governments and public health officials, saying, “Let’s close down streets. Let’s expand sidewalk cafes. Let’s use parking lots and public ways. Let’s show the world how innovative Illinois can be.”
“The outdoor-restaurant reopening carefully weighs public health concerns with the desire to reopen the economy as well,” said Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. She said closing down streets to create more public space for restaurants, bars, and other businesses “may become a new way of life even after the pandemic ends.”
Might Springfield’s Obed & Isaac’s expand outdoor dining into the street? (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
The governor said he was rescinding the new rule imposed to allow business scofflaws to be issued citations if violating restrictions meant to contain the pandemic, and that instead state Sen. Bill Cunningham, whose district includes the Southwest Side of Chicago and the nearby suburbs, would sponsor legislation to create the same sort of fine system — meant to provide “flexibility” in enforcing the laws, without revoking the state license of a business or closing it entirely.
“Our only goal here is one that we all share,” Pritzker said, “prioritizing public health while reducing the harm that bad actors can cause the broader small-business community.”
“We want to avoid revoking licenses,” Cunningham said. He added that he intended to craft a bill that would provide “a soft touch. That is the intent of the legislation.”
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said troopers had never arrested anyone for violating the stay-at-home order, but that they were still put in a difficult position enforcing it. “This is probably the most difficult public policy problem that law enforcement has faced, certainly in our lifetimes,” he said, “balancing the need for public and public safety, as well as the need for personal rights and personal concerns, and for people to live their lives.”
Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike again delivered good news at Wednesday’s daily coronavirus briefing, conducted at the Capitol in Springfield. She confirmed 2,388 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total to 100,418, while 147 new deaths brought the statewide toll to 4,525 — level with recent daily figures. But hospitalizations for the coronavirus dropped below 4,000 for the first time since the state began releasing that data in the pandemic.
Ezike too cheered the move to accommodate restaurants and bars within the restrictions needed to contain the pandemic, but she also warned that it called for more conscious compliance on the part of the public, and a closer look at the data to catch any renewed outbreaks. She said the statewide stay-at-home order had been relatively clear-cut by comparison. “This is really the hard stage,” she said, “a nuanced stage.”
“Our mission has always been to get people back to work, get students back to school, and return to as much normalcy as possible, without jeopardizing the health and safety of Illinoisans,” Pritzker said.
Offering “a note of concern,” he added, “The virus has not gone away. Other states that have thrown out restrictions and decided to just go without regulation are seeing rising cases and beginning to see rising hospitalizations. Here in Illinois, we have followed the science, and we are succeeding. But we can’t let up now. We’ve come too far, and we’ve made so much progress because we’ve kept social distance, worn face coverings in public, washed our hands frequently, and taken care of our most vulnerable to the best of our ability. We must persevere.”
“We don’t want to open the economy and then close it again,” Toia said.