Dupage Policy Journal

Republican state House candidate Dr. Michael Camerer worries Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s tone in tackling COVID-19 is striking all the wrong notes.

“Perhaps the governor needs to be asking more questions of the stakeholders involved and trying to understand the issues of the business owners before making threats of withholding federal funds,” Camerer told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Other states have gotten various organizations involved in the process of determining re-opening, maybe our governor needs to learn from examples of state models that are working, instead of having a 'my way or the highway attitude.'”

Faced with growing resistance to the stay-at-home order he enacted in late March and recently extended through the end of May, the governor recently threatened to withhold federal funding from counties that reopen before his executive order expires. More recently, he added that he may be willing to have law enforcement take action against businesses reopen before he has outlined.

“Now is not the time for the governor and his limited advisers to decide critical decisions affecting all aspects of our state,” Camerer added. “The purpose of a government run by many elected officials is to represent a voice of the people throughout the state. Our legislators need to be called back to Springfield to bring the governor needed insight from all areas of Illinois.”

Up until now, Camerer said Pritzker’s one-army approach to doing things has only made for more questions.

“During the first month, it was important to limit contact between people in order to slow the spread of the disease,” the Bartlett resident said. “The governor should now focus the state's attention on the areas that have been shown to be problematic and lessen the restriction on the general populace.”

Camerer said he worries if the state’s small industry will ever be able to recover if the governor continues to do things the way he has since the virus first emerged.

“I am a small business owner, and even as a business considered an essential health care provider, I have seen and felt the effects of this crisis personally,” he said. “My heart understands the pain of working your entire life to build a business, and then to see it slipping away is devastating. I am concerned that many of the small businesses will be unable to rise up and prosper again if the governor continues to shut their doors. I believe that if we are able to find a way to open the so called big box stores, then we should be able to find a way to support the small businesses as well.”