Dupage Policy Journal

Republican Laura Hois wonders how anyone can be sure what Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan could truly mean for the state.

“Gov. Pritzker has not been transparent with the data he has used to support the extended stay-at-home order,” Hois, now running in the 81st District against incumbent state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville), told the DuPage Policy Journal. “So we cannot know if his Restore Illinois Plan makes sense for Illinois.”

Hois argues what’s certain is small business owners and counties across the state can’t take much more of the governor’s uneven policies.

“The governor has acted unilaterally by executive order with little or no input from lawmakers,” the Downers Grove resident said. “He should have received input from the co-equal legislative branch regarding the plan to reopen businesses to more effectively balance public safety concerns with the economic well-being of Illinois. This is particularly true with regard to his decision to allow big box stores to stay open while forcing mom and pop shops to close. The General Assembly, in returning to Springfield, must address county-by-county how to get people back to work with safety measures in place to allow for a gradual return to normalcy and freedom.”

Hois said small business owners struggling to survive are doing the only thing they feel they can do by speaking out against the governor’s stay-at-home and order and even threatened to defy by reopening their businesses sooner than what he has laid out for them.

“The plan as currently drafted is too restrictive and not workable with some aspects which appear to be unconstitutional and in violation of privacy rights,” she said. “It is a one-size-fits-all plan that does not take into account the diverse impact of COVID-19 in each of Illinois' counties.”

But Pritzker is vowing to defend it to the end, recently even threatening to withhold federal funding from counties that open up sooner than what he has prescribed for them.

Hois frets it’s just more misplaced bureaucracy that will cause irreparable damage.

“Many small businesses have already had to close, and it is projected that a third of small businesses will fail very soon if the lockdown should continue as long as Gov. Pritzker wants it to,” she said. “Payment Protection Program payments and business loans provide temporary relief while dramatically increasing debt. We need to reform Illinois' spending to maximize effectiveness and prioritize core services while removing the crusty layer of corruption that covers many of our government's programs.”