Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick told Gov. J.B. Pritzker that DuPage County is ready to reopen for business responsibly and said it's not the time to threaten citizens with arrests for wanting to get their businesses back on their feet.

Mendrick said he standings with DuPage residents and busineses in his rejection of stay-at-home orders that better fit Cook County, according to his Facebook post.

Dupage County with 920,000 residents is the second largest county in Illinois.

Sheriff Mendrick asked Gov. J.B. Pritzker, shown here, to let DuPage County open a different way that will stay safe. | Stock photo

The sheriff further accused Pritzker of trampling over his free speech rights, saying in his Facebook post that the governor threatens to withhold grant funds and reimbursements if he speaks out.

DuPage businesses and residents accepted any rule placed on them and helped support his department with resources and physical help.

“I will not have a polarized and threatened society when we are currently experiencing nothing but great treatment from our citizens and businesses,” Mendrick said in the Facebook post.

He said that DuPage County won't ignore science in any measures to reopen, but they see a different path than the governor has ordered. By opening only primary food sources, Mendrick said they've created "super hot spots" for the coronavirus at those vital places.

“As our local restaurants continue to dissolve into oblivion, the reliance on food will cause more people to flock to the few that are open, causing very high potential virus transfer, food shortages and a potential collapse of our economy,” he said on Facebook. "If other businesses were opened responsibly, wouldn’t that take away from congregation at the only few places left open?"

He told the governor through Facebook to let law enforcement be what he's asked them to be in the past.

“I’m just having difficulty with what looks like politics pitting everyone against each other and then wanting the police to arrest everyone who disagrees. We are not stormtroopers. We are peacekeepers," Mendrick said in his Facebook post. "All these years, you have told us that you want law enforcement that thinks before arresting, doesn’t violate your rights and treats their citizens with decency. Now you have that and are asking us to regress into what you didn’t want and didn’t deserve."