Dupage Policy Journal

Republican state House candidate Laura Hois fumes Illinois taxpayers are being forced to pay a heavy toll for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s selfish motivations.

“Gov. Pritzker is engaging in a planned power play for political reasons, right before the general election,” Hois told the DuPage Policy Journal. “His orders to shut down indoor dining at restaurants and bars appear to have less to do with mitigating COVID-19 than with targeting certain types of businesses for closure.”

Citing rising infection rates, Pritzker recently moved to reenact COVID restrictions in at least 24 counties while warning the ban could soon spread to other parts of the state, raising the ire of many small business owners still struggling to overcome the effects of the first shutdown he imposed just months earlier. 

“A better course would have been to call for a special session to obtain legislators’ input on how best to move forward,” added Hois, who is running against incumbent state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) in the 81st District. “Allowing lawmakers’ voices to be heard and acted upon would have caused less harm and achieved the right balance between public safety and economic recovery.”

Given the high stakes, Hois said she isn’t surprised to see small business owners rising up to take matters in their own hands, including launching a Facebook page where owner who plan to defy his order can go to vent their frustrations.

“The governor does not understand what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck,” she added. “He is not taking into account the needs of employees who could be single mothers, young people with bills to pay, and small business owners who are hanging on by a thread.”

With the governor now threatening to send the Illinois State Police to the regions where restaurants and bars are deemed to be in violation, Hois fears the worse may still be yet to come.

“Small businesses support up to 60% of Illinois workforce,” she said. “If they shut down, more people will lose their jobs and livelihoods. The current severe economic downturn will get much worse. We need good leadership to help small businesses succeed.”