By Jeff Lampe
A group of central Illinois politicians said Wednesday they will pursue a new plan to reopen 11 nearby counties, including Stark County, under current COVID-19 restrictions enacted by Gov. JB Pritzker.
Announcing the plan during an online press conference were Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, Peoria County Board Chairman Andrew Rand and Peoria City-County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson. Mayors from 10 other communities also participated.
Two key elements of the Heart of Illinois (HOI) Sub-Region plan are reducing the geographic scope for reopening and speeding up the process. Counties involved are Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Fulton, Marshall, Stark, McLean, Livingston, Bureau, Putnam and LaSalle.
“Our No. 1 concern is to get our local economies started again and to do it very safely,” Ardis said.
Under Pritzker’s plan, the North Central Health Region encompasses all 11 counties in the HOI plan plus 16 others to the west and north.
“The regions are too big to be practical,” Rand said.
Ardis said the plan was sent to Pritzker and to the Illinois Department of Public Health last Friday. As of Wednesday morning, there had been no feedback from the governor’s office, while response from IDPH was characterized as “positive” by Hendrickson.
Ardis said Peoria hospitals have endorsed the plan, which is based on extensive COVID-19 data compiled from the HOI area by Hendrickson, who has a background in epidemiology.
Stark Co. heeding Pritzker’s order
“If the governor comes out and says ‘No,’ our plan is going to continue to move forward,” Ardis said, estimating implementation will take 7-10 days.
Under that scenario, Ardis said businesses which rely on state licensing would need to take that into consideration before reopening.
On Tuesday, Pritzker said he would consider withholding federal pass-through funds to counties ignoring his stay-at-home order and said it “would be best” for the General Assembly to meet in May. The General Assembly on Wednesday announced it will meet in Springfield for a special session May 20-22.
Pritzker said those disobeying his orders are “outliers” who are “not following science and data,” but rather are “listening to partisan rhetoric.”
While the North Central Health Region is currently under Phase 2 of Pritzker’s plan, Hendrickson said the current COVID-19 caseload in the HOI plan’s 11 counties would immediately move them to Phase 3 – something Pritzker said would not happen until the end of May, at earliest.
Under Phase 3, some non-essential businesses, salons and barber shops can open. Capacity limits would be in place and masks would be required. Gatherings of 10 or fewer would also be allowed.
Schools and parks are not impacted by the HOI plan, but remain under control of state agencies. State parks would be open in Phase 3.
