Rep. Chris Miller (R-Robinson) wants the Illinois governor to fully reopen the state because of its impact on small businesses. | Photo Courtesy of Chris Miller website
Rep. Chris Miller (R-Robinson) wants the Illinois governor to fully reopen the state because of its impact on small businesses. | Photo Courtesy of Chris Miller website
Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) is advocating for the removal of COVID-19 restrictions that have shuttered the small business industry in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity recently revealed that all regions in the state are currently in Phase 4 of the five-phase Restore Illinois mitigation plan.
Among restrictions under Phase 4 is indoor dining being limited to groups of 10 people or less and tables spaced 6 feet apart with standing areas limited to 25% capacity, indoor recreation facilities limited to the lesser of 50 attendees or 50% capacity, and retailers subjected to five customers per 1,000 square feet of retail space or 50% capacity.
"I am calling on Governor [J.B.] Pritzker to end his reign of executive orders that have disproportionately affected our small business owners," Miller wrote in a March 30 Facebook post.
Miller attributed his reasoning to remove the regulations to the decrease in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, as well as the rollout of vaccines.
More than 35% of small businesses in Illinois closed since the start of COVID-19 lockdowns, according to recent data from the Opportunity Insights Tracker. The project from Brown and Harvard universities tracks real-time private industry information including consumer spending and employment rates.
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