FoxFire Exempt From New Indoor Dining Restrictions: Judge

Jason Addy
Updated ·2 min read

GENEVA, IL — FoxFire can continue serving its customers inside after a Kane County judge granted a temporary restraining order Monday, protecting the business from new regional coronavirus restrictions.

FoxFire owners K.C. and Curtis Gulbro sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Kane County Health Department on Friday, a day after announcing the restaurant would defy the new restrictions, which ban indoor service at restaurants and bars in Kane County.

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Attorneys for the restaurant also filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order to block officials from enforcing the indoor-service ban. The motion argued Pritzker has had no authority to issue any disaster declarations beyond his initial 30-day proclamation in March.

Kane County Judge Kevin Busch granted that restraining order Monday afternoon, saying he believes the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act — which Pritzker has pointed to as the legal authority for issuing consecutive disaster proclamations — gives the governor no such authority.

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Busch also questioned why FoxFire and other restaurants in Kane County are being targeted for new coronavirus-related restrictions while “big box stores” are free from new restrictions.

“If there was such a compelling need to shut down businesses for public health, then how did we pick and choose the winners and losers?” Busch said while delivering his ruling.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dining at bars and restaurants is closely linked to the spread of the virus in many communities. Adults who tested positive for the virus were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than those with negative test results, according to a CDC study published in September. Experts now believe the coronavirus is airborne, and tiny droplets containing the virus can linger indoors for hours as aerosols, making indoor dining especially risky since diners can't wear masks while eating.

Attorney Greg Earl, who is representing FoxFire as part of the Geneva-based law firm Myers, Earl and Nelson, said FoxFire’s owners are “ecstatic” about the ruling that allows them to serve customers indoors, at least until the state files an appeal.

The restaurant will continue to follow all the protocols and safety measures it was previously, Earl said, though the restraining order technically allows them to operate without any restrictions.

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This article originally appeared on the Geneva Patch