McHenry Co. To Take Aim At COVID-19 Rule Breakers
MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — The McHenry County Board could get guidance from local health officials next week on how to better enforce statewide COVID-19 restrictions and penalize businesses that violate them. In recent weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all restaurants and bars to nix indoor service amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Despite cases continuing to spike, many businesses are not heeding the order, McHenry County Board Chair Jack Franks said Thursday, arguing that something more substantial needs to be done to address the problem, according to the Northwest Herald.
“I would like to know what you would suggest so you would have more teeth in order to enforce these things if the other entities are not willing to do so,” Jack Franks said at Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Enforcement strategies could be addressed when the county board next meets Tuesday morning.
Sign up for your local Patch newsletter and breaking
news updates for the latest news in your town.
The state has set up a three-tiered system that provides varying degrees of restrictions depending on the spread of COVID-19 and regional hospital capacity. Currently, Region 9, which includes McHenry and Lake counties, is under Tier 2 mitigations, which restricts indoor dining.
The health departments are tasked with investigating complaints made regarding businesses staying open, but guidelines for enforcing and fining the businesses are not as clear, local health officials have said. Public health administrator Melissa Adamson said local police departments have shied away from enforcing Tier 1 mitigation rules, according to the Northwest Herald.
Now, local health officials are working with the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office to determine how to fine restaurants going against the governor's order and address lawsuits filed by restaurants aiming to stay open.
In recent weeks, mayors in Lake and McHenry counties have publicly announced they wouldn't enforce the Tier 1 mitigations as restaurants feel the economic blowback brought on by the state-mandated orders.
Libertyville Mayor Terry Weppler said earlier this month he's concerned over the spread of COVID-19, but does not believe indoor service at restaurants is to blame.
"I know that many people do not feel comfortable going into restaurants and doing indoor dining and I respect that position," he said in a statement posted on Facebook. "However, I believe the restaurants are being made scapegoats on this issue do not want to stand by and see us lose our local businesses."
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 have to remove their masks to eat and drink.
Woodstock Mayor Brian Sager said city officials will "serve in an educational, rather than enforcement, role in informing residents and businesses about mitigation efforts." Police will verbally counsel a business owner or manager if they spot violations, he said, and tell them they expect them to adhere to designated closing hours.
"If compliance is not forthcoming, the complaint will be forwarded to the McHenry County Health Department for further investigation and/or enforcement and no further action will be taken by the municipality," Sager said in a statement. "The city will not be issuing citations for liquor, gaming, or other business violations under the Governor's Executive Order. Enforcement efforts may be implemented by state level entities, at their discretion."
He encouraged those who dined out or visited businesses to wear a mask, wash their hands and be respectful of others. And he said a balance needs to be struck between public health and safety and the needs of the city's business community.
"Many of these local businesses are on the precipice of closing permanently, with the livelihoods of not only the business owners and operators in jeopardy, but also those of their dedicated and exceptional workforce," he said. "They have never needed our support more than they do now if they are to survive the COVID-19 crisis."
Meanwhile, Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said in a statement late last month that her village does not have enforcement authority as it relates to the Tier 1 measures.
"Complaints should be forwarded to the appropriate enforcement agencies which are the Lake County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health," she said. "As we have done in the past, the Village of Gurnee will continue to work to educate businesses by visiting and providing a copy of the Tier 1 enhanced mitigation requirements."
Businesses could be issued a Class A misdemeanor and be fined between $75 and $2,500 if found in violation of the ban. The health department is working to get paperwork together and refer its first case to the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office, according to the Northwest Herald.
This article originally appeared on the Crystal Lake-Cary Patch
