Pritzker's Plan Not 'The Best Solution' For Oswego: Mayor

OSWEGO, IL — Village President Troy Parlier has added his name to a list of mayors who are urging Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reconsider his Restore Illinois Plan while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will and Kendall Counties have been clubbed along with Cook County — one of the nation's hardest hit areas in terms of new coronavirus cases and deaths — according to the governor's plan.

"We had a regional discussion about the reopening plan and how we're broken into four regions and some of our counties further west really don't fit the profile of some of those further to the east," Parlier said. "So we were hoping for a more surgical approach to defining the counties. I know it was based on hospital beds, but I think there should be other factors that should be brought into this too."

The May 15 letter was submitted to Pritzker on letterhead from the Will County Governmental League in Plainfield. Parlier was one of more than 20 mayors who signed the document requesting that Pritzker change his Illinois map model that governs how fast particular regions of the state can reopen during the pandemic.

"For some perspective, two-thirds of WCGL communities have under 25,000 residents, and all but five are smaller than a single ward within the City of Chicago," the letter reads. "To equate these communities to others in the Northeast Region is unfair to our residents, devastating to our economy, and harmful to the overall well-being of our residents."

The letter also says that, "Many of the businesses in our communities see less patrons in a day than some 'essential' big box retailers see in an hour. Subsequently, these businesses can implement proper social distancing precautions and move to phase 3 or 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan sooner."

Parlier said the impact this plan has had on Oswego's economy is another reason why he proceeded to sign the letter.

"That's another reason why this whole five-phase plan isn't really the best solution for us right now," he said. "As of yesterday, the picture got brighter here. I wish we had an earlier opening. I have questions. Like why could you buy a T-shirt in at Walmart but not on our Main Street?"

He also said there was a sense of inequity in how some businesses were left out in the initial stages. But as Illinois head into Phase 3 of the plan, "things will be brought back to a much more level playing field," he said.

"We are going to weather the storm the best way we can," Parlier said.

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This article originally appeared on the Oswego Patch