State Police Taking Stronger Action Against ‘Scofflaws’: Pritzker
ILLINOIS — With new coronavirus restrictions soon to be in place across much of Illinois, some restaurants and bars are openly disregarding bans on indoor service to try to stay afloat.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, public health and law enforcement agencies in Illinois have worked to educate businesses and owners about best practices and to encourage compliance with guidelines, Pritzker said Wednesday.
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“But as we’ve unfortunately learned during this pandemic, some business owners refuse to get educated or just don’t want to follow the rules, thereby putting their patrons, the public and their workers in danger,” Pritzker said. “Sometimes educating people isn’t enough to get them to do the right thing.”
The Illinois State Police has recently “ramped up” random visits to businesses that are under new restrictions, Pritzker said, warning owners the agency is “progressively taking more stringent action to hold scofflaws accountable” amid a surge in positivity rates across the state.
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State Police Director Brendan Kelly spoke Wednesday at Pritzker’s daily coronavirus briefing to detail the process his agency is using to bring businesses into compliance with public health guidelines.
Businesses that are defying indoor service bans, or where customers or employees are not wearing masks when required, will first receive verbal warnings, Kelly said, adding “the overwhelming majority” of those warnings and subsequent conversations result in compliance.
Those that continue to disregard public health mandates will get written notices, Kelly said.
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As “a last resort,” the Illinois State Police can issue misdemeanor citations to businesses where guidelines “have been outright and openly violated” by customers or staff, Kelly said.
“Unfortunately, you have some business owners, you’ve got waitresses and waiters, cook staff — they’re just outright refusing to wear masks. And right now, that’s just kind of gross and it’s Definitely a way to spread this disease,” Kelly said.
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A Geneva restaurant won a temporary restraining order Monday blocking officials from enforcing an indoor service ban there. FoxFire served customers inside Tuesday, but its owners have said the restaurant will continue following the guidelines that were in place before new restrictions.
Pritzker and the IDPH lodged an appeal Tuesday, asking the state's Second District Appellate Court to overturn the restraining order.
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Illinois State Police officers have issued citations to businesses in five counties, but “voluntary compliance is always our focus,” Kelly said, adding no one has been or will be arrested for not following public health guidelines.
This article originally appeared on the Across Illinois Patch
