Carbondale Reporter

While May 1 protesters in Springfield and Chicago were successful in drawing national attention, Rep. Dave Severin remains dissatisfied with Gov. Pritzker's COVID-19 plans.

“I see how important it is for nursing homes and aging people to be isolated but I also see the opportunities in my district, the 117th district, where we don't have very many cases,” Rep. Severin told the Carbondale Reporter. “We followed the executive order and with that we've been very successful. Businesses should be given an opportunity to open in a respectful way, in a regional way and in a safe way.”

Severin’s district encompasses Williamson, Franklin and Hamilton counties.

The Illinois Department of Health currently reports 87,937 positive coronavirus tests statewide and 3,928 deaths, while in Hamilton there are only 2 positive cases and 0 deaths, 52 positives and 1 death in Williamson, and 11 positives and 0 deaths in Franklin.

“There are people that are very concerned in my district about the virus as am I,” Severin said in an interview. “We're also concerned about the businesses that aren't opening.”

Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker eased statewide restrictions on the same day protesters took to the streets, Severin said churches have been forgotten. An emergency complaint was filed against Pritzker by two churches, asking a court to reverse the orders, according to media reports.

“I've been in church my entire life and, as a man of faith, I believe it is important to be able to gather and worship,” said Severin. “One of the most important things that we need is to give churches an opportunity to gather their parishioners in small groups with social distancing and wearing masks.”

Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan consists of 5 phases and each phase takes place over 28 days, bringing the reopening of the state to 140 days.

“Something we've been asking for here in Southern Illinois is for the governor to reopen the state regionally, which he has done but I don't particularly like the four regions,” said Severin. “I think it should be split up into 11 regions. I also don't like the 28 days that he's put on each one of the phases.”

The state is currently in Phase 2.

The governor said at an online press conference on May 12, “Some people would like to open city-by-city, town-by-town or county-by-county but that’s 102 counties, 1,200 to 1,300 towns and cities across the state of Illinois. The regions we’ve drawn take into account hospital availability. They follow the metrics of each region appropriate to a region that is near a large metropolitan area like Chicago.”

As previously reported in the Chicago City Wire, the new order, which expires on May 31, is based on special emergency powers granted to the governor through the Emergency Management Act. The original 30-day disaster proclamation ended on April 9.