SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Despite calls to reopen, Gov. J-B Pritzker claims Illinois isn’t ready to move to phase four yet.
Senate Republicans and some local officials would like to see the state move to phase four now, saying businesses don’t understand why they can’t fully re-open when protests with hundreds and even thousands of people are being held.
Gov. Pritzker said the pandemic isn’t anything states were expecting or knew how to deal with at first.
“In Illinois, what we’ve done the right way is rely upon the data, rely upon the science, rely upon the experts. You wouldn’t want political decisions made here about public health,” Pritzker said.
Under the Restore Illinois Plan, the earliest the state could move to phase four is June 26. All four designated regions of Illinois currently meet the metrics for that to happen.
“At the moment, the challenge that we have in the state is, each time you move from one phase to another, you need to take a measure of all that reopening, what’s the effect on hospitalizations, on cases, on deaths,” Pritzker said.
The governor reminds residents that Illinois is only about 15 days away from phase four, if the numbers continue to hold or go down.
