Kane County Reporter

Former Republican state Senate candidate Jeanette Ward rages Gov. J.B. Pritzker is in desperate need of a crash course outlining his job description.

“It’s unconscionable that the governor continues to act like a king and rule by edict instead of convening the legislation and doing the job the way its intended,” Ward told the Kane County Reporter. “The fact that we’re losing so many people means we will have even less revenue to fill the enormous budget gap from this budget that is in no way balanced.”

Ward insists she isn’t surprised by the findings in a new TrackTheRecovery.org analysis that details how since the start of the year Illinois has lost more than a third of all its small businesses. Overall, data compiled by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows as of Nov. 16, 2020 the number of small businesses open dipped by some 35.4 percent compared to January of this year with the industry also experiencing a revenue decline topping 39% since January.

“He is destroying people’s livelihoods by fiat and he’s showing no signs of coming to his senses,” added Ward, who narrowly dropped her 25th District showdown to incumbent state Rep. Karina Villa with 49% of the vote. "What he is doing is crippling our small business industry.”

National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Mark Grant argues running a small business in Illinois was already quite the challenge even before the pandemic hit, given such factors as higher property taxes and workers’ compensation.

Ward said she often wonders if the governor gives much thought to just how much damage his actions are causing to small business owners and their workers.

“I really don’t think he does,” she added. “If he did, I have to believe he wouldn’t still being doing these things. Unless we change course soon and finally get government spending under control it won’t be long before we’ll be headed toward bankruptcy.”