Kane County Reporter

Jeanette Ward traces the source of the state’s growing economic struggles right back to the Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“He’s literally taking away people’s livelihood,” Ward told the Kane County Reporter. “We talk about saving lives with these mitigations, but the virus has a 99% survival rate. Meanwhile, keeping these restrictions in place is like committing societal suicide, especially for our small business owners.”

A new survey by small business referral network Alignable finds that 56% of all the state’s bar and restaurant owners were unable to pay their full rent during the month of December as the sting of the governor’s ongoing ban on indoor dining took greater effect.

Nationally, that figure stands at 61%, up 19% from just a month earlier with the harshest part of the winter season still yet to come. In Illinois, the number of restaurants now unable to make full rent payments has already more than doubled since September.

Ward said she worries things may get worse before they get better given Pritzker’s unwavering position.

“I don’t understand what the governor’s motivation could be,” she said. “It’s clear to everyone that what he’s doing isn’t working, but he still persists. Maybe he likes the idea of being in control that much or sees running the state all the way in the ground as a way to get the federal bailout he wants.”

Through it all, Ward is encouraging more small business owners to take a stand against the governor and what she sees as his uneven edicts.

“It’s almost like he wants to destroy the entire industry here in Illinois,” she said. “I applaud the owners that have kept their establishments open for business and I think more of them should be doing the same thing.”