August 7, 2020 – Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday he wants a rule that would allow businesses to be fined up to $2,500 for failing to enforce regulations for face coverings and social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Pritzker said the Illinois Department of Public Health is submitting administrative rules to allow for a progression of enforceable actions ranging from an enforcement officer educating an establishment about the rules, to a warning and then to a monetary fine of between $75 and $2,500. He announced the plan at a news conference joined by union leaders, the Illinois Restaurant Association and others.
The governor said the administrative rules will assist law enforcement, local boards of health, school districts and the general public in enforcing the use of face coverings and social gathering restrictions.
“Illinois has made substantial progress in our fight against COVID-19 because the vast majority of communities and business owners have done the right thing,” Pritzker said in a statement. “These rules will help ensure that the minority of people who refuse to act responsibly won’t take our state backward.”
The governor attempted to criminalize businesses that didn’t comply with his rules back in May, but repealed the rule before a Joint Commission on Administrative Rules hearing.
“We withdrew it because the legislature said they’d take it up in session, they didn’t do that,” Pritzker said. “But now is the time we must make sure. This is a make-or-break moment for ensuring people are doing everything they can to mitigate, to reduce the spread. This is a moment to enforce … across the state.”
He said he wanted to make sure there’s a minimum enforcement measure for local and county governments to enforce if they don’t have their own ordinances, and to go after businesses he said are “scofflaws.”
State Representative Dan Caulkins weighed in saying “The legislature needs to be back in session to address the Governor’s proposed emergency rules that will fine businesses if their employees or customers do not wear face masks. The Governor continues to try to go it alone. We expect first responders and teachers to be on the job – the legislature should be on the job too. I urge Governor Pritzker to call us back into session immediately to discuss the issues concerning COVID-19, Illinois’ fiscal crisis, and passing more strict ethics reforms. The legislature was able to safely conduct its business in May. It’s critical that the Governor call us back to Springfield so we can work together on the important issues facing our state.”
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association also released a statement. “This proposed rule lacks common sense and is a slap in the face to the thousands of retailers who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic while actively supporting ever-changing health and safety guidelines adopted by the state. Indeed, many of the guidelines ultimately adopted by the state were modeled by retailers well before they were implemented by the state,”said Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
The governor on Friday also said legislation he enacted will allow for criminal charges against someone who assaults or batters front line workers at businesses trying to enforce face-covering requirements and increasing benefits for first responders.
