SE Illinois News

Republican House candidate David Friess fears what may come of Illinois in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis if Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s vision for it ever gets to see the light of day.

“Phase 5 of Gov. Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan does not provide realistic goals for families in this district,” Friess, who is running against incumbent state Rep. Nathan Reitz (D-Steeleville) in the 116th District, told the SE Illinois News. “The governor and Legislature should get back to work to agree on a plan that protects our residents both medically and economically. Unless these small businesses reopen soon, the state's economy will have no chance of recovery.”

The governor’s plan revolves around a five-phased, region-by-region restart to the economy that factors in some regions of the state may be in position to move to the next phase quicker than others. He added the state is already on Phase 2 of the plan, which allows nonessential stores to open on a limited basis as the spread of the infection ideally begins to rescind.

Meanwhile, Friess argues Pritzker's one-man approach to deciding everything leaves too much to chance.

“Illinois is a very diverse state and the members of the General Assembly know their districts better than any bureaucrat in Chicago or Springfield,” he said. “I am running to represent your interests and demand we have input into how and when communities within our districts reopen.”

Friess said the coronavirus crisis has only made a bad situation worse when it comes to the state’s long-troubled financial situation.

“Illinois' economy, due to the ever-increasing tax burden, was not firing on all cylinders,” he said. “Now, because of the pandemic, a majority of small businesses have been closed for too long with no certainty on when they will be permitted to reopen. Small business are the lifeblood of their communities and critical to the state's economy as a whole.”