Editorial: Governor needs to drop mitigation regions

Group projects. I detested them in college. Why? Because 90% of the time your group is held back by one or two folks on the team with their own agenda or are just annoyingly uncooperative.

When Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the regions for his resurgence mitigation plan, I knew us folks in Champaign County were getting the short end of the stick, much like in group projects in school. County government leaders should have voiced their disapproval being lumped into Region 6 with areas of the state - much like those students in your group who don't do their part to ensure that A for the assignment or project - in the governor's plan.

We are far enough along in the pandemic to understand how the spread works and it is high time the governor dismantle the regional set up he created. He and the Illinois Department of Public Health need to migrate his mitigation from a regional basis to a county by county level.

As of today, our county 7-day rolling positivity without the University of Illinois' saliva test is at 6.1%, well below the 8% rate that would put us back to Tier 4. If you factor in the university's test, Champaign County is at an impressive 1.7%.

Thanks to being lumped in with Iroquois, Ford, Vermillion, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Shelby, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Clay, Richland and Lawrence counties, as a region we are 3 points higher at 9.1.

In our group Crawford, DeWitt, Macon and Piatt, all with their 7-day positivity 6% or lower, are doing their part to help move us back to less restrictive mitigation measures. The good kids, those four counties plus Champaign, are being punished for all the bad kids in the group.

Who are the bad kids? Let's see, there is Cumberland County leading the way at 18.3% - actually surprised it is not Clay County, but that's another story - and four others in the thirteens, more than twice that of good kids on our corner of the state. Edgar and Vermilion counties' positivity is 13.6%, while Effingham and Richland are trending at 13.4%.

Champaign County should be back to Tier 1, Tier 2 at the very least. Residents in the county, many reluctantly, have done their part.

Switching to an individual county positivity measure would not only reward residents for the vigilance and efforts in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, it would help kickstart the economy in many areas of the state, get people back to work and help motivated poorly performing counties make a great effort into complying with the state's mandates. Restaurants could return to limit indoor seating and sport teams could start training together for the upcoming spring and summer seasons. We could go back to small group events and more. After all, we earned the privilege.

Just as importantly, the state wins, too. With restaurants and bars open, it will benefit from the tax revenue, fewer unemployment claims and can focus enforcement of mitigation mandates on underperforming counties.

Dear Governor Pritzker, let some of the people in Region 6 go.

Winter sports season takes a pause across the state

The high school basketball was suppose to start on Monday. St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity and basketball programs from around the state were suppose to begin team practices to prepare to play competitive games starting on November 30.

Hoping to "flatten the curve" of a surge in COVID-19 cases that started nearly a week ago, Governor JB Pritzker announced yesterday that the state would enter a level three of the state's resurgence mitigation plan on Friday. Some of the restrictions that go into effect that will affect athletics at all levels until the state's positivity numbers regress include:

• Pause all indoor group sporting and recreational activities including youth and adult recreational sports, individual training may remain (with facility reservation)

• This includes park districts and travel leagues play

• Locker rooms should be closed

Under the plan outdoor sports and recreation activities may continue. Groups and practices outdoors is limited to 10 persons or less with social distancing, face coverings required for all activities at all times and locker rooms should be closed to the public.

The pause also applied to high school sports putting basketball, wrestling, dance and competitive cheerleading activities on hold until sometime after the start of the new year or perhaps beyond.

"The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recognizes that today’s announcement by Governor Pritzker will temporarily pause the IHSA’s winter sports season," said in a statement from IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. "We remain optimistic that these new mitigations, coupled with the emergence of a vaccine, will aid in creating participation opportunities in the New Year for IHSA student-athletes in winter, spring, and summer sports."

Anderson and the IHSA Board of Directors will meet tomorrow, November 19, 2020, to consider how to proceed for the remainder of the academic year. While they won't be at the upcoming meeting, the IHSA extended invitations to to Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz and Dr. Ngozi Ezike to future meetings with the hope of developing a plans so that high school sports and activities can resume as soon as possible.

"IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic," Anderson said. "We hope that non-school programs will hold themselves to the same standard as we all put the long-term health and safety of our fellow citizens ahead of short-term athletic competition."

One step back, Champaign County joins the rest of the state in Coronavirus resurgence mitigation

On Friday, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced resurgence mitigations would go into effect in Region 6 - which includes Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby and Vermillion counties - starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, November 2.

The 21-county region recorded a 7-day rolling average test positivity rate of 8 percent or above for three consecutive days, which exceeds the thresholds set for establishing mitigation measures under the state’s Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.

In order to get back to Phase 4 and back to having indoor dining, the region will need a positivity rate of less than 6.5 percent for three straight days. If that rate stays above 8 percent for 14 days, then the region will face even more restrictions.

While Champaign county, if you ignore the University of Illinois' testing efforts, boast a 7-day positivity of 5.7, six counties are flaunting double-digit numbers. Coles county is currently at 11, Effingham 11.2, Macon 13.7, Douglas 14.9, Shelby 15.9 and Cumberland 26.1.

The resurgence mitigation restrictions target bars and restaurant in order to control the spread of the coronavirus. Governor Pritzker has said there are dozens of studies and articles on outbreaks in bars and restaurants to justify reducing the services they provide.

Mitigation measures taking effect November 2 in Region 6 include:

Bars

• No indoor service
• All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m.
• All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed) 
• Tables should be 6 feet apart 
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Restaurants

• No indoor dining or bar service
• All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m.
• Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• Reservations required for each party 
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings

• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
• No party buses
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable

Two area restaurants, Buford's Pub in Sadorus and Apple Dumplin', just outside the Urbana city limits, informed customers via Facebook that they intend remain open despite the restrictions from the state. Both business saw overwhelming support in both comments and "Likes".

Jeff Buckler, owner of Buford’s Pub told The News-Gazette it wasn’t an easy (decision) to make.

"Let me put it that way. We went through the last one; it was supposed to last two weeks and lasted what, 120 days?" he said. "I’m fighting for every small business out there. I’m just tired of being told what to do when they’re using the bars and restaurants as scapegoats. What about the Walmarts and Targets?"

On a Facebook, a post by Buford's Pub's said, "Its not just about my business its about all small business stand up against a dictator. Bars and (sic) are getting the brunt of this and combined we are less then (sic) 9% of the whole issue."

Meanwhile two days earlier, bars and restaurants in Region 9 received similar news.

A Crystal Lake attorney on Thursday filed a 78-page lawsuit on behalf of 37 McHenry County restaurants, hoping to bring the state’s mitigation plans to a halt and allow owners to continue offering indoor service.

A day later, McHenry County Judge Thomas Meyer denied the application for a temporary restraining order. The Northwest Herald reported he made his decision based on new facts and that mitigation order was not an extension the governor's executive order from last March.

"It was a difficult and unpleasant order to enter," Meyer said in the article. "But I do believe that there is a basis for the new executive order and that is how we end up where we are."

Buckler and Jim Flanigan, owner of the Apple Dumplin', have retained attorney Tom DeVore, who made headlines this summer when he represented state Representative Darren Bailey effort to null the state's mitigation order in a lawsuit and won. It was through DeVore's efforts a Clay County judge declared the Governor’s continuing use of emergency powers as an overstep of his constitutional authority.

The ruling, depending on who you speak with, is only applicable in south central Illinois county where the daily testing positivity is at 14.9 as of the time of this story and pushing a 7-day rolling average of 9.7. An appeal filed by the governor is still pending on the Clay County case.