MOLINE, ILLINOIS (June 15, 2020) — Representatives of area Illinois businesses across multiple industries gathered Monday to share personal experiences of continued long-term closure on their companies. They also encouraged Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to allow more businesses to re-open sooner to help mitigate the long-term economic impact on Illinois businesses as they fall further behind Iowa.

“The Quad Cities is one regional economy, and we have continually called for a collaborative response to encourage consistent approaches to fight the pandemic and to reopen our Quad Cities economy. The opposite happened and the Quad Cities economy is suffering, more in the Illinois part,” said Paul Rumler, Quad Cities Chamber President and CEO. “As an advocate for business, our role is to elevate and amplify area business voices to those making decisions that impact their operations.”

On June 5, the Quad Cities Chamber and community leaders sent a letter to Gov JB Pritzker asking him to consider a Phase 3B in Restore Illinois to help businesses get back to serving customers and put more Quad Citizens back to work. The letter urged allowing restaurants and bars to seat up to 50% of their business indoors, along with outdoor seating already in place. The letter also asked for casinos, bowling alleys, gyms/fitness centers, museums, and other businesses to be permitted to open under similar capacity and health guidelines.

Under the current Restore Illinois guidelines, the earliest that restaurants and bars may re-open with indoor seating is June 26, and even then, with capacity restrictions. According to the plan, a vaccine or no new cases over a sustained period are necessary before Illinois can fully open restaurants, retailers, personal services, fitness facilities or entertainment venues, or have gatherings over 50 people. As of Friday, June 12, Iowa businesses can operate at full capacity while ensuring groups maintain six feet of physical separation, hygiene, and other public health guidelines.

“Our Illinois businesses are hurting. With each passing day, they are falling further and further behind their counterparts in Iowa, which ultimately shifts the economic make-up of our entire region,” said Aaron Tennant, Chamber Board Chair and CEO of Simplex Leasing Inc. “Reduced employee income as well as decreased tax revenue and services make for an uneven playing field. We need our collective voices to be heard.”

The Chamber previously sent a joint letter to Gov JB Pritzker and Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds in early May advocating working together to reopen our bi-state regional economy at the same time.

Reps from the restaurant, entertainment, hospitality, and tourism industries also shared personal experiences and impact during the event. Businesses are encouraged to contact elected officials to show their support through the Chamber’s Advocacy Action Center at: https://bit.ly/ILPhase3B and 256 letters have been sent to Gov Pritzker.

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