Elmhurst Mayor Says Pritzker Plan 'Fatal' To Restaurants

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley is imploring the governor to ease up on his order banning indoor dining.

In a public letter Wednesday, Morley said he was writing on behalf of small businesses in Elmhurst that will not survive Gov. J.B. Pritzker's latest round of regulations.

While Morley said he understood the governor aimed to keep people safe during the pandemic, he said decisions should be made with data and an understanding of the risks.

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The city, Morley said, has not seen any data showing that restaurants are linked to the rise in coronavirus positivity rates. In DuPage County, the total number of tracked outbreak cases directly linked to indoor dining is less than 1 percent, he said.

"The progress in COVID-19 treatments and recovery rates should also be taken into consideration," Morley said in the letter. "I have spoken directly to medical professionals who have stated that they are having greater success in treating individuals who have contracted COVID-19."

He urged the governor to visit Elmhurst, so they could talk about solutions to the problem.

"Eliminating indoor dining during our cold weather season will be fatal to many restaurants in my hometown of Elmhurst and to many across our great state," the mayor said.

In the spring, Morley wrote a letter to the governor, calling his plan to reopen the economy unacceptable. In the letter, he also asked Pritzker to visit Elmhurst. There is no evidence that the governor did.

Morley has revealed he is not running for a third term for mayor next spring.