Elmhurst Turning 'Blind Eye' To Restaurant Violators?

ELMHURST, IL — Primos Locos, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Elmhurst, says it is offering indoor dining, despite the governor's order banning such service as coronavirus cases surge. The city seems to have done nothing about it, if the police department's media reports are an indication.

In the spring, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a shutdown order for nonessential businesses, Elmhurst police responded to complaints about potential violators. Instances included a fitness center, a restaurant and a small store.

But since the governor again banned indoor dining in the suburbs last month, the local police department's media reports have indicated no encounters with restaurants defying the governor's order.

Primos Locos has continued to keep its doors open despite the ban on indoor dining. It announced it would do so on Facebook before the order took effect. A person answering the restaurant's phone Tuesday said it was open to diners. Primos Locos has removed the Facebook post.

In a statement to Patch on Monday, an Elmhurst spokeswoman said the city has sought compliance from businesses in relation to the governor's orders. But she noted local police have no power to issue citations.

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During the public comment part of Monday's City Council meeting, Elmhurst resident Kendra Thompson said the city was deliberately allowing restaurants to continue with indoor dining during the state's ban.

"This COVID safety warning email that was sent to residents pertaining to us being safe seems to be ridiculously hypocritical," said Thompson, who was connected to the meeting remotely.

She also referred to a public letter that Mayor Steve Morley sent to Pritzker saying the restrictions on restaurants would be "fatal" to them.

"Maybe you should be more concerned with the fatalities of actual lives," Thompson told the council. "I find it ironic that some of you are attending this meeting remotely and following the 10-person max gathering mandate, yet you are fine with indoor dining to continue with well above the 10-person max."

At the same time, Thompson said she understood the impact of the governor's order on the livelihoods of restaurant owners and employees.

"You can't have a livelihood if you don't have a life," Thompson said. "You continue to turn a blind eye to restaurants offering indoor dining."

Mayor Morley did not respond to the woman's comments at the meeting. Elmhurst Patch has sent an inquiry to the city about Primos Locos.