Western Spring Eyes Restaurant Violators

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Western Springs plans to alert authorities about restaurants offering indoor dining while the governor bans such service, the village president said this week.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, President Alice Gallagher said the village has received reports that some restaurants are allowing indoor dining in defiance of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's order.

Read related story: Western Springs Virus Cases Rise 15% In Last Week: County

She said restaurants are obligated to protect their customers and employees during the pandemic. She did not identify which restaurants were apparently in violation.

"The village is looking into these violations, and we will report flagrant disregard of the enhanced mitigation rules to the Cook County and Illinois departments of public health," Gallagher said.

The village is doing this because such conduct puts customers at risk and prolongs the day when society can get back to normal, Gallagher said.

"Obviously, this year has been extremely challenging for our restaurants, shops and businesses, but ignoring the long-term goal for short-term gain is not the answer," Gallagher said. "I don't want to be put in a position of fining or otherwise penalizing a restaurant in these difficult times, and I implore our restaurants and residents to follow these guidelines by abstaining from indoor service and dining."

Gallagher said the village government would help restaurants as much as it could to offer outdoor dining. And she encouraged residents to get takeout meals from local eateries.

In her report, Gallagher said Western Springs is part of the national trend in increases in coronavirus cases. Both the La Grange and Hinsdale hospitals, she said, are reporting numbers of coronavirus patients "in the teens when they have been holding steady in the single digits for months."

"Obviously, this second wave of the virus has been spreading unabated locally, statewide and nationwide," she said.

In an interview Thursday, Gallagher said the Cook County Public Health Department has been over to Western Springs to speak with some restaurants. She said she didn't know whether the alert to the department came from the village or residents.

"I don't know the results of it. I'm hoping it's positive," she said. "I know it's been challenging for the business community, and we sympathize with that."

She said she has been told that residents have been supportive of local restaurants during the pandemic.