Alton Mayor Brant Walker | Contributed photo
Alton Mayor Brant Walker | Contributed photo
Alton Mayor Brant Walker clearly means business when it comes to the stay at home order he imposed as a way of limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Walker recently instructed the town's police chief to treat his wife “as he would any citizen” found to be violating the decree after police recently broke up a party in violation of the order. His wife was found to be in attendance there.
"I instructed the police chief to ensure that she received no special treatment," Walker told CNN. "My wife is an adult capable of making her own decisions, and in this instance she exhibited a stunning lack of judgment. She now faces the same consequences for her ill-advised decision as the other individuals who chose to violate the stay at home order during this incident."
A statewide order bans all public and private gatherings of multiple people. In the case of the Alton nightspot where Walker’s wife was congregating, authorities said they had received several complaints about that tavern remaining open for business on weekends.
By the end of the night, police had levied Class A misdemeanor reckless conducts charges, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, to everyone who was ticketed at the bar where the mayor’s wife was found.
"I am embarrassed by this incident and apologize to the citizens of Alton for any embarrassment this incident may cause our City," Walker said.
As of May 10, Illinois reported 77,741 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 3,406 deaths. Madison County has 427 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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