Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler | Contributed photo
Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler | Contributed photo
Officials have formed an "Opening Up Madison County Again" committee to guide area businesses' recovery from the COVID-19 economic shutdown.
“Business people are creative and practical thinkers,” Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler told the River Bender. “This committee will collect ideas on how to get our county moving again.”
The committee will follow President Donald Trump's “Opening Up America Again” plan.
“I’ve been hearing from many Madison County business people who are anxious to get back to work,” Prenzler said. “They have bills to pay.”
As of May 20, Illinois reported 98,030 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 4,379 deaths. Madison County has had 502 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As a smaller county, Pritzker said Madison doesn't need to follow the strict statewide restrictions implemented in Gov. J.B. Pritzker's five-step plan. Instead, the committee can decide on safe measures to take on how to reopen the county.
“We’re not Chicago. We believe that our business owners can responsibly open up in phases, while at the same time respecting the public’s health,” Prenzler told River Bender. “Everyone’s health and safety is important. We know people are frustrated and itching to get back to work and this group will collect ideas on how to do that.”
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