Metro East Sun

Republican State House candidate Amy Elik of Alton thinks Gov. J.B. Pritzker has become part of the problem in Illinois' battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Gov. Pritzker's plan to delay fully reopening the state until a vaccine is available is not realistic,” Elik, now running against incumbent state Rep. Monica Bristow (D-Alton) in the 11th District, told the Macon Reporter. “The damage this virus has done to our economy is severe and will only get worse the longer we are unable to start to reopen.”

Pritzker’s five-phase “Restore Illinois” plan aims to do just that, though critics charge the timeline associated with his restart plan could devastate small businesses.

Even as he points out the state is already in his plan's Phase 2, which allows nonessential stores to open on a limited basis, the governor says he doesn’t envision the state reaching Phase 5, or the point of being ready to fully reopen for business, until a vaccine or effective treatment for the virus becomes available.

Elik argues such illogical thinking is just another example of why the governor’s days of making all the critical decisions about the handling of the virus by himself need to end.

“The legislature needs to return to work immediately,” she said. “Common sense tells us that it is time for the elected leaders to get back to work, and work together to get our state safely reopened. Our elected officials should be clamoring to speak for their constituents in Springfield and work on a plan that safely gets us back in business sooner.”

Elik said the stakes are too high for the state to be wasting any more time doing things the way the governor has to this point.

“Our state's economy was fragile before the pandemic, and now Illinois has even greater financial problems that require immediate attention,” she said. “The budget shortfalls for this current fiscal year must be addressed and the next budget must be crafted considering reduced revenues. We cannot rely on the federal government to bail us out from the financial problems that our leaders have kicked the can on for years.”