Metro East Sun

Citing flawed Covid data collection practices by the State of Illinois, the Metro East's GOP senate delegation is exhorting Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reopen the region.

Pritzker placed the Metro East under the highest of degree of restriction in mid-August following reports of increasing infection rates at 8 percent. 

The edict is to be reviewed every 14 days and stay in place until the infection rate falls below 6.5 percent. 

Gov. JB Pritzker

Now the data that compelled the lockdown order is being called into question. 

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike confirmed several area healthcare facilities were left out of the calculations as well as Barnes Jewish Hospital across state lines in Missouri that serves the area. 

“We obviously can only calculate and do math off the lab tests that we receive,” Ezike said. “We were made aware of the fact that Barnes Jewish particularly, had lots of tests from Illinoisans from the Metro East area, so we have worked with them.” 

In the wake of this revelation the message to Pritzker from state Sens. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) and Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) is clear, the region needs to reopen. 

"As more and more facts call into question the accuracy of the positivity rate for Region 4, I find it unconscionable that the State of Illinois is shutting down businesses and destroying livelihoods based on a metric that is clearly neither meaningful nor accurate," Schimpf said in a press release. "Governor Pritzker needs to immediately lift the mitigation measures he imposed on our region several weeks ago."

Plummer said local businesses and out of work employees will suffer every day the restrictions are in place. 

“This is a crisis impacting everyone so the lack of transparency and zero accountability from this administration must end,” Plummer said.  “It is shockingly callous for Governor Pritzker and his allies to knowingly use faulty data to implement arbitrary rules that have destroyed economic opportunity for many Illinoisans. Our priority should be to protect the most vulnerable, but this administration is exacerbating the crisis by creating economic hardship and additional health issues for many desperate families.”

Others in the Metro East are calling for reopening as well. 

Over the weekend, East St. Louis High School Head Football Coach Darren Sunkett and over 1,000 parents, coaches and football players on the steps of the state capital. 

Sunkett cited the flawed numbers and called Prtizker a “human virus” responsible for the hardships to which residents are being subjected.