Metro East Sun

Republican state House candidate Amy Elik rages that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has become Illinois’ biggest enemy for certain areas of the state.

“The governor's actions show how out of touch he is with the citizens of downstate Illinois, especially small business owners and their employees,” Elik told the Metro East Sun. “I support small businesses, as they question these measures that continue to ruin the livelihoods of many families across the state.”

Citing rising infection rates, Pritzker recently moved to reenact COVID restrictions in at least 24 counties while warning the ban could soon spread to other parts of the state, raising the ire of many small business owners still struggling to overcome the effects of the first shutdown he imposed just months earlier. With a Facebook page dedicated to businesses planning to defy his order already created and launched, Pritzker is now also threatening to send the Illinois State Police to the regions where restaurants and bars are deemed to be in violation. 

Elik worries it all comes with a cost.

“These actions, along with his push for a progressive income tax, will further drive businesses from Illinois and lead to increasingly high taxes on the middle class to make up for the losses,” added Elik, who is challenging incumbent state Rep. Monica Bristow (D-Alton) in the 111th District. “This governor continues to show a lack of transparency. His politics-driven methods will continue to damage the Metro East and the state as a whole.”

Elik has long pressed the governor to see the big picture and not hastily rush to make far-reaching decisions in his handling of the virus.

“Those businesses that were closed for so long, and just reopened, cannot afford another shutdown,” she said. “We would see many more permanent closures should that happen, which means increasing job losses and unemployment rates.”