Metro East Sun

Newly elected state Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) doesn’t need a survey to internalize what she’s long been preaching.

“Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker should work with legislators and local officials to keep small businesses open, and keep shoppers safe,” Elik said. "The Metro East isn’t Chicago and local leaders need to weigh in on decisions affecting our region’s physical and economic health.”

With a new TrackTheRecovery.org analysis finding that since the start of the year the state has lost more than a third of all its small businesses, Elik's warning takes on even greater meaning. Overall, data compiled by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows as of Nov. 16, 2020 the number of small businesses open dipped by some 35.4 percent compared to January of this year with the industry also experiencing a revenue decline topping 39% since January.

With the state already saddled with some of the highest property tax and workers’ compensation rates in the country, National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Mark Grant is also making it a point of stressing how challenging running a small business in Illinois was even before the pandemic hit.”

Elik said it’s a big part of the reason why she’s always implored the governor to see the big picture when it comes time for implementing one of his COVID-19 policies.

"No business that just recently re-opened wants to be forced to shut down again,” she told the Metro East Sun soon after the governor moved to enforce some of his latest restrictions. “Those businesses that were closed for so long, and just re-opened, cannot afford another shutdown.”

Finally, Elik insists she’s convinced the governor would do well to consider the views of fellow lawmakers in his quest to implement policy that does everything it can to benefit as many people as possible.