Metro East Sun

Former House candidate Mike Babcock, a Republican, said there’s a simple reason why the Illinois economy continues to struggle at a time when other states are starting to show signs of recovering from the lingering effects of COVID-19.

“Here in Illinois, those that are rich made decisions for all those just trying to make a living, and that’s a recipe for disaster,” Babcock told the Metro East Sun. “We all know COVID is a problem, but to bring this added struggle on so many of our small business owners is just crazy. It affects thousands trying to make ends meet, just trying to make a living.”

Babcock said he finds it as no great surprise that a survey by small business referral network Alignable reported that 56% of bar and restaurant owners could not make rent payments in December.

Nationally, that figure stands at 61%, up 19% from November, with the harshest part of the winter season still yet to come. In Illinois, the number of restaurants unable to make full rent payments has already more than doubled since September.

Babcock is convinced much of it never had to be.

“The correlation between people in restaurants spreading the virus any more than people in places the governor has allowed to continue operating like Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and other big-box establishments can’t be determined,” he said. “And yet, we’re destroying people’s lives by targeting certain individuals.”

Babcock said he sometimes wonders if that’s all part of the plan aimed for by Pritzker and other Democratic leaders.

“If you destroy the middle class and all our small businesses, the government gets to take full control over people’s lives,” he said. “It could be just another power grab.”