Alberto Gonzalez (from left), owner of 90 Miles Cuban Cafe; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and IRA CEO and President Sam Toia | Contributed photo
Alberto Gonzalez (from left), owner of 90 Miles Cuban Cafe; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and IRA CEO and President Sam Toia | Contributed photo
In response to Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordering large parts of the state back into lockdown last week and this week, the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) is threatening a lawsuit on behalf of the state’s 25,000 restaurants.
Pritzker has ordered increased lockdown measures including the cessation of dining-room service in restaurants. The IRA is set today to vote on whether to file a lawsuit to rein in Pritzker.
Due to regulations limiting business activity during Covid, at least 3,800 small businesses, mainly restaurants, have closed permanently in Illinois and another 2,100 have closed temporarily.
“Illinois restaurants will not survive another complete shutdown of indoor service,” Sam Toia, president and CEO of the IRA, said in a statement. “The Illinois Restaurant Association is calling on Gov. Pritzker and state leaders to immediately modify Illinois’ mitigation plan to allow for limited dine-in operations at restaurants statewide.”
The restaurant industry is in a dire position if dining rooms are shuttered again, according to the IRA.
“Without enhanced financial support and the opportunity to continue safely serving diners indoors, countless restaurants will shutter for good,” Toia said. “Tens of thousands of jobs will vanish. We will continue to fight to keep restaurants in Illinois open for indoor dining – including exploration of all possible legal remedies – while advocating for financial relief at the local, state and federal levels.”
Toia said the restaurant industry is being unfairly targeted.
“Restaurants are the cornerstone of every community, and it is alarming that our industry is one of the only segments to be targeted given our unparalleled levels of health and safety,” he said.
Geneva’s FoxFire Tavern was threatened with being shut down after being one of several small businesses that decided to stay open in defiance of Pritzker’s executive orders.
A judge has reportedly stayed FoxFire’s closure.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has also asked Prizker to stand down on the matter.
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