West Cook News

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) urged House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) to state lawmakers back to discuss the latest plan proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

"House Republicans have always said if we respect each other's values and priorities we can find a compromise that will benefit all of Illinois," Durkin said during the press conference. "House Republicans have proposed ideas on how to get things back to work and some were accepted and some were not, but that’s life in the minority and we accept that."

Durkin said House Republicans cannot accept a plan that will essentially destroy all Illinois businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, which he said has been a dynamic part of Illinois for so long, accounting for 10% of the workforce.

"The governor was right to implement the stay-at-home order," Durkin said. "It has saved lives. His changes for May were also the right thing to do and we commend him for that. We’ve proposed common-sense ideas for how to reopen our state. We’re all in this together."

Durkin said members of the General Assembly did not see Pritzker's latest plans until the same time as the rest of the state when he released them earlier this week.

"I want to stress we agree with the stay-at-home order because it flattened the curve," Durkin said. "Since yesterday's announcement, the communications came in at a rapid pace from business owners. Our state cannot survive this way. Businesses and employers cannot survive this."

Durkin said under Phase 4 of the plan, bars and restaurants cannot reopen until the end of June at the earliest, with limited conditions.

"Quite frankly this will force bankruptcy and permanent closure of large and small restaurants in Illinois," Durkin said. "This plan does not work. Without a smart and well thought out plan to reopen, we won’t have anything to reopen. That can't be the path Illinois chooses to take."

Durkin said the latest plan presumes the governor will rule the state for the upcoming months and possibly much longer if a vaccination is not available.

"I took an oath to work in a co-equal branch of government," Durkin said. "I did not relinquish or abdicate my duties to the executive branch. We need to return to legislative session. It is the least we could do for our residents."

Durkin called for Speaker Madigan to set the calendar and get back in the game.

"Get your head out of the sand and let’s get back to work," Durkin said.

Durkin said the legislature needs to act quickly and deal with the problem at hand.

"Every hour of every day we’re seeing businesses close their doors, most of them permanently," Durkin said. "We need to give them immediate relief. It’s the independent retail business, which is the backbone of our economy."

Durkin suggested meeting elsewhere if legislators are unable to return to the capitol chambers.

"We don’t have to go back into the legislative chamber per-se," Durkin said. "We’ve served outside of the capital building before. We can do this outside of the complex."