Barrington Coronavirus Updates From Karen Darch

From the Village of Barrington:

March 16, 2020

Dear Village of Barrington Residents and Members of Our Community:

As you know, events surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 have been changing rapidly over the past several days. As such, I plan to be in regular communication with our community in order to pass along information that is coming to us from both the national and state levels, and also to keep you informed of what we are doing here in the Village of Barrington as your government.

I am on daily calls with national, state, and local leaders, and I spent the afternoon yesterday listening to the press conferences held by Illinois Governor Pritzker and the White House.

As such, I want to pass along important information to you from those calls and press conferences. The health and safety of all our residents is of the utmost importance during this crisis.

BARS AND RESTAURANTS
Governor Pritzker has issued an executive order that all bars and restaurants in the state will close to dine-in customers beginning at the end of business today, March 16, and continuing through March 30. This has been done for your safety in order to limit close gatherings of large numbers of people.

We are very aware of the impact that this will cause both operationally and financially to our local businesses. We will do everything we can to support our businesses during this time.

We urge those who can patronize our businesses through take-out or delivery to continue to do so. We are working on a list of businesses that remain open for takeout and delivery and will pass this information on to you.

GROCERY STORES
Grocery and liquor stores are still open and operational. Food is available and grocers have assured us that supplies continue to be delivered to our stores. Please buy what you need but remember your neighbors and be a good citizen by not over-buying.

VOTING
Per the Illinois State Board of Elections, voting will continue as planned tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17. Village Hall must remain open as a polling location. As such, Village Hall will be open ONLY for voting tomorrow but will be CLOSED to the public for other purposes. Voting machines will be wiped down and sanitizer will be available. Please use social distancing tactics if you are waiting in lines. Please vote early today if you are able.

VILLAGE HALL & GENERAL OPERATIONS
After voting is concluded tomorrow, beginning on March 18 Village Hall be closed to the Public. Staff will still be engaged in the business of the Village, but we will be limiting operations as necessary. This will include limiting inspections, permitting, Public Works visits, and so on. Of course, if you have an issue with water or sewer or other special need, please do not hesitate to call the Village at 847-304-3400 and we will assist you.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC WORKS
The Village's Public Safety and Public Works departments are fully operational and stand ready to respond to COVID-19-related issues. We have contingency plans in place and are in communication with the health departments at all times. Core services such as water, sewer, and garbage pickup will continue uninterrupted.

PUBLIC EVENTS AND BARRINGTON'S WHITE HOUSE
Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has advised that all public events of more than 50 people should not be held for the next 8 weeks. As such, we will be postponing all Barrington’s White House events through May 15, 2020.

Once again, I would like to reiterate that I am on conference calls every day with our national, state, and local leaders. I want to assure you that we continue to monitor developments and will keep you informed of the steps that we all need to take to ensure the health and safety of our residents. We are a strong community, and I know that we will show our strength, compassion, and concern for each other during this time.

Thank you,

Karen Darch
Village President

This press release was produced by the Village of Barrington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.