Lemont Mayor To Attend Discussion On Restore Illinois Plan

LEMONT, IL — Lemont Mayor John Egofske will be attending a discussion with other local mayors and infectious disease experts to discuss the Restore Illinois plan released by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

"I certainly understand how difficult these decisions must all be from a state level, but I do have concerns with the restore plan and how applicable they are to Lemont and our neighboring counties," Egofske told Patch.

One of the concerns Egofske has is regarding the opening of restaurants in phase 4 of the plan. He believes restaurants could safely open in earlier phases, with precautions.

"Many of our restaurants are family-owned and if they are not allowed to open until phase 4, which could be end of June at the earliest, it will be devastating to them," Egofske said.

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Egofske said he continues to be in tough with neighboring mayors to discuss concerns and put forth recommendations to the governor's office. He said more information will be shared at the village board meeting May 11.

The 5-phase regional plan puts Lemont, which is mostly in Cook County, in the northeast region of the plan, the same region as the city of Chicago. As of May 7, the northeast region has the highest number of cases in the state, with the city of Chicago itself having 28,441 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The rest of Cook County has 19,900 cases, followed by Lake County with 4,762, DuPage County with 4,213 and Will County with 3,466.

Read more:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update May 8: 70,873 Cases, 3,111 Deaths
• Lockport Mayor 'Baffled' By Restore Illinois Plan