Politics & Government
Pritzker 'Terribly Dismayed' By Memorial Day Crowds In WI, IN
Thousands of Illinoisans headed to Wisconsin and Indiana over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate in states with looser restrictions.
ILLINOIS — Some Illinoisans decided to hop state borders to celebrate Memorial Day in states with looser restrictions, flocking by the thousands to beaches in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and the Indiana Dunes over the long weekend.
Traffic was backed up at the Indiana Dunes beaches on Sunday, and most cars in the parking lots were sporting Illinois license plates, according to local news reports.
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked Tuesday about his reaction to Illinoisans ignoring social distancing and going to states with looser restrictions, he said he was "terribly dismayed" to see the crowds.
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Pritzker also cited an article he read that reported a 16 percent increase in hospitalizations in Wisconsin and a 30 percent increase in hospitalizations in the city of Milwaukee. An article from Urban Milwaukee reported those statistics Friday.
"I think that's an example of what can happen if people don't follow the mitigations that are supposed to be put in place, that are supposed to keep people healthy and safe," Pritzker said.
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"I want every resident of Illinois safe, I want them to keep themselves safe," Pritzker said. "They have the ability to do that. So people who choose not to either haven't been reading the newspaper, aren't following the rules, and don't seem to understand how dangerous this pandemic is."
While numbers continue to move in a downward trend in Illinois, Pritzker said the virus "has not gone away."
"The reason that we're doing so much better here in Illinois than we would have otherwise is because people have worn face coverings, people are washing their hands, they're doing the things to keep themselves safe that they should be doing and following the executive orders that I put in place," the governor added.
All parts of the state remain on track to move forward to phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan on Friday. Pritzker said the statewide positivity rate had hit a high of 23 percent in late April but is now averaging 9.2 percent for the last seven days.
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