Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that the Metro East will return to Phase 4 of the state's COVID-19 mitigation plan - meaning that as of 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, indoor service for bars and restaurants were once again allowed.
The region had been under stricter mitigation guidelines since Sept. 2 because the IDPH determined the Metro-East had a "7-day rolling positivity rate of 9.6%"
Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber president Desiree Bennyhoff has been a champion for local businesses, having challenged Pritzker's shutdown executive order and imploring him to reconsider his Sept. 2 indoor dining ban.
On Oct. 8, Bennyhoff called out Pritzker for failing to respond to her communication and for the IDPH's failure to respond to an information request asking for proof that bars and restaurants were considered "hot spots for spreading COVID-19" - which formed the basis for last month's indoor dining shutdown.
Here's a letter Bennyhoff sent to Pritzker, dated Oct. 8:
Dear Governor Pritzker:
The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to your office September 2, 2020 by both email and certified mail. While both communications were confirmed delivered, neither was dignified with a formal response from your office. This lack of response from your office is disappointing and unacceptable.
I again write to express concerns on behalf of the hospitality industry. Our restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and hotels have been targeted by your administration’s guidelines. In many cases, the damage is irrecoverable.
On September 15, 2020, I submitted a Freedom if Information Act (FOIA) request to the Illinois Department of Public Health via email and the IDPH’s FOIA portal. Aside from the portal’s confirmation of receipt message, no response was provided. Again, that a state agency does not dignify a reasonable and valid request with some response is both disappointing and unacceptable.
Questions asked in the September 15 FOIA request include proof of bars and restaurants being identified as ‘hot spots’ for spreading COVID-19 in Region 4, and what data informed the decision to lower the percent positive threshold from 8% down to 6.5% in order for Region 4 to move beyond current mitigation efforts, among others. Illinois citizens must have the opportunity to analyze the data being used in the state’s decision-making processes; likewise, that data should be readily available and easily produced for public consumption. I do expect a FOIA request response, and will re-submit my request by close of business today.
The general public and our business community deserve transparency and accountability from our elected officials and administrative agencies. Sadly, these two basic expectations of responsible government are not being delivered.
Your administration’s policies are undoubtedly leading to shuttering of beloved local establishments. For the sake of our neighbors, our friends, our families, the fabric of our communities, and the future of our economy, it is critical to embrace and support our local businesses – not further damage them. All businesses are essential. It is time to re-open our region and re-open our state.
Desirée Bennyhoff, IOM, ACE President & CEO
Here also is a letter Bennyhoff sent to FOIA officer William Bryant: Mr. Bryant on Oct. 8:
Dear Mr. Bryant:
I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request via email and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) online FOIA portal. Aside from an auto-confirmation from the portal system, no response was received.
I write again respectfully asking that an IDPH representative respond with direct answers to the below questions or provide guidance where I can access the information online. Please consider this communication an official Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This request has been emailed to dph.foia@illinois.gov and submitted through IDPH’s online FOIA portal.
• Please produce any and all documents and data indicating that bars and restaurants in Region 4 have been identified as ‘hot spots’ for spreading COVID-19.
• Please produce any and all documents and data citing specific industries that have been identified as ‘hot spots’ for spreading COVID-19 in Region 4.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating whether probable COVID-19 cases are recorded as positive cases.
• Please produce any and all documents and data that informed the decision to lower the percent positive threshold from 8% down to 6.5% in order for Region 4 to move beyond mitigation measures that became effective August 18, 2020.
• Please produce any and all documents defining the term ‘private testing facility’ or otherwise discussing its meaning, usage or application.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating negative COVID-19 test result reporting requirements, including the reporting process.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating positive COVID-19 test result reporting requirements, including the reporting process.
• Please produce any and all documents describing how multiple positive tests for one person (one case) are recorded and reported from all testing facilities (private testing companies and IDPH/local health department testing sites).
• Please produce any and all documents indicating procedures for reporting COVID-19 test results from congregate living facilities.
• Please produce a list of all private testing facilities providing services in Region 4.
• Please produce any and all documents identifying whether private testing facilities submit test results directly to IDPH through the ELR portal or 'manually' via email/fax.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating that both positive and negative test results are being recorded, reported, and factored into the full data set.
• Please produce any and all documents identifying whether testing facilities have now submitted all positive and negative results – including those negative tests that occurred prior to IDPH expressly requiring that negative tests be reported.
• Please produce any and all documents instructing which unit(s) of government is responsible for entering test data that was not submitted through the ELR system.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating the process for recording university students’ positive and negative COVID-19 test results, including the zip code where the
result will be recorded.
• Please produce any and all documents describing ‘case positivity’ and ‘test positivity, or otherwise discussing the terms’ meaning, usage or application.
• Please produce both ‘case positivity’ and ‘test positivity’ data sets.
• Please produce any and all documents indicating that ICU COVID-19 hospitalization and ventilator usage is at a level that justify mitigation efforts.
• Please produce a copy of the IDPH document dated September 2020 titled: SARS – CoV – 2/ COVID – 19 Mass Vaccination Planning Guide 1.0.
• Please produce a copy of the IDPH document dated September 16, 2020 titled: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Situational Update.