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Cronauer Law is representing businesses in a lawsuit regarding Covid-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants implemented by the Illinois Governor.

Cronauer Law is representing DeKalb County businesses in a new lawsuit regarding Region 1 Covid-19 restrictions recently implemented by the Illinois Governor.

Cronauer Law attorneys Bradley Melzer and Nicholas Cronauer were approached by owners of a number of bars and restaurants in DeKalb County prior to the enactment of the October 3rd resurgence mitigations by Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Health. On Thursday October 1st the law firm filed a suit on behalf of those local businesses, and has added more businesses to the suit since.

The resurgence mitigations, also referred to as a roll back to phase 3 of the Restore Illinois Plan, close indoor dining and restrict outdoor dining for bars and restaurants. Based on the arbitrary and capricious strategy of “health regions”, which links DeKalb County to 8 other counties (some up to 100 miles away), DeKalb businesses are being punished and are suffering from these enhanced restrictions. 

Restrictions on restaurants due to the pandemic have caused an estimated loss of hundreds of billions of dollars for the national restaurant industry, but the impact to small businesses in particular cuts deep. DeKalb business owner Bill McMahon stated to the Daily Chronicle “It’s the final blow for a lot of small businesses. We’re out of money, we’re out of energy, we’re out of staff. It’s basically bankruptcy for a lot of restaurants.”  

Data is collected on COVID-19 at a county by county basis, yet the restrictions are based on these health regions drawn out by the IDPH. These measures were implemented for DeKalb County despite the ability of residents to move between any of three adjoining health regions, who are not saddled with these closures and restrictions. This puts a unique burden on DeKalb county businesses that is not placed on those of neighboring health regions which residents can travel in and out of.

In the midst of this unprecedented time that we all are living in, Cronauer Law seeks to ensure that there is fairness for every business and person under the law. Specifically, in a time of vulnerability for local businesses, that science, data, and the law would all be properly applied in the state’s measures towards the bars and restaurants of DeKalb County.