Since June 26, 2020, the State of Illinois has been in Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois COVID-19 plan established by the Governor’s office. As we reported previously, the Governor had modified the Restore Illinois plan on July 15th to divide up the state into 11 regions to would allow the State to address resurgences of COVID-19 on a more individualized basis. In the last week, the Governor issued two orders that issued new mitigation requirements for Regions 4 and 7.
Region 4 (Metro East)
On August 18, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued EO 2020-51 instituting new mitigation and health restrictions for the Metro East region, which includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington Counties.
The EO places new restrictions on bars and restaurants, including the following:
- require closure at 11 pm
- restrict the number of persons at tables for indoor dining
- require the removal of bar stools from bar areas
- prohibit dancing
- mandate customer reservations
- have customers wait off-premises before being seated.
Gaming and casinos must close at 11 pm and are limited to 25% capacity.
Region 7 (South Suburban)
Less than a week later, the Governor announced that Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, would also be subject to new mitigation requirements effective August 26th. These include the following:
The following new mitigation requirements will apply to bars and restaurants:
- require closure at 11pm
- prohibit indoor service
- remove bar stools and prohibit congregating at bars
- no dancing or standing indoors
- no seating of multiple parties at one table
- reservations required for restaurants
