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RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE VILLAGE OF ORLAND PARK’S SUGGESTED MODIFICATIONS TO THE RESTORE ILLINOIS PLAN
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WHEREAS, in late 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) occurred in China and quickly spread across the globe; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park cares deeply for the health and well-being of everyone who works in, lives in, or visits the Village of Orland Park and recognizes the need for enhanced safety precautions to protect the public health during these unprecedented times; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park believes individuals and businesses have been, and will continue to, self-regulate by following recommendations concerning physical distancing and increased attention to personal and area sanitation measures; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, using publicly available science, data and modeling know Covid-19 effects are heavily concentrated in older citizens and those with serious comorbidities, and strongly encourage individuals and families who are most at risk to take extra measures to protect themselves, including extending their self-isolation, maintaining their social distancing, and unfailingly following CDC guidelines until effective treatments are proven and widely available as vaccines are being developed; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, using publicly available science and data can show the actual infection rate for Covid-19 has been consistently less than 20% of all people tested at both the national and local level, and less than 20% of that group develops symptoms or needs hospitalization, indicating that the trajectory of this disease in the population is far below the initial “worst case” models, on which many emergency orders were based; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park is limited to using publicly available data because the State has not shared its non-public data, models, assumptions, and other relevant information with the leadership of the political subdivisions of Illinois, despite most municipalities in the State not having the resources or ability to develop their own data, leaving local governments largely dependent on the state and counties and hampering their ability to make the best decisions for their communities; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, strongly encourages everyone, whether they are acting as individuals, as families or as businesses to recognize two critical facts about their role in controlling the spread of SARS Cov-2: 1) it is incumbent on them to follow the CDC guidelines to protect themselves and the people they are in contact with; and 2) it is not just about them, it is about their individual actions helping our community, our State and our nation get through this pandemic; and
WHEREAS, beginning with Executive Order 2020-03 on March 12, 2020 and continuing through Executive Order 2020-36 on May 1, 2020, the Governor of Illinois issued a series of Executive Orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which have shuttered businesses and caused Illinois residents to stay at home except for extremely limited reasons; and
WHEREAS, on May 5, 2020, Governor Pritzker announced the “Restore Illinois” plan, which grouped the State of Illinois into four regions and requires each region to have certain healthcare benchmarks before moving to the next phase of the plan; and
WHEREAS, the phases of the “Restore Illinois” plan provide that commerce, schools, and other functions will slowly be allowed to reopen along a five-phase progression as the threat presented by the COVID-19 pandemic subsides; and
WHEREAS, the Governor has announced that restaurants will be allowed to reopen for outdoor dining as of May 29, but many restaurants will still not be able to survive without having dine-in capability; and
WHEREAS, social distancing and other precautions can be taken for restaurants to reopen with reduced dine-in capacity; and
WHEREAS, the reopening of restaurants at 50% dine-in capacity should be implemented as part of Phase 3 of the “Restore Illinois” plan, as we balance the need to protect public health with the need to protect the economic health of our community; and
WHEREAS, the “Restore Illinois” plan places the Village of Orland Park in the Northeast Region, which includes the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the collar counties; and
WHEREAS, under the “Restore Illinois” plan, the gradual re-opening of Orland Park’s businesses is dependent on metrics in the Northeast Region, including in the City of Chicago, being brought under control; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois should draw regional boundaries based on hospital capacity rather than the Illinois Department of Public Health regions, recognizing the widely varying conditions facing the different communities grouped together in regions and allowing for a more nimble and targeted response in order for individual communities to be able to balance their health care needs and resources with the extreme devastation to the economic health of those communities; and
WHEREAS, the “Restore Illinois” plan provides for the five phases to each last for a minimum of 28 days; and
WHEREAS, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and infectious disease specialist recommend allowing for progression through reopening phases at 14 days each; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has failed to adequately protect long term care facilities that represent over 48% of deaths related to COVID-19 in Illinois as of May 15, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has also failed to adequately address vulnerable populations in the “Restore Illinois” plan, as approximately 87% of all deaths in Illinois have been of people 60 years of age and older; and
WHEREAS, vulnerable populations should be provided with different and more targeted guidance under the “Restore Illinois” plan, by being encouraged to continue the “stay-at-home” restrictions of Phases 1 and 2 when the state progresses to Phases 3 and 4; and
WHEREAS, the “Restore Illinois” plan should continue to encourage special accommodations for vulnerable populations in Phases 3 and 4, including work from home where possible, special shopping hours where possible, limiting non-essential activities, and additional guidance to prevent vulnerable populations from exposure to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the “Restore Illinois” plan should additionally address separate guidelines to long-term care facilities, including enhanced hygienic and sanitary guidelines, enhanced usage of PPE, and prohibiting visitors until Phase 5 is implemented; and
WHEREAS, the “Restore Illinois” plan requires that a vaccine or highly effective treatment widely available or the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period to move from Phase 4 to Phase 5; and
WHEREAS, the development of a vaccine or highly effective treatment may be years away or may never occur, and the elimination of any new cases will likely never be achieved as the only human virus ever eliminated was Small Pox; and
WHEREAS, the Governor’s statewide orders have caused severe economic hardship to the Village and the residents of the Village, through a significant rise in unemployment and a reduction in the economic activity of the Village; and
WHEREAS, many local businesses are at a high risk of shutting down permanently or suffering irreparable economic damage that will have a lasting and negative impact on the livelihoods of many Orland Park residents; and
WHEREAS, the Village of Orland Park recognizes the economic havoc the COVID-19 shutdown is wreaking on people and businesses; and
WHEREAS, re-opening the local economy using a measured and staged approach will help get people back to work, keep the economy functioning to support a robust health care system, help people maintain the funds and insurance necessary to receive appropriate medical care, minimize the revenue losses at the State and local levels, and help our society return to a sense of normalcy; and
WHEREAS, the Governor of Illinois has not been forthcoming with the data and science that he is using in his deliberative processes: and
WHEREAS, more transparency on the data regarding COVID-19 from the State would help inform the decision making process of the President and the Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the President and the Board of Trustees to continue to dialogue with the State leadership to assist with re-opening efforts and provide feedback regarding the conditions and needs of the residents and businesses of the Village of Orland Park.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Village President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, Cook and Will Counties, Illinois, as follows:
SECTION 1
The above recitals are incorporated by reference into this Section 1 and made a part hereof as though fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2
The Village President and Board of Trustees of the Village hereby resolve to make all efforts to encourage the Governor to make the following modifications to the “Restore Illinois” Plan:
a) To provide that restaurants may reopen dine-in service with limited capacity and other precautions during Phase 3, beginning May 29, 2020;
b) Provide for the drawing of regional boundaries based on hospital capacity or IL Emergency Response Regions rather than the Illinois Department of Public Health regions; and
c) To adjust the timing of progression through the phases of the Plan to 14 days per phase instead of 28 days per phase;
d) To provide specific guidelines for vulnerable populations in Phases 3 and 4 of the Plan, including guidance that vulnerable populations should continue to follow stay-at-home restrictions, including work from home and limiting to essential functions, where at all possible even in Phases 3 and 4; and encouraging accommodations to those vulnerable populations;
e) To provide specific guidelines for long-term care facilities in Phases 3 and 4 of the Plan, including guidance for long-term care facilities to maintain strict hygiene, sanitary and PPE standards and to prohibit visitors until Phase 5 of the Plan is implemented.
f) To adjust the requirements for moving to Phase 5 to align with the metrics that were used to move from Phases 2 to 3 and Phases 3 to 4.
SECTION 3
The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park hereby resolve to make all possible efforts to encourage the Governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Cook County Department of Public Health to share all non-public data, assumptions, and models with the leaders of local governments within the State in order to encourage a collaborative and interactive process of re-opening, allowing a targeted and appropriate response to the conditions facing each community.
SECTION 4
The various provisions of this Resolution are to be considered as severable, and if any part or portion of this Resolution shall be held invalid by any Court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Resolution.
SECTION 5
All ordinances, resolutions, motions or parts thereof in conflict with this Resolution shall be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
SECTION 6
This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its adoption as provided by law.