Bar, restaurant owners, employees protest outside Governor s Mansion
Brenden Moore
State Journal-Register
Keith Loukinen has had perhaps the best view of the Illinois Governor’s Mansion of any restaurateur since opening his fine dining establishment across the street in 2017.
But on Saturday, Loukinen, in his full chef uniform, made the short walk to the front of the mansion to join about 100 bar and restaurant owners, employees and patrons to protest the mitigations put in place by Gov. JB Pritzker and enforced by Sangamon County public health officials.
The mitigations, in place since November, have closed bars and restaurants for indoor service for the second time in a year.
St. Clair County officials called Friday the “best day” the county has seen since Nov. 6, COVID-19-wise, at a daily briefing Friday.
According to officials, St. Clair County had a daily COVID-19 positive rate of 6.9%, the lowest its been since Nov. 6. No new deaths were announced Friday, and 127 new COVID-19 cases were reported, down from Thursday’s total of 224.
The county’s seven-day rolling average was 10.1%.
St. Clair County has done an amazing job. Mitigations work, public education works. But they’ve successfully lowered their positivity rates before, only to shoot back up again when mitigations were eased. But not everyone in the county was spared, of course. A heartbreaking loss…
Springfield – Keith Loukinen has had perhaps the best view of the Illinois Governor’s Mansion of any restaurateur since opening his fine dining establishment across the street in 2017.
But on Saturday, Loukinen, in his full chef uniform, made the short walk to the front of the mansion to join about 100 bar and restaurant owners, employees and patrons to protest the mitigations put in place by Gov. JB Pritzker and enforced by Sangamon County public health officials.
The mitigations, in place since November, have closed bars and restaurants for indoor service for the second time in a year.
“This is the year we should start making money after our investment went in. And this was a major setback,” Loukinen said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.