COVID Restrictions Continue to Decimate Illinois’ Small Business Industry

OAKLAND… State Representative Chris Miller (R-Oakland) said, “I am calling on Governor Pritzker to end his reign of executive orders that have disproportionately affected our small business owners.”

A recent report has shown that lockdowns have led to over 35% of Illinois’ small businesses closing over the past year. As vaccines roll out and cases and hospitalizations drop, State Representative Chris Miller said, “We are over a year into the pandemic and are seeing a downward COVID trend across the state, so it is time to move Illinois forward by removing these overbearing regulations hammering our small businesses.”

“With over 35% of small businesses shuttering their doors, we are on the brink of collapsing an entire industry in Illinois. We must end these mitigation protocols and allow businesses to operate fully and responsibly on their own,” said Rep. Miller.

The data comes to us from the Opportunity Insights Tracker, a project from Brown and Harvard Universities that tracks private industry data in real-time. The project tracks indicators such as employment rates, consumer spending, and job postings across counties, industries, and income groups. Representative Miller believes Illinois must move forward with reopening Illinois while at the same time working to improve the state’s economy.

“We need to help the people of Illinois by first allowing our businesses to reopen. But we must follow that up with working to grow our economy by lowering taxes on people and businesses and tackling our pension debt. Illinois won’t get back on track until we truly become fiscally responsible stewards of the people’s hard-earned tax dollars,” concluded Rep. Miller.

If you would like to contact Rep. Miller or have him come and speak at events, please reach out by visiting repcmiller.com, facebook.com/RepChrisMiller110, or calling 618-546-0044.