Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. says the city will not fine restaurants that continue to stay open for indoor dining because there is no city statute that allows it to do so.
Williams’ comments came after Alderman Dan Duncheon criticized some of the restaurants in Danville for not following COVID-19 protocols.
The mayor says Governor J.B. Pritzker’s orders are not enforceable by the city, and he also says the city does not have an ordinance that allows him to pull liquor licenses from the businesses over the state’s orders. He also believes some businesses can serve food safely.
“I am not willing to take somebody who is literally fighting for their life, I’m not willing to take their liquor license because they continue to serve people, because I think they can do that and possibly do so safely,” he says.
Duncheon expressed concerns about hospitals having reduced capacity, and he specifically pointed to restaurants such as La Potosina (pictured), which he says are endangering public health by staying open.
“You drive by there and there’s 60 cars in the parking lot,” Duncheon explains. “They’re not socially distancing. That puts the employees at risk. It puts the customers at risk. It puts me at risk because of the super spread that’s going to happen.”
But Vice Mayor Bob Iverson pointed out that it is up to the Vermilion County Health Department to enforce the state’s orders on local restaurants. He says the health department’s staff are “overwhelmed” with case tracking, and he says it wouldn’t be worth the time to enforce the new rules.
“Realistically, as long as people are resisting it, we don’t want to make the whole matter worse with arrests, and getting people like the police and the health department doing things that they don’t have time to do now,” he says.
Mayor Williams also says the city would be opening itself up to lawsuits by trying to fine businesses which don’t adhere to the rules.
