Chillicothe may consider rolling back its enforcement of Gov. JB Pritzker s COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and bars next month.
The Track Inn and Banana s Beach Bar popped up on the city council s public safety committee agenda Tuesday evening after repeated citations for permitting indoor dining that is banned under the governor s Tier 3 mitigations.
Chillicothe s city code currently considers a violation of the governor s executive orders an ordinance violation.
City Attorney Michael Seghetti said the Track Inn was first cited in November under city code for employees and customers not wearing face coverings, and a lack of social distancing. Banana s was cited for similar reasons in December.
PEORIA
Peoria County needs to explain why information regarding restaurants’ possible violations of indoor dining rules aren t being released to the public, said an attorney with the Illinois Press Association.
Don Craven, who has spent years working with the state s Freedom of Information Act, said the burden is not on the media or public to explain why they want the records, but rather on the county itself to say why the records shouldn t be released. And the Springfield attorney explained why there may be a “hodgepodge” of different practices around the state.
His comments come after Peoria County officials earlier this month denied both a Journal Star reporter s request and a Freedom of Information Act filing by the paper seeking the names of restaurants and bars submitted by citizens through the Health Department s complaint process, and whether they have received citations by the Health Department or been referred to State s Attorney Jodi Hoos for enforcement of an