Restaurants and bars in Champaign County that continue to serve customers indoors in defiance of a state order face swift enforcement action, according to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.
At least two restaurant and bar owners in Champaign County planned to open in defiance of the order, one of several temporary restrictions that took effect in East Central Illinois Monday morning to try and turn back the growing swell of COVID-19 cases.
Restaurants and bars can still serve outdoors and continue selling for carryout and delivery only, until the order is lifted.
Jeff Buckler, owner of Buford’s in Sadorus, said that location is normally closed anyway on Mondays, but his Tolono location, Lil Buford’s, was open, serving indoors and busy.
Another local owner, Jim Flanigan, said Friday he planned to open his Urbana restaurant, Apple Dumpling, but he couldn’t be reached Monday. The Urbana restaurant’s posted hours show it’s also typically closed on Monday.
Should they or other establishments open for indoor service, “we’ll be sending our compliance people out there,” said public health district Administrator Julie Pryde.
The public health district has the same enforcement mechanisms available that it had during the state-ordered lockdown earlier this year and would be acting with the support of local police and the state’s attorney’s office, with state police standing by, she said.
Buckler contended he’s not breaking any state laws, and this isn’t about the money for him. It’s about his employees and, he said, “we’re not making anybody sick.”
“We’re no different from Walmarts and Targets,” he said.
Non-compliance wasn’t limited to Champaign County. The Douglas County Health Department already had seven complaints about defiance of the state order for bars and restaurants by lunchtime Monday, according to spokeswoman Summer Phillips.
“I’ve forwarded those to our health inspector to have him look into tomorrow,” she said.
In Douglas County, non-compliant restaurants and bars will get warning letters first. If they continue to remain open for indoor service, the health department will eventually notify local police, state police and the governing bodies in the communities where the businesses are located, Phillips said.
“What we know about how the virus is easily transmitted, we feel we are going above and beyond to let the businesses know we value them as a business — but we need everyone’s participation,” she said.
Pryde said non-compliance is “very frustrating.”
Champaign County has already surpassed the positivity rate of 5 percent at which time the health district was going to suggest additional restrictions, Pryde said.
Without University of Illinois tests taken into account, Champaign County’s seven-day average positivity rate now stands at 5.6 percent.
The positivity rate for East Central Illinois Region 6 was 9.5 percent, more than 2 percent higher than it was on Oct. 20.
“We just want people to be safe and get this under control,” Pryde said.
The public health district is willing to work with local businesses, and it’s been upsetting to hear people suggest the temporary mitigation restrictions are intended to hurt small businesses, she said.
“We live here. We have friends and family here. We’re a community,” Pryde said.