North Cook News

With the state now shedding small business establishments at a pace never before seen, state Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) is sounding the alarm.

“Illinois state government and municipal elected officials and policy makers cannot take job creators and businesses for granted,” Morrison told the North Cook News. “Some of us in Springfield have been saying this for years, and it’s now coming to pass in frightening numbers. It’s impossible to turn the economy on and off like a switch. When businesses close or move, it’s extremely difficult to get them back.”

A new TrackTheRecovery.org analysis finds that since the start of the year, as the COVID pandemic has lingered and the impact of all Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s shutdown restrictions have been felt, Illinois has lost more than a third of all its small businesses. Overall, data compiled by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows as of Nov. 16, 2020 the number of small businesses open dipped by some 35.4 percent compared to January of this year with the industry also experiencing a revenue decline topping 39% since January.

“We’re long overdue for reform,” Morrison added. “What we’re suffering from right now is bad policy choices, corruption and government that has grown too powerful and expensive to maintain. The citizens are going to have to continue to demand it.”

Even before the pandemic hit, National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Mark Grant was quick to point out running a small business in Illinois was already quite the challenge given such factors as higher property taxes and workers’ compensation.

“It takes a unique kind of person and people who are willing to risk and invest the time, energy, and money to a new business,” Morrison added. “It’s a lot more difficult to run and succeed a small business than most people in government realize. Shifting rules, onerous rules, myriad fines and fees, and taxes all add up to burdens that can make or break a business that is already struggling to get paying customers.”

Morrison said he sometimes wonders if Gov. J.B. Pritzker ever stops to consider the impact his actions are having on so many.

“I’ve said before that the governor is insulated from the full consequences of his decisions,” he said. “The virus is a serious problem and we must continue to protect vulnerable populations where there can be dramatically increased risk of complications or even death. A very bad precedent is being set whereby a governor is making a lot of decisions that Illinois citizens, businesses, and nonprofit organizations should be left to make on their own.”