Lee, Ogle leaders devise joint reopening plan focused on small businesses

A group of Lee and Ogle County leaders are submitting a plan to the state that is focused on small businesses and that, if approved, could open the area differently and sooner than larger communities.

County and city officials, hospital representatives, health department administrators, first responders and state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, are among those involved with drafting the plan, which Demmer will present to the governor’s office this week for consideration.

“The driving force was that rural communities shouldn’t be held to the same restrictions as larger communities,” Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss said Wednesday.

“The number-one thing is to keep everyone safe. We researched extensive documents. It was received positively and gone through critically by the health department administrators and hospital personnel.”

Phase one calls for opening nonessential businesses, and continued planning.

Phase two would be allowing small social gatherings.

Phase three involves capacities for businesses and gatherings and partial restaurant openings.

The fourth phase is the governor's statewide lifting of the stay-at-home order, now set for May 30.

The plan is designed with “Main-Street-type businesses” in mind, Langloss said.

For a business to reopen, training and personal protective equipment would be required and “hopefully” more testing. Occupancy would be set at 25% of its capacity, or no more than five people, and lists would be kept of those who enter. Additional cleaning would be required.

The Lee-Ogle plan was near completion when the governor announced his Restore Illinois plan Tuesday afternoon, prompting some revisions, but in general, its focus on provisions for non-essential businesses and safety and occupancy requirements sets it apart from the administration's, its creators said.

If approved, theoretically, it could take effect before May 30.

“By the end of the week, Demmer will present the plan to the governor’s office," Langloss said. "We can’t know when or how they’ll respond. We’ll work with them from there.”

If there's an uptick in COVID-19 cases or hospitals begin to fill up, the plan would be reversed, he said.

The Lee and Ogle County Executive Leadership Team, which formulated the plan, looked at plans other similar counties, such as Adams, are putting together. The idea is to help small businesses that are affected differently, and have different needs, than those in other communities.

“It is the mission of this unified, bi-county team to help the state of Illinois move into a small business recovery phase with these strategic policies,” Dixon City Councilman Mike Venier said in a release announcing the plan.

“Our businesses are struggling, and they need to know their leaders are fighting for them,” Langloss said.

“Everyone is eager to get going. Our community has made so many sacrifices. Nobody knows how to help local communities more than local leaders. That’s why we did this.”

The team

In addition to Langloss, Demmer and Venier, the Lee and Ogle County Executive Leadership Team is made up of representatives from both health departments, KSB Hospital in Dixon, Rochelle Community Hospital, Dixon, Rochelle and Oregon city leaders, first responders, state’s attorneys, Chambers of Commerce, Sauk Valley Community College, Kishwaukee College, and the local school districts.

The team also is working to open unemployment benefits for local independent contractors and sole-proprietor businesses.

It the plan is approved, more local leaders will be brought into the effort, the release said.