Illinois Valley Times

Veteran Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Elmhurst) is fighting as hard as she can remember in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m constantly sending letters to the governor asking him to look at certain areas of the state not hit as hard as Chicago by the coronavirus as places that we can soon open back up for business,” Rezin told the Illinois Valley Times. “I’m hoping to be able to get to a point where we can work with the governor and explain to him the importance of opening up our economy at least on a regional basis.”

With a new Coronavirus Small Business Survey by WalletHub showing that nearly 87 percent of all small businesses across the country say they’ve been negatively impacted by the pandemic and more than one of every three adding that they can only survive for a few weeks more under current conditions, Rezin can see no other way.

“I’m concerned about the decisions these owners are being forced to make,” Rezin said. “Here in Illinois, they’re desperately looking for a sign from government as to whether or not they can look to restart their businesses. This is a very pivotal time for all of them. While they’ve received some money from the federal government, everybody knows that money can’t go on indefinitely and these businesses need to see a sign from the governor about what he plans to do.”

Rezin says her work is far from done.

“I’m still advocating on behalf of my constituents, doing all I can to help them outlast this thing,” she said. “The longer we have a closed economy, the more difficult for everyone to hold on. These next four to eight weeks are really critical.”