The owner of White Pines Resort announced she will be shutting down her business for good, citing Gov. J.B. Pritzker's phased reopening plan as problematic.
Radio host Dan Proft shared Beth George's story on Twitter saying George had enriched many peoples' lives.
"Beth George built a life and business in IL and enriched the lives of so many," Proft wrote. "Now she is the enemy of the people, per the savages in public offices and the newsroom creatures who do their bidding. IL is sick in ways that have nothing to do with COVID-19."
In her announcement on Facebook, George said she never thought she'd have to announce she would be closing permanently.
"For 31 years I have run that resort and put my heart and soul in it," George said. "I'm putting this out on social media to let everyone know that I'm going to be one of the statistics that don't make it. I'm filing for bankruptcy and having to close down. I'm smart enough to know that the numbers just won't work for being reopened."
George said she believed in flattening the curve and closing down to save lives to have enough hospital beds and ventilators and that she had followed all the rules, but when she heard the rules of what will happen if and when she could reopen, the numbers just wouldn't work for her business because her business is based on volume.
"I do weddings, Sunday buffets, banquets, graduation parties, retreats and dinner theater," George said. "All those require and are based on numbers over 50 people. When Gov. Pritzker announced the phases for reopening, there won't be people who can gather in groups of 50 or more until there is a vaccine."
George said that it could be December 2020 at the earliest.
"My business is seasonal and I've been closed since last December," George said. "I opened for one week—I geared up my gift shop, filled the wine cellars and food freezers, and then had to close down. I won't be able to reopen again—the earliest would be March or April of next year and my season never generates a profit until May."
George questioned what business could possibly go 16 months without being able to be open and continue to pay expenses every month.
"When Pritzker's phases came out last week it was just the nail in the coffin—I can't reopen," George said. "I have poured my heart and soul into this place and I am a mess having to say that it won't be there anymore."
George said throughout everything, her freedom of speech has been silenced.
"Throughout this, I have wanted to say how is it possible that the person who has a business right across the street from me has cabins and they can be open and I can't?" George questioned. "How is it that opening at 25% occupancy in a restaurant could ever work? No one can do that. I wanted to put it out there on social media, but then I would've been accused of only being in this for the money."
George said she cares about human lives, but she questioned how it would be possible to reopen if everyone had to shut down is one person got sick in the future.
"We can't talk about this publicly because we will be chastised for it," George said. "I'm going bankrupt now so that I can hopefully pay back money to the brides I sat across from and took their money, I'm going to have a sale and sell off the inventory from the gift shop. All that money is going to pay back the money to those who supported White Pines."
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