Quincy Reporter

Quincy activist Mecki Kosin boils over at what she sees as the callous nature Illinois' Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has displayed in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He just doesn’t care, and he’s shown that from the beginning with the way he sought to shut down small businesses and prevented people from making a living while jetting off to Florida,” Kosin told the Quincy Reporter. “Since then, I haven’t really listened to a word he has to say on the issue."

Not much figures to change based on the findings of a new TrackTheRecovery.org analysis detailing how the state has lost more than a third of all small businesses since the beginning of the year, The Center Square reported. 

One third of small businesses that were open and operating this past January have since shit down for good. | File Photo

Overall, data compiled by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows that as of Nov. 16, the number of small businesses open dropped by some 35.4% compared to January of this year; with the industry also experiencing a revenue decline of more than 39% since January.

“Really, the damage has been much greater than that,” Kosin said. “A huge number of the small businesses that remain open are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. All the restrictions just make it really difficult for these places to stay open."

Kosin laments that the owners aren’t the only ones being hurt by the actions taken by the governor.

“Restaurants have been hit as hard as anywhere,," Kosin said. "With that, wait and cook staff workers are all also impacted, and a lot of those workers are single parents struggling to make it in the first place. Everyone is being crippled by what he’s doing." 

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Illinois State Director Mark Grant points out that running a small business in Illinois was already quite the challenge even before the pandemic hit, given such factors as higher property taxes and workers’ compensation.

“They’re trying to survive the best way they can," Kosin said. "They feel the burden of trying to look out for their families and the workers they have on staff that have come to rely on them."