South Cook News

A collar county lawmaker who predicted that Gov. J.B. Pritzker's pandemic-driven shutdown of Illinois would last about a year, says he's pleased about the news that he was almost right.

"This is great news!" Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said in a post to his Facebook page shortly after Pritzker announced that he expects the state to exit "bridge phase" and to fully reopen by June 11 "barring any significant reversals."

Illinois State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) sat at his laptop during a virtual public safety forum last month | senatorcurran.com/

"The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter as more people get vaccinated," Pritzker said in a May 6 Twitter post. "I’m pleased to announce that the concerning upward movement of cases and hospitalizations we were seeing a few weeks ago have stabilized."

Curran, who has maintained a COVID-19 Resource Page on his website throughout the pandemic, has represented Illinois' Senate District 41 since he was appointed to the seat in July 2017 following the resignation of his predecessor, then-Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno.

The 41st district includes all or parts of Lemont, Indian Head Park, LaGrange Western Springs, Homer Glen, Burr Ridge, Darien, Downers Grove, Lisle, Willowbrook, Woodridge, Naperville and Bolingbrook.

To NBC Chicago, Pritzker said of his announcement about the state's reopening as "good news comes with a caveat."

"Barring any significant reversals in our key COVID-19 statewide indicators, Illinois will move into the Bridge Phase with higher capacity limits on Friday, May 14 and return to normal business operations as soon as Friday, June 11," Pritzker tweeted.

He cautioned that COVID-19 and its variants have been unpredictable.

"But we have tools in our arsenal like vaccinations and wearing masks that, if we all use them, have proven extremely effective," Pritzker said.

Phases of the re-open could be delayed should infections and hospitalizations rise.

Under the bridge phase, restaurants can move from the current 25% capacity to 30% capacity indoors and 50% outdoors while fitness centers, offices, personal care businesses and other hands-on retailers can move from 50% to to 60% capacity.

In addition to his Twitter post, Pritzker also announced the re-open during a news conference when he and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike announced primary care physicians and other general practitioners were receiving the vaccines for their patients.

Curran's comment about Pritzker's re-open announcement came about a year after the senator predicted that Pritzker would keep the state closed for about a year. At the time, Curran also commented about what other states then followed guidance from U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Stephen Fauci.

"Governor Pritzker has released what reads like a 12-month Stay-At-Home Plan for Illinois," Curran said in a statement posted to Facebook on May 5 of last year. "As other states have recently put forth re-opening plans more similar to Dr. Fauci’s plan, the legislature must convene to review and analyze Governor Pritzker’s Plan. This Plan’s heightened standard for the last phase (a completely re-opened Illinois) fails to account for Illinoisans’ ability for living within a ‘new normal’ where Illinoisans can make a living, provide for their families and forge a prosperous future."

Pritzker's modified stay-at-home order was first issued April 23, 2020 and went into effect the following May 1, which means Curran's prediction was off by only a few weeks.