South Cook News

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau argues data behind the new vaccine passport mandate for Cook County raises more questions than it provides answers.

“A news dump of this magnitude just days before Christmas is Cook County sending a clear message that they are on the side of politics instead of common sense,” Pekau said. “If this is such an emergency, why are they waiting until Jan. 3 to impose these new mandates? I highly question the intentions of the politicians making these decisions when they have yet to provide any data indicating that restaurants, indoor entertainment facilities, or gyms are the source of COVID.”

The new mandate announced by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle requires proof of vaccination for restaurants, gyms and other businesses. Coming just two days after Chicago enacted a requirement for proof of vaccination for bars, restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues that serve food, the new mitigations will apply to everyone 5 and older.

“Why are we, once again, targeting these businesses with mandates and not the many other places where people congregate indoors?” Pekau asked. “Beyond providing no data, Cook County is taking unlawful measures by mandating these requirements be enforced and followed. There is a process in place that lawmakers must legally follow to enforce mandates like this, but instead they prefer to overreach and play politics.”

While Preckwinkle pointed to what she called the “dual threat presented by the delta and omicron variants” as fueling the move, Pekau vows to continue putting the people of his community first.

“Orland Park will continue to do what’s best for our residents rather than playing politics,” he said. “We have followed the data and taken common sense measures to protect our residents and businesses without interfering with their rights. And it’s worked. I have a village of nearly 60,000 residents to answer to; I don’t need extreme politicians in Cook County government telling me what is best for Orland Park.”

The new restrictions come as Illinois has recently seen reported COVID cases jump as high as 16,581 cases in a single day. In suburban Cook County, officials said they are seeing 500 new COVID cases a day per 100,000 people.

Eight states across the country now have mask mandates in place regardless of vaccination status. In addition to Illinois, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington all universally require residents to wear masks in indoor public place.

In New York City, COVID cases recently hit new record highs on three consecutive days. According to the ScientificAmerican.com, at the beginning of October unvaccinated people were five times more likely to get infected than the vaccinated.