(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Two congressmen from downstate Illinois lent credence Monday to protesters who have expressed anger over a continuing economic shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I think there's frustration," said U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap). "I think that is reflected in the protests. In a district like ours, people want to get back to normality.
“We have been compliant for the last five weeks, we've listened to what the (Centers for Disease Control) and the Illinois Department of Public Health have said, but there is a collective frustration.”
One size does not necessarily fit all, says LaHood, whose district touches Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield, and Quincy. It is more like Iowa and Missouri than the more populous Chicago area, he says.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) added he believes the administration of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker is considering the reopening of different regions on a staggered basis.
Indeed, at his daily media briefing about the COVID-19 outbreak, Pritzker did not rule out that piecemeal approach. His stay-at-home executive order for everyone in Illinois runs through April 30.
Davis and LaHood were in Springfield, visiting a drive-up coronavirus test site.