CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday urged people, including members of a defiant church congregation, to refrain from gathering in large numbers during his stay-at-home order but stopped short of endorsing police citations or arrests in most cases.
Pritzker was asked about the Sunday worship service held at the Beloved Church of Lena in northwestern Illinois, where dozens of congregation members gathered in defiance of his administration's 10-person limit for a house of worship. Meantime, Chicago police reportedly broke up several parties over the weekend that similarly defied social-distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor said it's up to local authorities to determine how to deal with scofflaws. He said he does not favor issuing tickets or making arrests, except in cases in which people are being "persistently defiant."
In the case of the church in Lena, he said, he also would prefer that someone reach out to the pastor. The church last week tried to have churches exempted from the Illinois stay-at-home order.
"We want to encourage people to do the right thing," Pritzker said.
On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,341 new cases of novel coronavirus, including 46 additional deaths. That takes the statewide total to 63,840 cases, including 2,662 lives lost.
Asked about the latest daily death toll — the lowest in two weeks for Illinois — Pritzker said he hopes it's the start of a trend.
"I would just encourage everybody to look at these things on a multi-day basis, maybe three- or a five- or a seven-day average," he cautioned.
"When I saw this number today, I was hopeful that this is the beginning - or a continuation - of a trend that I've been praying for. But I think one day is not a helpful number to look at."
