The Illinois Restaurant Association is calling on Gov. JB Pritzker to ease up on restaurants and allow for at least limited indoor dining.
The organization on Thursday notes indoor dining in Illinois has been banned for more than 75 days. That is the longest period of any state, and Illinois is one of only three states with a complete ban on indoor dining, the group said.
The Illinois restaurant and bar industry lost 31,000 jobs in November, association president Sam Toia said.
"Restaurants are out of time, and they need a more reasonable – and immediate – path forward to save the industry," he said in a news release.
Pritzker said "Tier 3" COVID-19 mitigations that include a statewide ban on indoor service will be eased region by region as soon as Friday, provided localities meet certain coronavirus metrics.
