COVID Showdowns Brewing Across Illinois As Angry Residents, Sheriffs Reject Lockdown

Residents of Illinois fed up with the country’s strictest COVID-19 restrictions are starting to revolt – with protests against Chicago’s cordoned-off lakeshore and no-parking zones around churches, according to Breitbart‘s Warner Todd Huston.

Last Sunday, the city’s first gay mayor sent the Chicago Police Department (CPD) out to erect new signs around the neighborhood of Philadelphia Romanian Church to suddenly create long stretches of new “No parking/tow warning” zones around the building.

Lightfoot also sent the CPD to prowl around outside several of the city’s churches to hand out parking violations, Chicago’s CBS affiliate reported.

The mayor’s campaign against churches comes on the heels of statements by several church officials across the city saying they had no intention of submitting to the mayor’s orders to shut down their houses of worship. –Breitbart

Elsewhere in the state, growing numbers of Illinois residents are coming out in opposition to Gov. Pritzker’s (D) lockdown policies which were found by WalletHub to be the harshest in the country – including a provision which would jail business owners for up to a year for refusing to obey.

Pritzker’s restrictions are so – restrictive, that DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announced that he has no intention of enforcing them, according to the report.

“I just can’t do this anymore. I stand with our citizens and businesses of DuPage County who have offered no trouble or no resistance to any rule we put upon them, no matter how strange,” Mendrick wrote on Facebook. “I will not victimize lawful residents of DuPage County trying to put food on their children’s table. I’m so proud of our DuPage citizens who have done everything right from the beginning. All I can say is thank you.”

Joining Mendrick is Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird, who similarly said he has no intention of enforcing Pritzker’s order to break up gatherings or shut down businesses since “the Governor’s Executive Order is not a law.”

The city of Gibson in Central Illinois also won’t be enforcing the restrictions – announcing that they will not make misdemeanor arrests of individuals or business owners for violating the EO.

In addition, downstate Madison County reopened its businesses despite the orders.

In reply to these officials, Gov. Pritzker warned he would send the state police in to enforce his rules.

“Counties that try to reopen in defiance, may not be reimbursed by FEMA for damages they cause because they ignored the law,” Pritzker said adding, “Local law enforcement and the Illinois State Police can and will take action.”

Individual business owners have also defied the governor’s threats.

A gym owner in Moline, a city on the border with Iowa, straight west of Chicago, reopened his business on Monday in direct defiance of Pritzker’s orders.

Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler helped usher through a resolution that “basically declared all businesses and churches essential.”

“I did the Zoom classes for a while. Rented out all my equipment and, you know, you reach a point where enough is enough, and somebody’s got to say something,” said Chris Ninotta, owner of Omni Strength. “I can’t do it any longer. I’m a single father, and that’s where my loyalty lies, and there’s no man or government on earth that’s gonna tell me I gotta, you know, do this.” –Breitbart

In short, you can only push people so far – even in liberal Illinois.