nsciver Loo RON ‘ORD Thomas P. McNamara Mayor Office of the mayor April 14, 2020 Gov. 1B Pritzker Office of the Governor 207 State House Springfield, IL 62706 Re: — Modifications to Executive Order 2020-10 to assist small businesses Dear Gov. Pritzker: ‘Thank you for your leadership during this pandemic. We are writing to request modifications to Executive Order 2020-10 to assist local small businesses. Small businesses have been devastated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller, “non-essential” businesses have been asked to close, while larger “big box” stores thrive by keeping their otherwise non-essential departments fully open. ‘At the same time, financial relief for local businesses such as Small Business Administration loans and unemployment benefits have been drastically reduced, are mired in red tape, or are otherwise unavailable or insufficient to keep small businesses and their employees afloat. Big box stores are posting record profits, while the “mom and pop” stores are sadly going insolvent. ‘The modifications below provide adequate measures to protect public health and allow for fair and equitable treatment of small businesses: ‘+ Allow all non-essential retail businesses to provide curbside pickup for online and phone orders as part of their Minimum Basic Operations, while recommending appropriate health measures be taken, including; (© All employees have their temperature checked at the beginning and middle of each shift. © All employees wear a mask and practice social distancing. © All curbside transactions be contact-free. © Employees delivering the curbside order should be required to wear appropriate protection including masks at all times. © Customers should remain in their vehicle at all times to the greatest extent possible ‘Allow all outdoor garden centers to remain open; © Limit all garden centers (including those attached to big box stores) to have no more than 10 customers at a time © All employees have their temperature checked at the beginning and middle of each shift © All employees wear a mask and practice social distancing. © All curbside transactions be contact-free. © Employees delivering the curbside order should be required to wear appropriate protection including masks at all times. City of Rockford, inois USA 425 East State Street Rockford. Ilioois 61104-1068 USA (779) 348-7150 phone (815) 957-5053 fax wuwackFordl. govROCKIORD “Gf ~Wnosen Thomas P. McNamara Mayor Office of the Mayor (© Customers should remain in their vehicle at all times to the greatest extent possible. By allowing big box stores to keep their non-essential departments open for business, while requiring standalone stores to close, we are encouraging more people to congregate at a select few stores. Implementing the minor changes set forth above will ensure that public health remains a top priority, while beginning the process of re- opening small businesses safely for employees and customers. Should you feel that public health concerns are too great at this time to enact these changes for small businesses, we request that you close all non-essential departments of big box stores including clothing sections, shoe departments, garden centers, etc. We urge you to act on these recommendations to help save our local businesses, which are the backbone of every community in Illinois. Thank you for your continued leadership during this unprecedented global health pandemic. You and your administration have been a strong voice for protecting the health and welfare of citizens of Illinois. We are fortunate to have you as our Governor to guide us through this crisis. fegards, Pe Thomas P. McNamara, Mayor City of Rockford, Ilinois USA 425 East State Stoet Rockford. line's 61108-1088. USA (779) 848-7150 phone (615) 967-8852 fax www rockfordil_gov