SPECIAL: Congratulations Southwestern graduates! See Jersey graduates in next week's edition: Pages B3-5 NEWS: TreeHouse hosts baby shower ahead of hopeful reopen: Page A3
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MAY 20, 2020
JOURNAL VOL. 18, NO. 21 - 75¢
Grafton Council mulls over process of reopening Campbell Publications news offices will closed Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day. Deadline for news and ads for next week's edition is noon Friday, May 22. Marketplace classifieds and legal notice deadline is Friday at noon.
INSIDE NEWS County board reduces liquor license fees; talks roadwork projects. See page A2
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RETURN TO TRADITION
Rev. Martin Smith administers the sacrament of the Eucharist in the afternoon of May 17 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Jerseyville. This is the first time since coronavirus-related mandates were issued that members of the parish were able to receive the sacrament.
Dorothy turns 94. See page A6
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TOP STORIES ONLINE May 13 - 20
1. Grafton mayor pens letter to governor in support of opening 2. First responders help make birthdays special in light of COVID-19 3. Local roaster keeps front lines, front porches fueled 4. Decision on Jersey Fair to wait until June
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . .A3 News . . . . . . . . . . . . .A2-3 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Public Notice. . . . . . . . .B2 OBITUARIES: BRIDGEMAN, MARTIN, SCHOEN JERSEY COUNTY
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By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal Grafton leaders along with business owners are eager to get back into the swing of things. At their Tuesday meeting, Grafton City Council members looked into how the city should go about opening back up. Various pieces at play at the state level — namely a lawsuit arguing the extension of stay-at-home orders was unlawful — might lead to a premature end to the stay-at-home order Gov. JB Pritzker issued for the month. This potential to open back up in the near future prompted city leaders to go into how Grafton would open back up when given the green light. Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said, should they be given that go ahead, there should be a game plan for how businesses operate. It probably should not and would not be “business as usual” right off the bat, he explained. “I dont want it to be the wild wild west,” Eberlin said. Last week, Eberlin expressed interest in opening up the city in a letter to the governor. In the letter and in Tuesday’s meeting, Eberlin argued the area is further in Pritzker’s reopening plan that what the governor and state health officials suggest. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the county is currently in Phase 2 of Pritzker’s reopening plan — flattening. To varying degrees, every region
is experiencing flattening as of early May. Alderwoman Mary Lillesve expressed concern over the repercussions businesses might face, should they open in spite of Pritzker’s order. Businesses have been warned that should they defy the order, they could lose their license and may face lawsuits related to COVID-19 should a customer contract the virus. Alderman Andrew Jackson thinks the big problem the city will face will be crowd control once everything opens. “I think the town is just going to explode,” he said. Jim Schrempf, the city’s counsel, advised that the city would not really have the authority in this matter. “We really don’t have the authority to say we are making new rules apart from the state unless we want to take the position that the state doesn’t have the authority to do what they are doing,” Schrempf said. He suggested coordinating a voluntary set of rules that the business owners want to abide by. “Business owners can tell their potential customers you must do XYZ or we wont let you in. That is very doable,” Schrempf said. “For the city to say you must do XYZ, or we are going to close your business or we are not gong to let your people in— that’s (See, REOPENING, A2)
COVID-19 response County officials weigh-in evolving with crisis on executive order pushback
By MEAGAN MCGLASSON Jersey County Journal The Jersey County Health Department confirmed three new positive cases of COVID-19 in Jersey County this week, bringing the total number of confirmed cases up to 20 as of Tuesday afternoon, May 19. The number of recovered cases has also risen from ten to 14 this week. Because the number of deaths attributed to the virus remains at one, this means that there are currently only five known active cases in the county. “Does that mean we only have 20 cases of COVID-19 in the county? No,” Heidi Carter, communicable disease nurse at the Jersey County Health Department, said. “There are a lot of cases in the county that we are unaware of that either didn’t seek testing because symptoms were mild or they have no symptoms at all.” Currently, two kinds of tests are available to residents of Jersey County with a doctor’s order, including the nose swab viral test, which identifies active infection and an antibody test that can show previous infection. The antibody test, however, is not specific to COVID-19 but rather the broader family of coronaviruses. Both tests, after administration at medical facilities in Jersey County, are sent to state and commercial labs where, according to Carter, they take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to return the results to the Health Department. Staying on top of testing and painting an accurate representation of the numbers is still a priority for the Jersey County Health Department in light of recent changes to neighboring counties’ policy, as well as pressure from local leaders and residents to reopen sooner than is currently outlined in Gov. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan. In addition to pressure within the county, last week, the Madison County Board of Health voted 26-2 to reopen in defiance of the statewide stay at home order. In the days since, mayors of individual cities including Alton, Edwardsville and others have cautioned business owners that defying state orders may lead to compromising their and their customers’ safety, as well as open them to legal liability and jeopardize their licensing. Still, news of individual businesses reopening their dining rooms or lob-
By CONNOR ASHLOCK Jersey County Journal Across the state, representatives, county officials and citizens are beginning to rebel against Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive orders. In Jersey County, though, municipal and county leaders are taking a more cautious approach. This comes as Illinoisans enter the third complete month of the stay-at-home mandate, sacrificing the school year, business revenue and corporate worship on Sunday morning, among many other things. Now, with Pritzker’s announcement of the “Restore Illinois” plan, citizens are anticipating mandates to last well into the summer. In the southwest region of the state, individuals and local governments are voicing their opinions all the more strongly with each passing day about the long-term effects of a continued lockdown. In Adams County, officials have drafted a more focused approach to reopening the county. The Adams County Board, meeting on the evening of May 12, unanimously voted to ask the governor to make changes to his “Restore Illinois” plan, outlined in their “Adams County Together” plan. Their hope is that other counties and communities will follow suit. The Pike County Board passed a resolution in support of the Adams County plan and Calhoun County is drafting a resolution calling on the governor to take a more regionalized approach. Last week, the Madison County Board voted to commence a four-phase reopening plan. Jersey County leaders want to be cautious
of the impact a move — like the ones these counties made — could have on residents. “We want our businesses open now and feel strongly we could put together a local plan, in cooperation with our businesses, based on our current metrics,” Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten said. “But, people need to understand that local municipalities and county officials currently have
“While I may not agree with the governor’s approach up to this point, I strongly disagree that local officials should declare they will allow reopening of businesses premature to that stated in the executive order.”
Ben Goetten Jersey County State’s Attorney zero jurisdiction or authority over allowing our businesses to re-open beyond what’s set forth in the governor’s executive orders.” The situation at hand for businesses and organizations that open their doors is not that they’ll face backlash from local authorities, but that they’ll face retaliation from state authorities. “If local officials decide to announce they (See, PUSHBACK, A2)
(See, RESPONSE, A2)
Jersey residents take to the streets with flags By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal One might have noticed a caravan of vehicles adorned with flags making their way through Jersey county. On a bright shining Saturday morning, Jersey residents paraded around the county with U.S. flags, big and small, attached to their vehicles — all in support for local small businesses, farmers and churches. Following Flag Day on May 14, the parade of cars made their way through Jerseyville, twice, and headed to Grafton, where they concluded their parade at the large American flag right off of the river. In the spirit of the founding of the flag and the country as a whole, those in the parade addressed the historical documents that set up our democratic republic. There, under the waving flag in Grafton, Stephanie Pelletier spoke of the founding of our country and its most important documents — namely the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, she stressed the importance of fighting
Jarad Jarmon/Jersey County Journal
Jersey residents drive through downtown Jerseyville Saturday, adorned in red, white and blue.
for the rights afforded to citizens in the document such as the freedom or assembly, speech and religion. Pelletier emphasized the fight for these freedoms continue even today. “The idea of losing freedom has been no more than a generation away, and yet we stand at the precipice of losing today in 2020,” she said in her
speech. “Our future has to be protected… or their ultimate experiment dies in what we are facing in the government overreach,” she later said. People across the United States celebrate Flag Day on June 14 each year to honor the United States flag and to commemorate the flag’s adoption. On
the same day, the United States Army celebrates its birthday. Pelletier concluded with a call to support business as it slowly opens back up. There has been a growing call to open up the region, separate from that of northern counties that are suffering worse from COVID-19.
