The following statement can be attributed to State Senator Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) regarding the Governor's announcement of new restrictions for IDPH Region 5:

"I continue to be frustrated by Governor Pritzker's misguided focus on an arbitrary positivity rate threshold that is neither meaningful nor reliable as an assessment of the actual local situation. These mitigations, which will close businesses and destroy livelihoods, should only be used when the hospitalization rates and ICU bed capacity data clearly show that it is absolutely necessary."