Chambana Sun

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) is urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to listen to the will of the people in the state’s ongoing battle to rebound from the coronavirus crisis.

“Over the last few weeks we’ve been in touch with constituents and business owners and felt the time was right to condense all of our ideas and put them on paper to the governor,” Caulkins said of a letter he and a group of other GOP lawmakers fired off to Pritzker calling on him to take steps like freezing the state’s unemployment insurance rate and the state’s minimum wage over at least the next 12 months.

“We’re hoping others will join us in this fight,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “These ideas are coming from the community we represent and we hope to see the governor come to understand what matters to the people of Central Illinois.”

Caulkins concedes only time will tell what’s truly the best way going forward, but he adds with small businesses and the overall economy hurting like they are that the time to be thinking of formulating a plan is now. 

“I would suspect the answer is we start selectively bringing the economy back while maintaining our social distancing rules to prevent a second outbreak,” he said. “I think as we go further along it’s going to be more evident to everyone what is best. I think the answer has to be one that’s data-driven and rationally thought out. We can’t let the fear of someone getting sick shut down our entire economy over the long haul.”

Caulkins said the group thinks that it’s critical for government to be willing to do its part in the recovery, whatever that proves to be.

“We don’t think a business should be penalized for having to lay off workers in the middle of something like this where it’s not their fault in the least,” he said.