Will County Gazette

Illinois state Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) wonders if things can ever be the same again for the state’s small business industry.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve already had a higher small business death rate than a lot of other states and now we see the trend is getting worse,” McDermed told the Will County Gazette. “No one knows what 2021 will bring, but there’s no question we’ve got to reverse this trend for people to have any chance of recreating what they’ve worked hard to build.”

A new TrackTheRecovery.org analysis that finds that since the beginning of the year the state has lost more than a third of all small its businesses. Overall, data compiled by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows as of Nov. 16, the number of small businesses open dipped by some 35.4% compared to January of this year with the industry also experiencing a revenue decline topping 39% since January.

One out of three small business' are being shut down due to various reasons related to COVID 19 in Illinois | File Photo

McDermed rages some of the governor’s actions have been harder on some than others.

“Fatality rates among small businesses are higher among minority and women owned business,” McDermed said. “In particular, his unilateral policies and pronouncements have set women back half a century.”

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Illinois State Director, Mark Grant, points out that running a small business in Illinois was already quite the challenge even before the pandemic hit, given such factors as higher property taxes and workers’ compensation.

Through it all, McDermed wonders if the governor ever takes the time to think about all the damage his edicts are causing.

“I really don’t know, and because of all the unilateral decisions we don’t have any kind of open or transparent proceedings where you can gauge what he might be thinking,” McDermed said. "No one knows what goes into his decisions. He says science, but who really knows.”