Some Suburban Mayors Want Their Municipalities Reopened Before Gov. Pritzker's Set Date

BURR RIDGE, Ill. (CBS) -- A growing number of mayors in Illinois have called for action that would reopen their towns and villages ahead of Gov. JB Pritzker's current executive order timeline.

Their calls came days after Gov. JB Pritzker announced his plans to reopen the state.

As CBS 2's Marissa Parra on Friday spoke to some suburban mayors – who say they are willing to work with Gov. Pritzker, but they are running out of time and patience.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso took Parra on a tour of the local businesses on the verge.

"Two Bostons is struggling to stay open. Kelley Cawley's is struggling to stay open," he said.

Two Bostons is a pet supply store, Kelly Cawley a clothing boutique. They, and the town, stand a lot to lose.

"Burr Ridge is probably going to lose approximately $1.6 million dollars in sales tax and revenue and place of eating taxes," Grasso said.

In a village with a budget of $8 million, that is no small chunk of change.

Thus, Grasso said he and other DuPage County leaders are drafting their own plans to reopen ahead of the state's schedule.

This came just after the governor announced the state would be divided into four regions, which would reopen in phases. But it's the northeast region hat is drawing the ire of residents and leadership alike who are not living in Chicago.

The bustling city has more than 2.7 million residents and nearly 30,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. By comparison, DuPage County has roughly 3,500 cases in the entire county.

That is why mayors like Grasso are asking, why should they have to then stay on the same timetable as Chicago?

Even within Cook County, there is dissent. Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau also wants his village to be separated from the Chicago rules.

"Even New York state didn't include New York City into its regions," Grasso said.

He is right. In New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reopening announcement, New York City is in its own health region. There are, however, some similar complaints there – as Cuomo's plan places Dutchess County well north of the city in the mid-Hudson region along with COVID-19 hotspots Westchester and Rockland counties closer to the city, WCBS-TV, CBS 2 New York's Tony Aiello reported this week.

But Mayor Grasso fears if Gov. Pritzker does not separate out Chicago like Gov. Cuomo did with New York City, some local businesses in Burr Ridge in other suburbs will not survive.

"Yoga store here – local people. Henn House (an arts and crafts venue) – local people. County Wine Merchant – he's on the verge of not reopening," Grasso said.

The mayors said they want to work with the governor to find a way to reopen safely, separately from Chicago.

"We want to work with the governor. We want to be respectful of the governor. He's the governor," Grasso said, "but he has to look at those health metrics and economic metrics and work with us regionally."

Parra put the question to Gov. Pritzker at his daily press briefing, asking if he'd be willing to work with the mayors or what the repercussions would be. But there were so many questions submitted that they never got around to it.

We'll let you know if that changes.