Some Western Springs Restaurants Violate Order: Official

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — A few Western Springs restaurants continue to offer indoor dining in violation of the governor's pandemic rules, the village president said this week.

"We have received several complaints about this from concerned residents, and the village has issued notices to our restaurants that warn of potential adverse action for failure to comply with public health restrictions and mitigation measures," Village President Alice Gallagher said at Monday's Village Board meeting.

But she said the village has no authority to enforce the governor's ban on indoor dining. That power, she said, rests with the Cook County and Illinois public health departments.

"The village will cooperate with those departments in their efforts to enforce compliance," Gallagher said.

Two weeks ago, Gallagher told the board the village had received reports that restaurants were open for diners in defiance of the order. But at that time, she did not definitively state that this was the case.

On Monday night, Patch conducted a spot check of Elmhurst restaurants that were offering indoor dining in violation of the governor's order. It found four that were doing so.

Like other towns in the area, Western Springs has seen a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases lately. Hospitals such as those in La Grange and Hinsdale have seen the number of COVID-19 patients significantly increase.

At Monday's meeting, Gallagher cited scientific data in making the case for restrictions, saying "infections mostly result from social gatherings at restaurants, bars and in homes."