LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN: LETTER TO AUTHORITIES SUPPORTING AMERICAN INGENUITY

ANTHONY B. CAMERON

ATTORNEY AT LAW

535 MAINE STREET * SUITE  12

QUINCY, ILLINOIS   62301

https://www.tonycameronlaw.com/

Telephone:  (217) 228-8669                                                                                                                                                    

Telefax:       (217) 228-2225                                                                                                                                                     IL Attorney No. 0374555

E-mail: dacamara@adams.net                                                                                                                                                  AR Attorney No.  73137

May 13, 2020

Hon. Jay Robert Pritzker, Governor

401 S. Second Street

Capitol Building, room 207

Springfield, IL  62706-1150

Hon. Kwame Raoul, Illinois Attorney General

500 S. 2^nd Street

Springfield, IL 62706 

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director, Illinois Department of Public Health

535 West Jefferson Street

Springfield, IL  62761

Re:     Variances as a tool in COVID 19 positioning

Dear Governor Pritzker, General Raoul and Dr. Ezike:

          First, thank you all for keeping the safety of Illinois citizens preeminent.

          As counties and regions “clear,” I am reminded of another health and safety protocol adopted by our State and how its very flexibility made it successful.

          When I was a very young lawyer,  the Illinois Environmental Protection Act was in its infancy. I had the privilege to steward it as an Assistant Attorney General and later as Division Chief.

There were, of course, resistors, naysayers and those claiming “hoax.” But those opponents were proven wrong, precisely because the Act included in its toolkit a “variance” for people who were substantially complying or for whom compliance was technologically or financially going to take longer. The existence of this tool prevented those opposed to the Act from saying it was oppressive and offered no “less burdensome alternative.”

          One might ask, “how would this apply to the current emergency measure?” Two food operators I know independently of one another recently proposed, on sunny days, placing outdoor tables at a safe social distance, allowing families to do curbside pickup, then sit, as families, in the sun, distanced from others. I’m sure, encouraged by the opportunity for a “variance,” many food operators would develop other, creative, effective, and healthy formations.

Just in terms of the mental health aspect of all this, if families could dine outdoors while maintaining social distance, it could contribute to more content, societal acceptance of the current Executive Order.   As I am confident you all know, elements of the Executive Order are becoming increasingly unpopular downstate. Speaking plainly, that makes compliance less likely.

. In each of the “family dining” cases I referenced above, the local health department correctly told these operators their plan was not permitted under the Executive Order. Under your current protocol, that is true.

But what if the local health department had the authority to perform a due process analysis and issue a variance?.  The limitations in time and configuration would be detailed on the variance document. 

The engine that drives Illinois’ economy is the creativity of its entrepreneurs. The reasonable possibility of a variance would turn many restaurant operators into creators of constructive social and commercial experiments, many of which might benefit the citizens of Illinois and also limit economic damage.

There is no time to draft detailed standards for the variance. It would have to be a simple set of principles that would allow the delivery of food and assure against cross-contamination. Such a balance is a calculus that every sanitarian in every county’s health department is trained to make. The availability of the variance remedy would cast a ray of hope to many operators who want to keep people safe but also want to feed the citizens of their region and county.

As we found so many years ago, the availability of relief in the form of a variance built support for the environmental effort in our State

Time is of the essence.   By its nature, the Executive Branch, can act quickly.  Please enable the capable people of county health departments to issue tight variances to operators with good-faith plans.  Variances would promote safety innovation.  We would also find much more enthusiastic distancing, particularly in counties where the incidence of COVID 19 is relatively slight per capita.

I do not lobby.  I represent no client with this letter.  I write as one experienced in regulatory schemes and with a simple modification that I believe would benefit all Illinoisans in promoting more enthusiastic cooperation with the balance of the Executive Order.

My contact information is on the letterhead. I would be pleased and proud to discuss this with representatives of any of your offices at your relatively early convenience. This approach can only succeed if it is adopted relatively quickly.

Thank you for your kind attention. I wish you all the best of health and every success.

Sincerely,

                                                                      /s/ Anthony B. Cameron    

ABC:lm

cc:      Hon. Kyle Moore, Mayor, City of Quincy, 730 Maine Street, Quincy, IL  62301

Hon. Gary Farha, State’s Attorney, Adams County, 521 Vermont Street,

Quincy, IL 62301

Hon. Brian Vanderhaar, Sheriff, Adams County, 521 Vermont Street,

Quincy, IL 62301

Chief Robert Copley, Quincy Police Department, 110 S. 8^th Street,

Quincy, IL 62301

Jerod Welch, Administrator, Adams County Health Department,

330 Vermont Street, Quincy, IL  62301

Hon. Jil Tracy, 3701 East Lake Centre Drive Suite 3 Quincy, IL 62305

Hon. Randy Frese, 3701 East Lake Centre Drive Suite 3 Quincy, IL 62305

Hon. Kent Snider, Chair, Adams County Board, 507 Vermont St. Quincy, IL 62301