We have to figure out how to live with COVID-19 until it can be vanquished – and to do so in a way that best supports our residents’ health and our healthcare systems, and saves the most lives.

With that in mind, I’m introducing our framework for moving forward: Restore Illinois.

Restore Illinois is a public health plan to safely reintroduce the parts of our lives that have been put on hold. Science and data are our overarching guardrails, and we also listened to organizations, school leaders, businesses & elected officials from across the state.

This data-driven plan follows the best epidemiological recommendations, but it’s also inspired by people across our state who carry real passion to make sure that their communities can begin thriving again even in the face of this pandemic.

This is also a regional plan. We’re one Illinois, but we are also one Illinois made up of of 60,000 square miles – and reality on the ground looks different across our state. We’re looking at the state as four regions, each of which can move through phases at different times.

Restore Illinois operates with five phases, beginning with a state of “Rapid Spread” when we imposed our original Stay at Home order, and ending with a fully reopened economy in a post-COVID-19 world.

In Phase 1 – or where we were from early March to April 30 – we moved to minimum essential operations to bend the curve, curtail the rapid spread of the virus and give us time to expand hospital capacity. We’ve been through this phase once, and no one wants to go backward.

We entered Phase 2 on May 1st with our modified Stay at Home order. Many of our mitigations are similar to Phase 1, but adjustments were made to offer flexibility where public health experts told us we could.

Regions that meet certain thresholds over the next few weeks will be able to move to Phase 3. Non-essential manufacturing and other businesses can reopen, including barbershops and salons. State parks can open. All public gatherings of 10 people or fewer can now take place.

In Phase 4, a region would need to see continued declines in its positivity rate and hospitalizations and maintain surge capacity, and if so, restaurants, bars, spas, cinemas, theaters, retail and health & fitness clubs can open with new capacity limits and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) safety guidance.

This phase is called “Revitalization” because it’s when everyone in Illinois will be rebuilding what school and work will look like for a while, until we reach the other side of this pandemic.

The only way we can cross into Phase 5 – Illinois Restored, with all sectors of the economy running with completely normal operations – is with a vaccine, or a widely available and highly effective treatment, or with the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period.

Just as public health indicators will tell us when to move forward, at any time, they could also signal that we need to move backward. If the virus begins to attack more people or the health care systems are heading toward becoming overwhelmed, swift action will need to be taken.

I spent decades in business, so I understand the urge to try and flip the switch and reopen our entire economy.

Here’s the problem: that switch simply does not exist with a virus that can’t currently be eliminated by medical science.

I won’t open the door to overwhelming our hospital system and potentially tens of thousands of additional deaths by exposing everyone to the virus today just because a loud but tiny minority would like to indulge in that fantasy.

I know this is difficult. This virus has uprooted lives & caused immeasurable hardship for millions in our state.

But I still believe that our strongest weapon against COVID-19 is one that this virus can never take away from us: the strength of the people who call Illinois home.

Illinoisans have always believed it is possible to create a better future and to build a better tomorrow.

I believe in you, now more than ever.

And together – we will finish the work we are in.

#AllInIllinois