McHenry Times

McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett will soon be allowing restaurants to use nearby parking spaces for outdoor seating.

According to the Northwest Herald, Jett took to Facebook to give more details on the plan, including the ability for restaurants to serve alcohol in those spots to boost revenue.

“Along with this executive order, we will permit these businesses to serve liquor in these areas to help with sales and experience," Jett said in his post. "This will be only permitted in these marked areas which will fenced off by the city staff.”

Before going to Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan, when this set up will be available, more testing would have to be readily available, even for those who might not be experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. The area hoping to evolve into the fourth phase also has to be able to launch contact tracing for a minimum of 90% of new coronavirus positive tests. The tracing would take place 24 hours after one is diagnosed. 

As of June 20, Illinois reported 136,104 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 6,625 deaths. McHenry County has had 1,898 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

This phase would also give the green light for other businesses to open their doors like movie theaters, restaurants, bars, spas, retail centers, and fitness gyms, but with updated capacity limits in place. 

“I know there are many questions concerning when we even hit Phase 4, but I ask all of you to be patient," Jett posted. "Just because I am not making public statements about needing to open up doesn’t mean that things aren’t happening behind the scenes. I believe in taking professional steps toward normalcy while protecting the health of our residents. Stay tuned for more information regarding the executive order, which I should sign in the upcoming days.”