Peoria City/County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson says there's a public health argument to be made for breaking down the four large "health regions" in Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan.
She said using such large regions when considering reopening runs the risk of masking problems in particular hotspots.
"You could not necessarily say, oh one district is holding us back, but at the same time, one district might see that they need to be on pause, something's going on, and it gets diluted in the numbers," she said. "And so I think the argument can be made both ways, that we might take a look and see if these regions have any capacity for being focused down further."
The North-Central region, which includes the Tri-County area and most of the northwestern fourth of the state, currently has a 10 percent positivity rate. It includes two EMS regions. Central Illinois' region is at an 8 percent positivity rate. The region to the north grouped with Central Illinois in the "North-Central" region has a 13 percent rate.
The criteria for the next phase of reopening allows a positivity rate of up to 20 percent, along with a spate of other factors.
Politicians such as State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) and Mayor Jim Ardis have also expressed concerns with the four large "health regions" that will move in blocs to reopen the economy in phases, though those officials said they are concerned hotspots like Rockford may hold back communities with fewer reported cases and low hospitalization rates like Peoria.
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