The City of Knox hopes to be able to give more COVID-19 relief to local businesses, but whether they get it may depend on how well they enforce the mask order. Mayor Dennis Estok told the city council Tuesday that he plans to apply for the third round of the state’s COVID-19 Response Program. “I really think in our application that one of the questions that is going to be is, ‘Are you following the guidelines, the mask mandate, the social distancing, and all of that?’” Estok said.
He said that businesses that don’t enforce the COVID-19 mandates could be losing customers, if people don’t feel safe. “These businesses that don’t enforce that, I know the reason why: because they think they’re going to lose business. Guess what? They’re not going to lose any business because there’s a certain percentage of the people – I know because I gotten many emails from people that said that they will not do business in Knox because we do not enforce the mask mandate, a lot of our stores don’t. And they said they’re not coming back until it’s over with.”
The mayor added that if everyone does their part, the city will be able to open up more and resume having events. He said compliance seems to have increased recently, but there are still businesses that don’t have the mask sign posted and a lot of people who choose not to wear them. “You know, what’s sad is our veterans, the people that have died fighting for our freedoms, they sacrificed, didn’t they? And we can’t even, as Americans, the people that refuse to wear a mask cannot sacrifice for a little bit? That’s sad. That’s sad,” Estok said.
As for the COVID-19 Response Grant, Estok called it a win-win for businesses. He said those that got money during the city’s last round would be able to apply again, but they would have to explain why they need the extra funding. But whether Knox can even get the money still remains to be seen. Estok said this round is more competitive, and larger cities are eligible to apply.
The council held a public hearing Tuesday to close out the city’s previous COVID-19 Response Grant. Shawn Cain with the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission reported that 27 businesses received grants ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 each.
