Today, May 29, 2020 starts Phase 3 of Restore Illinois for the State of Illinois (excluding Chicago where Phase 3 is scheduled for June 3, 2020).

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Governor Pritzker released Restore Illinois, a five-phased plan that will reopen Illinois after the stay-at-home order due to COVID-19.

To prepare businesses and employers to implement the new safety guidelines and to bring employees back to work, the State of Illinois has developed a business toolkit complete with signage, training checklist, and other resources for employers.

Phase 3 guidelines span ten different industry categories. Each set of guidelines includes a common set of guidelines that are expected and encouraged among all employers and activity types, as well as workplace and program-specific guidelines.

The Phase-3 Business Toolkit is available here: https://dceocovid19resources.com/assets/Restore-Illinois/businesstoolkits/all.pdf

Industry definitions and specific guidelines are listed for the following categories:

Manufacturing
Manufacturing facilities such as plants, factories, and mills

Offices
Non-customer-facing offices such as: legal; accounting services; architectural/engineering design; and other professional services

Retail
Retailers and merchandisers such as: grocery stores; hardware stores; clothing stores; pharmacies; department stores; shopping malls

Service Counters
Stores providing assorted services for dropped off goods, such as: dry cleaners; electronics repair shops; shoe repair shops; car washes

Personal Care Services
Hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas, waxing centers, tattoo parlors

Restaurants and Bars (outdoor dining and drinking)
Full-service restaurants, limited-service restaurants, snacks bars, taverns, and other food and beverage businesses

Outdoor Recreation
Customer facing services such as driving ranges, outdoor shooting ranges, paintball courses, outdoor adventure parks

Day Camps
Recreational youth programs such as sports camps, recreational camps, educational camps

Youth Sports
Youth sports games or matches, group sports lessons, team or group sports practices (no competitive sports permitted in Phase 3)

Health and Fitness Centers
Gyms, fitness centers, yoga, dance, cycling, pilates, barre studios, and other customer-facing fitness centers

It is recommended that employers follow these guidelines.

Questions? Contact attorney Anthony Caruso in our St. Charles office at (630) 377-1554 or by e-mail at ancaruso@wesselssherman.com