By HOI ABC

BLOOMINGTON – New COVID-19 mitigations are closing indoor dining at restaurants just as some were starting to get back on their feet. Both mayors in Bloomington-Normal are voicing frustration over the governor’s decision.

“Our local businesses have been abiding by the rules, they’ve been adjusting their behavior and because other places in our region have had spikes, they’re paying the price and I don’t think that’s fair,” Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner told our news partner HOI ABC.

Renner says it is not the cities job to enforce the states regulations, that aren’t laws.

“Other than informing the health department, or urging people to practice safe distancing and to make sure as much as possible that we don’t spread COVID, we’re not enforcing the states rules and regulations right now,” Renner said.

The newly announced mitigation’s are disappointing to some local restaurant owners.

“Of course we want to cooperate with the state and the governor, whether we agree or not,” Schooners owner Bob Groetken said.

More than anything, Groetken is concerned for his employees.

“Depending on the time of year, there are 40 to 50 employees, and a lot of them of are college students who depend on it,” Groetken said.

While Normal Mayor Chris Koos agrees the closures are unfair, he says the county health department will step in if a business is uncooperative.

“They have said that they will go to those businesses and encourage voluntary compliance,” Koos said.

In Monday night’s Normal town council meeting, council member Karyn Smith urged the public to abide by the governor’s new rules to limit COVID-19’s spread.

“This is not a republican virus, or a democrat virus, or a libertarian virus, or a green party virus. It is a highly contagious airborne infection that spreads easily from one infected person to another.”

Smith said people urging businesses to ignore the governor’s latest restrictions are ignoring evidence that the coronavirus is real.

Both Koos and Renner voiced their frustrations, wondering why McLean County is being punished when they have actually seen a decrease in their positivity rate. As of Monday night, the region’s rolling positivity rate is 9.7 percent, while McLean County is at 5.5 percent.

“What we’re going to look at is try to broaden the parameters that establish that mitigation and see if we can convince the governor to broaden those metrics that decide whether regions should be shut down or not,” Koos said.

For now, restaurants have started thinking of ways to keep their business afloat.

“We put a bunch of heaters up on the patio that are industrial sized heaters to try and get another month or two,” Medici manager Alex Ebbert said.

If restaurants and bars do not comply, the governor has threatened to take away liquor licenses.