Illinois gov says Trump partly to blame for COVID-19 spike

CHICAGO (AP) - Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday that President Donald Trump and his allies in Illinois are partly to blame for the coronavirus spike in the state.

Pritzker spoke to CNN's 'œState of the Union'ť the same day health officials announced 4,245 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional deaths.

'œHe's modeling bad behavior. He doesn't wear a mask in public. He has rallies where they don't encourage people to wear masks in public," Pritzker said. 'œBut it is the president's allies in our state, all across the state, who are simply saying to people, '~Don't pay any attention to the mitigations, don't follow the rules.' Indeed, there are bars and restaurants which are restricted from expanding their indoor service that are just ignoring the rules, and they're just filling the place up.'ť

Trump appeared Saturday at a rally in Wisconsin, blasting Illinois' COVID-19 restrictions, saying schools should fully reopen.

'œIllinois could use a new governor,'ť Trump told supporters. 'œThat guy doesn't know what's happened.'ť

Pritzker, a Democrat elected in 2018, spoke to CNN days after Illinois reported a new record for COVID-19 cases, coinciding with spikes elsewhere nationwide. Illinois officials have said high testing rates are part of the reason behind the surge.