Comparing governors

Like most of the good citizens of this state, I've been following the guidelines of the stay-at-home order and doing my best to stay positive throughout the process. Last week I needed to leave our state for urgent family business in Ohio - I delayed this business as long as possible but ultimately was required to physically travel there.

As I crossed the border from Indiana to Ohio, I turned on the radio and immediately heard a voice that espoused hope and confidence in the future during this pandemic. This voice praised the people of Ohio and their efforts while also articulating specific dates for restaurants, bars, salons, and other important businesses to open - all of these dates were in the month of May.

This voice went further to alleviate fear and instead focused the listener on the collective progress that Ohio had made during COVID-19. Later in the broadcast, I learned that this voice was none other than Gov. Mike DeWine - the governor of that state.

Later that day, I thought about the Ohio governor's contrast to our resident Governor - Gov. Pritzker. Unfortunately, it was a poor comparison as our governor is so lacking in terms of leadership as compared to what Gov. DeWine communicated during his press release.

Gov. Pritzker's press events offer no hope, they offer no specifics, they change (in terms of key details) from day-to-day and most distressing, he seems to relish using this time to browbeat his suffering citizens and small business owners.

My fellow residents of Illinois, I ask you how a state with a similar total population and a larger population density (Ohio) can be lightyears ahead of us in terms of reopening while our state seems to be stuck in the Dark Ages.

The answer is leadership - or in our unfortunate case, the lack of it.

David Duve

Wheaton