McHenry County sheriff: No 'capacity or desire' to enforce the governor's orders

The McHenry County sheriff's office has no plan to enforce the Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order as a criminal offense, Sheriff Bill Prim announced in a Facebook post Saturday.

Prim cited a quote from the governor from May 6, where Pritzker said that "at the state level, we don't have the capacity or desire to police individual behavior of 12.7 million people."

"We too, do not have the capacity or desire to enforce the Governor's orders," Prim said.

Instead, Prim said, the sheriff's office encourages McHenry County residents to self-monitor and voluntarily comply with the orders.

"It is our duty to ensure the safety of all citizens within McHenry County is our priority," Prim said.

"With the Governor's order, voluntary compliance is important in moving forward on the road to a revitalized and restored community. The community's safety and well-being, mentally and physically, are of the utmost concern."

Earlier this week, the Kane County sheriff's office also said they would not take enforcement action against anyone, or any entities, for violating the executive order without a judicial order.