Peoria Standard

Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy fears what he sees as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “sociologist approach to economics” could be hampering the economy.

“As the owner of the Untamed Chef told one reporter, 'when I did get someone who would fill out the application, they would barely fill out anything and I would call them and they would say, ‘I’m actually just doing this to file for unemployment,’" Tracy wrote in his weekly briefing email. "'I’ve only gotten maybe six people to apply and that was the case on every single one.'”

Tracy said Pritzker isn’t the only one with the wrong view of what the country needs now in its recovery.

“Joe Biden’s refusal to end this drag on American small business owners at the height of recovery and rebuilding is bad for the country and poor policy,” Tracy said. “Even worse, Pritzker’s embrace of this socialistic approach to economics is a major setback for Illinois and its job creators and workers.”

As a way of trying to get more people back into the workforce, state representatives are pressing Pritzker to put a stop to unemployment payments.

"It is time to get back to normal and get back to work,” state Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) recently posted on Facebook. “Businesses need good employees to help move our economy in the right direction for families."

Too that end, Niemerg has joined Republican colleague Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) in pressing Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) to end extra benefits as 25 other states have already done.

In his press release, Niemerg details that at least 15 state governors have vowed to end the extra payments. As of May 15, Neimerg claims 422,093 people were still collecting unemployment benefits across the state, despite documented job openings.