Rock Island Today

State Rep. Tony McCombie joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in appealing for an increase in the number of sports spectators and audiences in various school extracurricular activities.

"The science tells us this is an appropriate next step for a return toward normalcy,” she said. “The legislature is back in session and, clearly, coming together to push back on executive overreach.”

McCombie and the coalition, together with several Illinois education associations sent their request to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngoze Ezike to allow 25 percent crowd capacity at event sites.

McCombie herself and her “family enjoy all types of outdoor activities with their friends and their families,” thus understands the value of family support during competitions.

“Seniors in high school have now had their final two years in school interrupted by the pandemic,” the letter read. “Parents and siblings have missed out on memories too many to count, and too precious to ignore.”

The legislators also requested “that any distance requirements be lowered to the standard 6 feet for social distancing purposes,” and suggested that “following mask-wearing and social-distancing guidelines should be enough, according to IDPH and the CDC, to greatly limit the spread of COVID-19.”