Illinois and Chicago Release Guidelines for Re-Entry of Businesses in Phase 3

On Sunday, March 24, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released industry-specific guidelines for re-entry of businesses, including guidelines for office buildings, that will apply when the State’s four regions transition into Phase 3 - Recovery under the Governor’s five-phase Restore Illinois plan.

The transition to Phase 3 is expected at the end of the day on Friday, May 29. The Illinois guidelines and a toolkit to help with interpretation and compliance are available on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity website.

In addition, the City of Chicago has also posted re-entry guidelines on the City’s website. However, the City is not expected to move businesses to Phase 3 - Cautiously Reopen under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s five-phase Protecting Chicago plan, until early June. The City is still under Phase 2 until that time and current restrictions of the Mayor’s stay-at-home order remain in place.

Because the State and City issued re-entry guidelines within days of each other, a number of questions have arisen about the differences between the State and City versions. We continue to develop interpretations of the guidelines, but you can find our initial interpretations and guidance here. Please note members must log into the site to access this information.