Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, former Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico reflects back on the challenges he faced and lessons learned.
“We were all feeling the same thing at that time. We felt helpless. We felt that no matter what decisions we made, people would be angry with us,” said Chirico. “It was truly one of those moments when you were drinking from a firehose of information. We were, we just were trying to absorb so much information so quickly and understand what we’re up against.”
Learning to lead in a global crisis
The city of Naperville turned to experts to help lead the city’s response. Chirico joined 800 other mayors from around the country in an online course from Harvard about how to lead in a crisis.
“One of the instructors said, ‘You’re going to be given a ton of information from so many different directions, and there’s going to be a lot of conflicting information, and then you’re not going to know what to believe, what not to believe, and pretty soon you’ll start to doubt everything,'” said Chirico. “‘Contact your local hospital, get a contact person there who you can communicate with on a regular basis, daily basis, if possible, a liaison to your office and that information is reliable.'”
Sheltering in place during COVID-19 pandemic
It was on March 17, 2020, that then-mayor Chirico declared a state of emergency for Naperville. Three days later, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced a stay-at-home order in an attempt to mitigate COVID-19’s spread.
By the next day, once-filled parking lots stood empty. It appeared Naperville’s vibrancy had vanished.
“I was going into the office, into City Hall every day during the pandemic. And, it was an eerie thing, you know, going through that big building and nobody being in there, you know, and, driving down Washington Street and it being vacant,” Chirico recalled.
By March 28, Edward Hospital had its first deadly case of coronavirus. The hospital had 274 COVID-related deaths through February 2023, according to a spokesperson from Endeavor Health.
Meanwhile, as the city shut down, life as we knew it changed dramatically. The ability to gather, socialize, and comfort each other in person was gone. For Chirico, the pressure of leading the community was compounded by grief of his own.
“It was a super surreal time for me personally because my mom died,” said Chirico. “We were unable as a family to celebrate her life. You know, get to the funeral, you know. So for months, it wasn’t until I think a year later, we finally also got to do something. It was a really weird thing to have to go through.”
Economic impact
To provide some financial relief to residents and businesses, the city of Naperville took actions such as waiving late fees and canceling disconnections for unpaid utility bills, extending parking ticket payment windows, and pushing out deadlines for commercial license fees. Despite their best efforts, a number of businesses closed.
“The shutdown had a lot of economic effect and as a mayor, you hear about that firsthand. You worry about it for your city,” said Chirico. “A lot of people were reluctant to go downtown because of the potential spread, because of the social unrest.”
Meanwhile, other businesses were able to pull through by adopting new practices that remain in place today.
“I think takeout is probably the easiest example when you talk about restaurants, you know, most restaurants do a pretty good takeout business today, and they did zero before that,” said Chirico. “They learned outdoor seating.”
Even while uncertainty around the disease remained, Chirico kept pushing for restrictions to be relaxed.
I know the governor publicly spoke out against me about some of my comments. I believe we should have focused on the most vulnerable. I believe we should have practiced those three W’s. You know, watch your distance, wash your hands, wear a mask,” said Chirico. “I didn’t think that was a lot to ask people. Compared to stay home, you know, and don’t go to work and, you know, shut down your business. I think those directions were too much.”
What the mayor might have done differently during pandemic
Looking back, Chirico says there’s at least one thing he would’ve done differently.
“I would have responded faster. Let’s moderate, let’s not overreact to this because, we can manage it,” said Chirico. “I did the best I could. I had to learn a whole lot in a very short period of time.”
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