Customers and employees will have to start wearing masks in Illinois stores starting May 1 under the modified stay-at-home order Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday.
Major chains like Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, CVS and Walgreens say they have already mandated all store employees wear masks or facial coverings. Enforcing the same rule for customers can be more challenging.
Approaches have varied in suburbs that have already adopted similar rules. Some grocery stores in suburbs that require masks be worn in public say they are turning away shoppers who arrive bare-faced. Others say confronting customers could put employees’ safety at risk.
The Fresh Market, which has 159 stores, including four in Illinois, strongly encourages customers to cover their faces while shopping but doesn’t turn unmasked shoppers away, even where local rules mandate masks.
“We are asking guests to support this policy for the benefit of our team members, other guests and the community — strict enforcement of this policy could result in unintended consequences and confrontations during an already trying time for many,” spokeswoman Meghan Flynn said in an email.
Walgreens also encourages customers to wear face coverings but, out of concern for employees’ safety, advises against confronting shoppers about the policy or trying to keep them from entering stores, spokeswoman Molly Sheehan said in an email.
Employees do stop maskless shoppers at Foodstuffs grocery stores, and customers have generally been understanding, said President and CEO Jay Liberman. Three of the company’s four north suburban grocery stores are in towns that already require people to cover their faces in public places like stores.
“We’ve had a couple issues with people getting upset, but our customers and the community are more important than one person who might not come back again,” he said.
Turning shoppers away doesn’t necessarily mean turning down a sale, since customers can call in a curbside order and have it filled while they wait. Liberman said he’s also had to turn away deliveries when the worker making the dropoff wasn’t aware of local rules. Employees at all four stores were required to wear masks before the local orders went into effect.
Pritzker said Thursday businesses should enforce the new statewide regulations and keep people from entering without masks, but also said the state isn’t encouraging police to fine or arrest people not wearing masks.
Approaches have varied in suburbs where similar rules are already in place. People violating Evanston’s mask requirement can face fines, though the city is currently focusing on educating consumers about the policy, which went into effect Thursday morning, said communications manager Patrick Deignan.
Niles, on the other hand, said stores can refuse to admit shoppers who aren’t covering their faces and call police if a customer won’t comply. But police aren’t actively enforcing the order, which did not establish a fine.
Local officials have gotten calls from residents who reported seeing shoppers flouting the rules and the village has provided stores with signs encouraging people to comply, but “we didn’t want to be punitive about it,” said Assistant Village Manager Nick Wyatt.
Several major chains said they encourage shoppers to wear masks in areas where local rules require it. Jewel-Osco and Target said they have employees stationed at the doors to remind shoppers of local ordinances requiring masks.
Jewel-Osco said it works with local law enforcement to ensure shoppers follow local laws but did not comment further on enforcement. Stores including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and CVS didn’t address questions on to what extent they enforce compliance.
![By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the first rule to set minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes and require that a certain portion of the taxpayer dollars they receive go toward wages for care workers is a long-overdue “milestone” that […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Election_2024-Harris_89203.jpg?w=525 "By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the first rule to set minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes and require that a certain portion of the taxpayer dollars they receive go toward wages for care workers is a long-overdue “milestone” that […]")