Protesters calling for end to coronavirus lockdown have tense standoff with Chicago cops despite gov’s vow to open state
HUNDREDS of protesters in Illinois called for an end the state's lockdown despite Gov J.B. Pritzker vowing to reopen businesses by the end of the month.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Thompson Center and the State Capitol Building on Saturday as they called on Pritzker to end his executive stay-at-home order.
Many brandished signs demanding "FREEDOM" while others slammed Pritzker and compared the governor - who is Jewish - to Adolf Hitler.
Other signs suggested his executive order is part of a political ploy to sabotage President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.
"They said this was all about flattening the curve. I think we flattened the curve," Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider told the on Saturday.
"We've done so well up to now and I hope we continue on the same course," Pritzker said.
The governor hopes that as the state moves to open more testing sites, more areas will move closer to phase four of reopening at the end of June.
"As we open up more testing sites and as we make available more materials for testing, I think we're in a much better place," Pritzker told the station.
"We're making a lot of progress, I feel like we're on a path to being in that spot."
The anti-lockdown protests in Illinois are part of several that have taken place throughout the country as Americans become increasingly restless.
A viral video captured a at an anti-lockdown rally in on Thursday.
At one of several protests on Thursday in , as armed militia men demonstrated in front of the state capitol.
More than 88,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, while more than 1.4 million have been infected with the killer bug.