Illinois Park Districts Contemplate Swimming Pool Closures

From The Center Square:

By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

Some Illinois cities have decided to keep public swimming pools closed for the summer.

Most park districts would be prepping their pool facilities this month, but Emily Cahill, director of the Peoria Park District, said the district didn’t want to waste time and money.

“To ramp all that up and then have something happen where we wouldn’t be allowed to open pools is something we felt was a risk,” she said.

Cahill said chlorine kills the coronavirus, but other common areas pose concerns.

“If you think about when everybody gets out of the pool, everybody is mingling together,” Cahill said. “You think about changing rooms, where we take admission, all those spaces are opportunities where the germ could be spread.”

Jeff Althoff, the director of the Effingham Park District, has heard of other nearby communities that will not be opening their public pools.

“I know Mattoon is not opening and Mt. Vernon is not opening theirs,” he said. “I just know a lot of other park districts I’ve talked to they are just kind of up in the air just like I am.”

Althoff said he was expecting guidance from the state of Illinois, but it has yet to come. He said he plans to make a decision on whether to open soon.

“At this point, I am 50-50 on whether to open,” Althoff said.

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