Forward Janesville: Supports Rock County Reopening Phased Plan

Forward Janesville, a 500-member chamber of commerce and economic development organization representing businesses and not-for-profits from across south central Wisconsin, today released the following statement:

“Forward Janesville supports the Rock County Reopening Phased Plan as an important first step in a safe and sustainable reopening.

Our organization has been a key part of reopening discussions with Rock County leaders since the Wisconsin Supreme Court invalidated the Governor’s Safer at Home order. County leaders have been very receptive to our requests and recommendations.

Going forward, Rock County will be forming a task force to monitor the spread of the virus. The task force will use objective, data-driven metrics to determine when to update the guidance to our community. This task force model is very similar to our Better Together Framework, and we fully intend to play an active role on the task force. We appreciate that County leaders have taken a balanced, measured, data-driven approach to reopening that gives clarity and transparency to the decision-making process.

While our members have many perspectives on how our City and County should reopen, we believe the County’s approach best represents the interests of all our members. The County has responded to many member businesses by providing guidelines and not imposing enforceable regulations. As of today, Janesville businesses are free to open in any manner they would like.

That said, we are confident that our members will re-open in a safe and responsible manner, and that we will all continue to behave responsibly to keep Rock County’s curve flattened.”