Illinois lawmaker’s legislation to limit governor’s emergency powers stuck in committee

[March 16, 2022]  By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – This month marks the two-year anniversary of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s first executive order citing emergency powers, and efforts to limit those powers continue.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Pritzker has issued 112 orders and declared a statewide disaster 27 times to extend those powers.

The avalanche of orders dealt with closing bars and restaurants and other businesses he deemed nonessential, keeping kids out of the classrooms and requiring masks when they returned, and vaccine mandates on various sectors of industry.

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, pleaded with the Illinois House Tuesday to support his legislation limiting the governor's authority and holding up the Illinois constitution.

“No branch shall exercise the powers belonging to the other,” Ugaste said, referring to the state legislature's hands-off approach to checking Pritzker. “What are we doing? Why are we letting this go on? Why won’t you join me? What is it going to take?”

Ugaste says Democrats won't allow his bill out of committee.

The legislature has provided little to no oversight of Pritzker’s emergency powers.

There are 21 states that empower their legislatures to end a state of emergency by joint resolution at any time, and 12 of those require their legislatures to approve any extension of emergency declarations.

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said the governor’s authority to manage a pandemic is important.

“We need the governor to step in and take the emergency actions he did to protect the people of this state,” Guzzardi said.

A circuit court ruled the governor’s mask and exclusion mandates and vaccine or testing rule was null and void after calling it a "type of evil." Pritzker has said he was in communication with lawmakers about his executive orders, but never called for a special session to deal with issues like mask mandates that caused confusion – and outrage – around the state.

The governor, who repeatedly said he was following “the science,” maintains his orders were necessary to keep the state safe from COVID.

Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.