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Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued another
consecutive disaster proclamation for Illinois. With it,
modified executive orders do away with masks and COVID-19
testing for healthcare workers among other changes while vaccine
mandates continue for some state employees that work in
congregate settings.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, which has
oversight authority over state agency regulatory rulemaking, is
taking issue with the process.
State Rep. Steven Reick, a member of JCAR, said lawmakers shoud
have a say.
"The issue was one not of the legitimacy of the rule," Reick
told The Center Square. "The problem was one of IDPH has got
very broad emergency rulemaking power."
Reick took issue with the IDPH not following the state-required
process, including a JCAR board review.
"That rulemaking process is there for a reason. It is there to
allow the public and concerned parties to discuss the rule and
point out objections and possible changes," Reick said. "The
IDPH said we will just throw this out there as an emergency
rule. Well, we at JCAR think that is over the top as far as
their use of the emergency rule."
Reick said during the meeting that the old process needs to be
re-instituted after 35 disaster proclamations have been issued
by the governor since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in
March 2020.
"The pandemic is over. It is time for us to get back to the
normal way of doing business," Reick said during the hearing.
"And the normal rulemaking process should be the one that is
used instead of emergency rulemaking when the time is available
to do that."
JCAR issued a formal objection to the executive order on
Tuesday. The IDPH will now have 90 days to respond.
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a
reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a
producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south
suburbs of Chicago.
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