Galesburg Reporter

Republicans in the Illinois House of Representatives hope to end what some have called an overreach of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's powers by extending numerous emergency declarations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has come up with a solution. Ugaste introduced legislation that would require the governor to either receive written approval from three legislative leaders, or a resolution from the General Assembly within five days of extending or issuing an additional emergency declaration for the same "disaster" in order for it to remain valid, according to the General Assembly's website.

"Governor Pritzker has issued an extended disaster declaration since the beginning of this pandemic with little to no input from legislators," Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) said during an Oct. 20 press conference. 

Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva)

Hammond pointed to the 91 executive orders Pritzker enacted since the pandemic first became a heath crisis in March of 2020.

"Everything from the initial stay-at-home to regional mitigations and masks and vaccine mandates, the Democratic majority has abdicated the responsibility to serve as a co-equal branch of our government, has ceded that authority to Governor Pritzker again and again," Hammond said during the press conference. 

She said it was the legislature's obligation to "right the wrongs."

"We have to have an open and honest discussion, as my colleagues have said, about what we've done with this COVID response and in any further mitigations or restrictions," she said. "That would begin by calling Rep. Ugaste's House Bill 843 for a vote by all 118 members in the House."

Ugaste's bill was first filed in the General Assembly on Feb. 10 and had its first reading in the House that day, according to the General Assembly's website. 

All Republican members of the Illinois House have since signed on as the bill's co-sponsors, which makes changes to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.