Galesburg Reporter

In a Dec. 14 Facebook post, Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) questioned the continuation of COVID-related emergency powers for Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“If not now, then when will Governor Pritzker end these Emergency Declarations? What criteria or metrics does he need to see? Because the majority of our nation agrees that the emergency phase of COVID-19 has been clearly over for some time,” Stoller posted.

Stoller shared a link to a Wirepoints article marking 1,000 days of emergency declarations under Pritzker. In the article, Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner wrote: "Gov. Pritzker recently extended his Disaster Proclamation for Illinois for the 37th straight time, a period that now stretches over 1,000 days. The governor’s extension of the state’s Covid disaster declarations, in conjunction with President Biden’s continued aid, is harmful to Illinoisans in so many ways. Loss of rights and crippling inflation are but two of them. On top of that, keeping Illinois a 'disaster area' gives the state access to extra Medicaid and food stamps, and that’s creating more government dependency and killing jobs at the same time."

The most recent executive order related to COVID-19, the 37th such executive order, "Reissues previous Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic through January 6, 2023," according to the state web site for Pritzker's executive orders. It was signed on Dec. 8.

In November, Illinois Policy contrasted Illinois' status with neighboring states: "None of Illinois’ neighboring states remain under emergency orders. Illinois is one of just 10 states nationwide still being ruled through emergency powers, with eight of the 10 led by Democratic governors."

Stoller was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2021. His legislative experience includes serving on the Environment and Conservation Committee, and Senate Higher Education Committee. Stoller resides in Germantown Hills.