Peoria Standard

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) is calling for Gov. J.B. Pritzker governor to stop attempting to enforce certain COVID-19 policies. 

Butler said the governor should not be threatening anyone with withholding federal tax dollars that are pass-through dollars to the local communities

"That’s just ridiculous," Butler said. "These are largely formula funds that are filed out and for the governor to hold that over our head, I think it’s ridiculous he would do that. I think the reason we are seeing so many communities and counties and regions step forward is because the state is passing up the governor on this."

Butler said, yes, people want to save lives, but they also want to save their livelihoods.

"For some people to not be allowed to open until June, July or August, they are having to close permanently," Butler said. "This is where the governor is wrong. He’s not stepping up to the plate on the economic side of this and putting it the same way as the health side of it."

Butler said there are currently more than 800,000 Illinoisans who have applied for unemployment benefits because they cannot work right now.

Butler also said that sheriffs are the highest law enforcement officer in each county and they’re saying across the state they don’t want to get into the back and forth regarding enforcement of those not wearing masks.

"At the end of the day, I think it would be the wrong place to send the Illinois State Police to start enforcing this across the state," Butler said. "That’s not the way to do it. The governor needs to work hand-in-hand and not dictate on high."

Butler said there are 15 state legislatures across the country that have come back into session since the pandemic started. He said Illinois is behind the times.

"There are plenty of facilities and opportunities where we could safely convene and return to session," Butler said. "The House will be meeting that the Bank of Springfield building."

Butler said it shouldn’t have taken this long to find a space to come back to session.

"We are a co-equal branch of government and we can safely convene in a safe manner," Butler said. "We can do the process in a transparent manner and the media can see what’s going on. The public can see what’s going on. We’ve been working through meetings and Zoom but it certainly shouldn’t be like that all the time. We need to have a transparent process."

Butler said when returning to session he wants some focus on the budget.

"We have potentially a $7 billion budget hole for fiscal year 2021," Butler said. "That is an unprecedented amount that we’re looking at. I think we need to have the best data available to do this and we have time to figure out a response on the budget."

Butler said although there are large areas that are off limits, the legislature must craft a budget that takes that into consideration, which will be difficult.

"It has to be done in a bipartisan matter," Butler said. "We should work together to find the answer to that and if and when the federal government will provide more assistance to states. That’s another reason I think we should take a little while before July 1 to look at this."