Peoria Standard

As the two-year anniversary of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's first executive order related to the COVID-19 pandemic approaches, Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) is calling for an end to Pritzker's emergency control.

"It's time for the governor to end his go-it-alone approach and relinquish the emergency powers he has held onto so tightly throughout this pandemic. The emergency phase of this pandemic is over. If the governor refuses to relinquish emergency control now, he owes us answers to two questions. Why not now? And if not now, when?" Stoller posted on Facebook.

Illinois Policy's Senior policy analyst Joe Tabor reported on March 9 that "Pritzker has since issued 112 orders and declared a statewide disaster 27 times to extend those powers."

Stoller and other legislators are looking to limit the governor's emergency powers in the future. Senate Bill 3888 would require the General Assembly to approve any subsequent renewal of emergency powers after the initial 30-day state of emergency declaration.

In a press release on his website, Stoller highlighted what he calls Pritzker's failures, including: "Arbitrary closures and regulations that have stacked the deck in favor of large corporations over the small businesses that serve as the backbone to Illinois' local economies; a slower economic recovery rate than other states, ranking 48th in the nation; additionally, Illinois had the 10th highest unemployment rate for the last month that data is available (December 2021); a dysfunctional Illinois Department of Employment Security allowed for an alarming amount of fraud while real claimants were left waiting weeks for earned benefits or even a callback; a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home claimed the life of 36 veterans after it took his Department of Public Health 12 days to conduct an on-site visit; not prioritizing the most vulnerable populations during his vaccine rollout plan; student academic and achievement declines across the state."