Kane County Reporter

State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-St. Charles) took to Facebook to draw attention to a KPVI story on how Democratic lawmakers have allowed Gov. J.B. Pritzker's pandemic response without question.

"When asked why not bring lawmakers back to provide a check on the governor’s authority, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he’s going to keep his 'fingers crossed,'" Ugaste recently posted on Facebook.

For roughly the last 18 months, Pritzker has flexed his executive muscle in imposing dozens of orders impacting everything from the economy to education and healthcare. Earlier this month as schools across the state were set to reopen for in-person learning for the first time in roughly a year, the governor reimposed his universal masking mandate for all public and private school students.

Though Pritzker has met resistance from lawsuits he has enjoyed the cooperation of the Democratically controlled state legislature.

Neither House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Westchester) nor Harmon have responded to Republican lawmakers' calls for a special session to debate the governor's mandates.

“Speaker Welch, members of the Democratic party, and an overwhelming majority of Illinoisans not only support, but appreciate the Governor’s responsible action to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and prevent more death,” spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll said. “The Speaker has no desire to bring lawmakers back to Springfield so members of the minority party can make campaign videos from the House floor on the taxpayer’s dime.”

Ugaste continues to push House Bill 843, a measure he first filed more than a year ago that seeks to establish that an emergency declaration from the governor expires after 30 days unless the governor gets authority from the legislature to extend it.

“It’s something that’s our job to do, it’s something that the people of the state of Illinois expect us to do and we’re not living up to their expectations as their representatives,” Ugaste told the House floor earlier this year.