Kane County Reporter

A state representative hoped his legislation would rein in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ability to issue consecutive emergency orders without approval from the Illinois General Assembly.

Wirepoints reported that Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva), along with state Sen. Dan McMonchie (R- Hawthorn Woods) introduced bills in response to the Democratic governor’s streak of COVID-19 related executive orders, but the measures haven’t progressed because Republicans hold a super minority in both chambers.

Ugaste chastised his Democratic counterparts for failing to hold Pritzker accountable as the governor issued 24 consecutive emergency orders since the beginning of the pandemic.

“I am both amazed and outraged that despite our sworn duty to support both the Illinois and the United States Constitutions, not even one of my Democrat colleagues has agreed to join my efforts ending this unconstitutional abuse of power by executive orders,” the lawmaker told Wirepoints. “Furthermore, the Governor’s abuse of power and sidelining the Legislature, a co-equal branch of government, is not only a breach of his oath of office, but it is incomprehensible that any person raised in this great nation believes they should solely exercise that much authority over the lives of nearly 13 million people.”

Ugaste’s bill, House Bill 0843, directs the governor to consult the GA and earn its approval if he or she wishes to extend an emergency declaration or issue another one.

McMonchie’s measure, Senate Bill 0103, echoes HB 0843, requiring the state’s chief executive to earn the approval of the GA for an extension on an emergency declaration.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri’s KFVS reported that Ugaste studied how emergency orders worked in neighboring states.

“Almost all of them in this area, you have to go back to the legislature to continue an emergency order,” he told the CBS affiliate. “It’s not just automatic that the executive gets to declare an emergency still exists.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed that the state’s first omicron case was in a fully vaccinated Chicago resident.

At least 20 cases of the new COVID-19 variant have been reported in the Prairie State, according to NBC Chicago.