Coronavirus: Tri-City Rep. Demands Vote On Disaster Proclamations

KANE COUNTY, IL — Illinois State Rep. Dan Ugaste is calling on his fellow state lawmakers to take a vote on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s disaster proclamations, arguing the governor should not be allowed to issue multiple disaster proclamations without legislative approval.

Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation March 9 to access additional federal resources in the state’s fight against the new coronavirus outbreak. He signed a 30-day extension of that proclamation on April 1. The proclamations also gave Pritzker the authority to issue stay-at-home orders and to close schools.

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Ugaste — whose district covers all or parts of Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Elgin, South Elgin and Hampshire — said he believes any extension of a disaster proclamation by the governor should be approved by state lawmakers. He is one of a growing number of state lawmakers challenging Pritzker’s authority to extend the proclamation without legislative approval. Republican State Rep. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, is suing Pritzker for overstepping his authority under the Illinois Emergency Act.

The Illinois Emergency Act allows governors to exercise specific emergency powers for no more than 30 days, Ugaste said in a news release.

“However, it in no way provides for the complete sidelining of the legislature, who are the closest representatives of the people of the State of Illinois and on the front lines of contact with them,” he said in the release.

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The Illinois General Assembly should reconvene for a vote on the disaster-proclamation extension “in an effort to ensure the bedrock of our government’s system of checks and balances goes unshaken through this pandemic,” Ugaste said.

“The General Assembly is a separate and equal branch of the government, which has been completely marginalized by the governor’s decision to issue continuous disaster proclamations beyond the original 30 days,” Ugaste said in the release.

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The first-term Republican state representative and Geneva resident said the Illinois General Assembly should follow the lead of the U.S. Congress, which voted on a stimulus package earlier this week as members followed social-distancing guidelines and wore protective gear.

“There is no reason that we can’t do the same here for Illinois residents,” Ugaste said.

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