McHenry Times

Veteran Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has long found Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to be misguided.

“I’ve been saying that the governor and [House Speaker Mike Madigan] should have brought us together in Springfield to collaborate on what we could do that would be in the best interest of the state,” Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter. “We needed to work together to truly come up with a plan that would protect people from the virus and address the economic hardships that would come from just shutting down.”

While Ugaste doesn’t seem completely convinced the governor’s sweeping stay-at-home orders have always done that, but he doesn’t seem the least bit surprised by a Clay County judge’s recent verdict that finds that the governor overstepped his bounds by extending his executive order beyond the initial 30 days.

“We all need to be working together,” he said. “He took some input from us and completely ignored other parts. One person making all decisions I don’t think is the best way to go. We’re set up the way we are with a system of checks and balances for a reason.”

The case stems from a suit filed back in April by state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) charging that Pritzker had no authority to extend his order beyond 30 days without consulting with the legislature. The judge making the ruling previously granted Bailey a temporary restraining order exempting him from the governor’s order.  

Ugaste said he wouldn’t be surprised if this still isn’t the end.

"I suspect we’ll be seeing some kind of appeal to the verdict, but I’m glad the case is moving forward," he said. "It’s been delayed too long already and I think the people of the state need to know what’s happening.”