McHenry Times

Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste says he's out to put an end to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s one-man rule on the COVID-19 front.

HB 843 seeks to pave the way for lawmakers to be involved in any emergency order after 30 days. 

“Today, I'm here to talk about the ongoing state of emergency in Illinois, as so declared by the governor,” Ugaste said at a late-October news conference earlier about the bill he filed with his stated goal of giving lawmakers more of a voice in the state’s direction. “An emergency is defined in the dictionary as an unforeseen combination of circumstances and the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The last 20 months we have had one-person rule over our state, operating under a continual emergency declaration. In fact, today he's made 91 such orders. That's 91 times the constituents, business owners and families and the entire legislative body have been silenced. The governor has relied on an ambiguous section of the Illinois Emergency Management act to issue continuous emergency declaration and exercise authority he otherwise would not possess.”

The measure mandates that if the governor “issues a proclamation declaring a disaster, the Governor may extend the proclamation or make an additional proclamation regarding the same disaster, but the extension or additional proclamation shall be void and have no legal effect unless within 5 days of the extension or additional proclamation he or she receives written approval to extend the proclamation or make an additional proclamation from 3 legislative leaders or the General Assembly adopts a joint resolution approving the extension or additional proclamation.”

In addition, the measure outlines that a disaster proclamation issued, or a disaster proclamation regarding the same disaster, shall be void and have no legal effect if at any time the General Assembly adopts a joint resolution declaring the proclamation to be void.

“It would ensure the legislature is involved in determining how our state is run,” Ugaste added. “My House Bill 843 would guarantee that executive powers are kept in check and that the legislature is not denied its role in governing the state. It's important that as members of the legislature we are able to act on the concerns of the people in our district and governing at all times and only in the most extreme circumstances should the executive be allowed to act alone. How the current health situation has been handled is not how our system of government was intended to operate nor our system of checks and balances is meant to function.”