Governor J.B. Pritzker says a ruling by a southern Illinois circuit court judge puts more people at risk of getting sick and dying of COVID-19.
A judge in Clay County sided with a Republican state representative who sued over the governor’s emergency powers and the planned extension of the stay-at-home order.
Pritzker says the state will respond quickly to get the ruling overturned.
“At best, no one is better off because of this ruling. At worst, people’s health and safety will suffer tremendously,” said the Governor during his Monday afternoon coronavirus update.
The Republican lawmaker who filed the lawsuit, Darren Bailey of Xenia, said the governor’s orders threaten civil liberties. Pritzker lashed out at him during the briefing.
“Representative Darren Bailey’s decision to take to the courts to try and dismantle public health directives designed to keep people safe is an insult to all Illinoisans who have been lost during this COVID-19 crisis, and it’s a danger to millions of people who may get ill because of his recklessness.”
Pritzker says the public health directives he’s put in place are saving lives, and that the Illinois Attorney General will appeal the decision. A hearing is scheduled for next week.
WUIS reporters May Hansen and Sam Dunklau contributed to this story.