Sandy MaloneSpringfield, IL – An Illinois judge issued a restraining order to stop the governor from extending the state’s stay-at-home order that is due to expire on Friday.
Republican Illinois State Representative Darren Bailey filed a lawsuit in Clay County Circuit Court that accused Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s of exceeding his authority and violating the civil rights of residents on Thursday when he extended the state’s stay-at-home order through May 30, WMAQ reported.
Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney granted a restraining order that will temporarily put a halt to the governor’s planned lockdown extension.
Pritzker’s latest executive order allowed for some outdoor activities and some earlier-banned surgeries and medical treatments to resume, and it also allowed some retail businesses to re-open to fill online or pickup orders, WMAQ reported.
However, the governor has ordered everyone older than two years old to wear face coverings in public.
“Enough is enough!” Bailey said in a statement. “I filed this lawsuit on behalf of myself and my constituents who are ready to go back to work and resume a normal life.”
The representative called for “an immediate review and reconsideration of legislative intent” with regard to the power and authority given to the governor during an emergency, WMAQ reported.
Pritzker pushed back on Monday during his daily coronavirus press briefing and said the temporary restraining order wouldn’t stop him.
“We are certainly going to act in a swift action to have this ruling overturned,” the governor said.
He said he would simply issue new public health directive in place of the stay-at-home order, WMAQ reported.
“Representative Bailey’s decision to go to the courts is an insult to all Illinoisans who have been lost during this COVID-19 crisis,” Pritzker said. “It’s a danger to millions of people who might get ill because of his recklessness. Disasters don’t evaporate on a 30-day timeframe. Legislators took this into account when they wrote this law.”
“We will fight this lawsuit to the furthest means possible,” the governor vowed. “In the interim, we will be issuing new public health directives so we can respond to this public health crisis.”
As of April 27, 45,883 residents of Illinois have tested positive for coronavirus and 1,983 have died, according to Bing’s COVID-19 Tracker.