JUDGE: Pritzker doesn’t have authority to restrict freedoms UPDATED

Last updated today at 5:21 pm July 2, 2020

LOUISVILLE, Ill. (WGEM) — Clay County Judge Michael McHaney sided with Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) on Thursday that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker did not have the authority to declare consecutive disasters beyond the initial 30 days.

Judge McHaney said Pritzker doesn’t have authority to restrict freedoms.

Following Judge McHaney's decision, Bailey Tweeted "Illinois is Open! Live Responsible!"

Bailey's lawsuit, filed in April, accuses Gov. J.B. Pritzker of abusing his emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Pritzker's Stay-at-Home order is no longer in effect, Rep. Bailey's attorney, Tom DeVore feels his argument is just as valid when addressing the phased plan to reopen the state's economy. The governor has explained any region of the state could move back to a previous phase of Restore Illinois with a surge of COVID-19 cases.

"We do not have executive officers or heads of administrative agencies dictating to people unilaterally. And if you don't agree with them they're going to punish you," DeVore exclaimed. "That has to come to an end."

Attorney - Tom DeVore

The lawsuit was largely seen as a publicity stunt by Rep. Bailey however McHaney has ruled in Bailey's favor during two previous court appearances.

The governor previously said that Bailey's lawsuit is an insult to all Illinoisans who have been lost to this crisis.

"History will remember those who put politics aside to come together to keep people safe. It will also remember those who so blindly devoted to ideology and the pursuit of personal celebrity that they made an enemy of science and of reason."

Gov. J.B. Pritzker

The Illinois Attorney General's office, representing Pritzker, is expected to ask for an appeal.

https://wgem.com/2020/07/02/judge-pritzker-doesnt-have-authority-to-restrict-freedoms/