Sangamon Sun

In the mind of veteran state Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), the verdict concerning Gov. J.B. Pritzker has long been in.

“As far as the phasing process the governor put in place goes, all the Republicans in the Senate have been saying for weeks now that we should’ve been in the next phase weeks ago,” McClure told the Sangamon Sun. “You look at the data and there’s no way that shouldn’t have happened, other than the fact the governor doesn’t think he has to listen to anyone else.”

Given that, McClure said he wasn’t the least bit surprised that a Clayton County judge found this month that the governor overstepped his bounds in extending past 30 days the stay-at-home order he enacted back in March as a way of slowing the spread of COVID-19.

Fellow GOP lawmaker Darren Bailey filed suit back in April naming Pritzker as a defendant and charging that he had no authority to extend his executive order where he only allowed businesses to operate that he deemed essential without convening with the legislature. The judge who ruled in the latest case is the same judge who granted Bailey a temporary restraining order applying only to himself, exempting the veteran lawmaker from the governor’s order

McClure said he worries much of the damage may already be done.

“Some businesses will never recover from having been handcuffed like this,” he said. “Illinois’ financial situation will only get worse after the pandemic is over and we’re faced with even more massive debt and less tax-paying businesses. That’s why we need to be making adjustments now, instead it’s just business as usual.”

McClure said he suspects all the legal wrangling may still not be over.  

“The governor’s office has indicated it’s thinking of appealing and still fighting this thing,” he said. “Again, no regard for the people who could really use a little certainty right now.”