Sangamon Sun

Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan said The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules' vote blocking Gov. J.B. Pritzker from obtaining a new mask mandate was a good move.

“Today’s JCAR vote is a victory for separation of powers and the rule of law. Pritzker’s agenda is clearer than ever: seize total control of Illinois kids and schools, answering to no one but his most radical teachers union backers. His actions are so extreme that his own party is now rejecting them. And in November, voters will too,” Sullivan, a tech entrepreneur, said in a statement.

Sulivan, 37, is native of Menard County.

Pritzker tried to subvert a court’s ruling that the states' mask mandate against schools named in the suit is unconstitutional.

His efforts were blocked 9-0-2 on Tuesday in a session of the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (JCAR).  

Sullivan will face State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), businessman Gary Rabine, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf for the Republican nomination.

JCAR's vote came as an appellate court is considering an appeal to the order of the Sangamon County judge who ruled the mask mandate for schools unconstitutional.

That judge, Raylene Grischow, recently notified Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez that he is being subjected to a contempt of court hearing for not abiding by the the terms of her ruling.