Chicago City Wire

Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chris Cleveland fumes that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has used the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to turn himself into something the people of the state have never granted him the power to be.

“He has continued to act like a dictator without any authority to do so,” Cleveland told the Chicago City Wire. “Gov. Pritzker has overstepped his bounds.”

Despite all the growing criticism to his five-phase Restore Illinois plan, the governor is staunchly standing behind it, angrily vowing to have local law enforcement and the Illinois State Police take action against businesses that defy his stay-at-home orders.

Cleveland argues not fast.

“Under the Illinois Constitution, he gets 30 days to go outside the law and issue lockdown orders,” he said. “That's it. After that, he has no special powers unless the legislature grants them. Yet, he acts like he does.”

Since the General Assembly last met in Springfield – more than two months ago – the governor has enacted a stay-at-home order that forced all businesses not deemed to be essential by the government to shutter as part of a plan to slow the spread of the deadly virus. More recently, Pritzker extended the order through the end of May.

“None of this is good for Illinois and will just keep running people out of the state,” he said.

Cleveland likewise views Pritzker’s threat of getting law enforcement involved as a way of further imposing his will as being off base.

“If he follows through on his threat to use the state police to enforce his illegal orders, then he's going to get himself in very deep trouble,” he said.