Chicago City Wire

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s announcement that he will be giving up emergency powers in May has many critics questioning his move nearly a year after the Covid pandemic was deemed to be over.

Pritzker has held on to one-man rule for 1,132 days. His latest emergency powers order is set to expire in early February, Burt according to the governor’s office Pritzker will continue the emergency powers.

“Did you hear the news? @GovPritzker is ending our State’s Public Health Emergency May 11th. Why wait till then? Will there be a parade as Dr Ezike suggested? @JBPritzker."  

“did u abuse your power? When there’s a real emergency most ppl won’t listen,” Amy Jacobson, co-host of Chicago’s Morning Answer, said on Twitter.

Pritzker first enacted the so-called “emergency powers” via an emergency declaration on March 9, 2020 – nearly three years ago. By the time he relinquishes the power he will have had them for three years and two months.

The executive order allows him to sidestep the regular legislative process.

“Our state's disaster proclamation and executive orders enabled us to use every resource at our disposal from building up testing capacity and expanding our healthcare workforce to supporting our vaccine rollout and mutual aid efforts,” Pritzker said in a press release announcing he would relinquish the control.

Pritzker has issued executive orders ensuring the controls for more than 70% of his tenure as governor.

Only six states are currently under executive orders – Illinois, New York, California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. Georgia is in a state of emergency but that only applies to supply chain issues.

California Gov. Gavin Newsome – an expected Democrat presidential candidate along with Pritzker – is set to end his power on Feb. 28.

“Calling COVID in Illinois a disaster is routine enough that Pritzker didn’t issue a press release announcing the extension. He didn’t even post it on his website with all the other proclamations as of Jan. 9 despite signing it Jan. 6. Powers meant for emergency situations and that skirt state lawmakers’ approval have become routine,” Illinois Policy wrote of Prtizker’s Jan. 9 emergency declaration – the 38th straight – continuing the special powers.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted COVID-19 restrictions in August, saying they no longer recommend quarantining if exposed to someone who tests positive."

“Pritzker could keep emergency powers if he sees fit. The General Assembly – a coequal branch of state government – has no oversight into executive disaster orders.”

Meanwhile, such executive orders for surrounding states ended long ago.

Michigan ended its emergency powers in October 2020, Wisconsin’s came to an end in March 2021 and Missouri’s ended in December 2021. In 2022, Iowa ended the emergency powers in February and both Indiana and Kentucky ended the powers in March.

Illinois is an outlier in the amount of time legislators have been willing to allow Pritzker to assume one-man control.

Pritzker has been the target of criticism for wielding the extraordinary powers he granted himself through executive order.

“That proclamation is what has allowed him to close businesses, demand masks, mandate vaccinations, force remote learning and more over the last 2.5 years. This latest version allows him to reimpose those restrictions at his discretion,” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner wrote in a piece published by the Madison / St. Clair Record.

Dabrowski and Klingner said the emergency powers were not meant to be kept indefinitely such as Pritzker has done.  

“The governor’s repeated Covid declarations have completely bastardized the intended purpose of Illinois’ emergency rules,” the duo wrote.