Chicago Tribune The Illinois attorney general’s office filed an appellate court brief Wednesday seeking to overturn a southern Illinois judge’s ruling that temporarily exempts a Republican state representative from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order.
State Rep. Darren Bailey request for a personal exemption from the order “besides being dangerous — is flawed as a matter of law,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office argues in the filing with Illinois 5th District Appellate Court.
The filing comes two days after a Clay County judge issued a temporary order freeing Bailey from Pritzker’s directive, which is aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.
In his lawsuit, Bailey argues that Pritzker has exceeded his legal authority under the state Emergency Management Agency Act by extending the order beyond 30 days.
The AG’s office argued the lawsuit rests on an erroneous reading of the act and ignores the governor’s independent authority under the Illinois Constitution to take the actions Bailey challenged,” the filing says.
“It also contradicts the long-standing practice by numerous governors of issuing multiple and often successive emergency disaster proclamations that have allowed them to continue exercising emergency powers for the duration of the disaster.”
The State of Illinois needs to immediately stop all state funding and services to the all the areas that Mr. Bailey represents. The people in that area voted him into the office and therefore should share in the consequences of attempting to jeopardize other people’s lives.
The judge who ruled in Bailey’s favor needs to resign. He also has no regard for human life.