Illinois Valley Times

State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) doesn’t envy Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s job in trying to strike the right balance in guiding Illinois back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s quite the balancing act,” Rezin told the Illinois Valley Times. “There’s really much to consider and there’s no playbook in place for doing so.”

Nonetheless, Rezin wasn’t surprised to see a Clay County judge recently rule that the governor overstepped his authority in the way he enacted the shut-down order that effectively crippled the state’s small businesses. Even now, she doesn’t expect the matter to be completely put to rest.

“It’s a case we’ll be watching to see if there’s an appeal and if there’ll be any other ramifications,” she said.

The case stems from a suit filed by state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) charging the governor had no legal authority to unilaterally extend his order beyond the initial 30 days without convening with the legislature. The judge who ruled in the latest case is the same judge who granted Bailey a temporary restraining order, exempting the veteran lawmaker's business from the governor’s stay-at-home order.

Even with the state now having moved into Phase 4 of the governor’s five-part Restore Illinois plan, allowing small businesses to open with certain restrictions, Rezin said their justifiably remains some debate.

“If anyone is sympathetic to small businesses or has been an advocate for them being able to reopen as soon as possible, it’s been me,” she said. “But at the same time, we want to make sure we’re doing everything in a safe manner, especially given all the talk of COVID spike that could be coming in the fall. Our job is to make sure there’s no overreach on the part of the governor while making sure everyone is being protected as much as they can be.”