Republican nominee for Illinois' 75th House district Jed Davis has criticized Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for continuing to issue disaster declarations. | Jed Davis/Facebook
Republican nominee for Illinois' 75th House district Jed Davis has criticized Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for continuing to issue disaster declarations. | Jed Davis/Facebook
Jed Davis, the Republican nominee for newly formed Illinois' 75th House District, recently criticized Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for continuously issuing disaster declarations and is calling on the Legislature to take action.
On Aug. 19, Pritzker issued his latest executive order, which asserted that every county in Illinois is a "disaster area" due to COVID-19 and authorized his continued use of emergency powers. The governor issued the first executive order related to the pandemic on March 9, 2020. Since then, he's continued to declare the state a "disaster area" every month..
"JB issued his 33rd consecutive disaster declaration, a whopping 896 consecutive days of executive overreach. Will the real legislature please stand up!" Davis wrote Monday in a Facebook post.
None of Illinois' neighboring states are still under emergency orders, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.
According to Illinois Policy, the State Legislature does not have the power to limit Pritzker's emergency powers, unlike legislatures in 34 other states. In neighboring states including Michigan and Wisconsin, the governors need approval from the legislatures to extend emergency powers.
Davis defeated incumbent David Welter in the June Republican primary, according to Ballotpedia. In November, Davis will face off against Democrat Heidi Henry.
Alerts Sign-up