SPRINGFIELD – Governor JB Pritzker reportedly has withdrawn his emergency rule imposing a Class A Misdemeanor on businesses that violate his executive order from consideration by the Illinois General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
State Representative Amy Grant posted the announcement on her Facebook page shortly after 1 PM Wednesday:
State Rep. Grant Wehrli confirmed Grant's announcement, saying he too, had been inundated with constituent calls.
“Since Friday, my legislative office has received thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls from constituents and business owners who vehemently objected to this emergency rule and the blatant abuse of executive power it represents. Those serving on JCAR received upward of 7,000 emails, which is the biggest response any of us has ever seen to any single JCAR rule issue. The people of Illinois were rightly outraged by the emergency rule, and I’m glad the Governor and Department of Public Health had the good sense to withdraw it," Wehrli said.
“The removal of this rule is a huge win for the law and a huge win for the thousands of Illinoisans who emailed and called their elected representatives. Every Illinoisan who engaged in the political process needs to know their voice was heard. The pressure placed on Governor Pritzker and the Democrat members of JCAR was tremendous, and it is due to the enormous opposition shown by people from all across the state that the rule was removed from consideration.”
State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) issued the following statement:
"This is a great win for democracy, the rule of law, and common sense. Thank you to each-and-every Illinoisan who wrote letters, sent e-mails and made phone calls in opposition to the Governor's complete abuse of power. Your tireless efforts are what put a stop to a blatant overreach of authority. Don't stop, we still have a lot of work to do."
The Governor has yet to comment, expected to do so at his 2:30 daily COVID press conference.
