East Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) points to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s threat of jail time for any business owner deemed to be in violation of his stay-at-home-order as just the latest example in a string of illegal mandates.

“The governor is completely out of control,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “I just got a memo that says if any business owner violates his decree for opening up their business they face jail time. That speaks to how much he’s lost touch with just regular people.”

Prior to the yearlong threat of jail time, the governor said counties that move to restart their economies before the timeframe he has outlined for them run the risk of losing federal funding. Business owners who do likewise could face criminal prosecution.

“I’m guessing because he was born a billionaire and has never been told no for him to now be getting blowback to trying to set himself up as a dictator is hard for him to handle,” Miller added. “The virus is real, but anyone can see that this isn’t a pandemic and that this has been just more political theater.”

Miller says the governor’s handling of the crisis has almost cast him as an enemy of the state in terms of the crippling impact his policies have caused. 

“Down here, there are no deaths caused by the virus and not many cases of it,” he said. “For us to be treated as if we’re a hotspot is crazy. Are we going to keep people isolated until every germ is gone from society or until after the election?”

As of May 21, Illinois reported 102,686 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 4,607 deaths. Coles County has 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In the end, Miller said he thinks Pritzker is just following orders in his handling of the situation.  

“He’s getting direction from the national level in the (Democrat) Party that just wants to take down President (Donald) Trump,” he said.  “He goes along because he has political aspirations to move up the ladder and to do that he has to follow the playbook.”