State Rep. Brad Halbrook | Contributed photo
State Rep. Brad Halbrook | Contributed photo
A lawsuit filed by Illinois Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) against Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order extension is being supported by State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville).
"No one wants people to die," Halbrook told the Shelbyville Daily Union. "The governor shut down our economy and assumed tremendous powers on the pretense of flattening the curve and making sure our hospitals were not overrun."
Hospitals in the state haven't been overrun, which means Pritzker's emergency powers should be focused elsewhere, Halbrook told the East Central Reporter. Halbrook believes the governor should be focusing on the people.
"I support what my colleague is doing, and it is my hope that the Circuit Court decision will stand," Halbrook said.
After Pritzker extended the stay-at-home order, Bailey filed a lawsuit, stating the governor only has the power to declare an emergency for 30 days. If Pritzker wishes to extend the emergency declaration, legislative action would be required.
“So far, the governor has had the ability to do whatever he wants with no input from the other branches of government," Halbrook told East Central Reporter. "My colleagues and I have been pleading with the governor’s office to take a bipartisan approach to this situation and to be more transparent and more willing to share information. If the governor had been more inclusive and more transparent, there likely would not have been a need for this lawsuit, but since he has chosen to ignore these modest requests, he has left no choice but court action."
But the decision from the court was only the start since the entire stay-at-home order is to flatten the curve in Illinois.
“We shut down to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed and we have accomplished that goal," Halbrook told East Central Reporter. "It is time to reopen Illinois and it is time for our governor to stop demeaning the office by making outrageous statements implying that people who dare to disagree with him and his lack of leadership somehow want people to die."
Alerts Sign-up