Prairie State Wire

A Clay County circuit judge ruled July 2 that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker did not have the authority to extend emergency orders regarding COVID-19 in a lawsuit that was filed by Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).

"This is a victory for freedom and a victory for the people of Illinois," Bailey said outside the courthouse. "This is what we stand for here as a country and as a state."

Bailey said for Pritzker to be the sole person telling Illinoisans what to do and going as far as telling residents to comply was ridiculous.

"I simply wanted to ask a question and had to have the help of an attorney to do that," Bailey said. "Is this right? Because I don’t think this is. We discovered today that my question was founded. This indeed was not right. That’s what this was all about."

Bailey said Americans were smart and could live responsibly without the added orders.

"That’s what we’ve been doing," Bailey said. "And county by county, the health departments can help. Today was a big day for not only us but also Americans because we are losing our freedoms."

Bailey's attorney, Tom DeVore, said that one man alone could not rule over nearly 13 million people.

"The Department of Health can start working on what they think should be done," DeVore said. "The issue is that the governor is the executive and he ruled this state by executive fiat. The rule of 250 years ago said we don’t rule like that. We have a people's voice—the legislature. Having the governor sit there doing a one size fits all doesn’t work."

DeVore said if Illinois allows an executive fiat to rule under an emergency situation the state has nothing.

"It’s like when kings used to rule the land and not the will of the people," DeVore said. "The attorney general is supposed to be representing the people of the state and all he’s done is fighting 13 million people he’s supposed to protect."

Bailey filed the lawsuit in April against Pritzker, alleging he had overstepped his authority when he continued to extend his executive orders in the wake of the coronavirus.

When Pritzker released his phased reopening plan, Bailey's attorney also argued that the lawsuit was just as valid with the reopening plan as it was with the previous executive orders, WGEM reported.

Clay Circuit Judge Michal McHaney ruled that Pritzker had 30 days of emergency power and that those powers lapsed on April 8. He ruled that any orders after that date were void, according to WGEM. McHaney ruled that Pritzker's actions were unconstitutional and he also questioned where Pritzker was getting his information for why his orders were the way they were.

Bailey echoed that sentiment during his news conference on the courthouse steps.

"We don’t understand where he's getting the facts and data," Bailey said. "The governor has never shared with us where those facts and data are coming from."

WGEM reported that Pritzker plans to appeal the ruling.