Prairie State Wire

Controversial Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike will be looking for a new job come March 14.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced her resignation on Tuesday.

The state’s top doctor was the main endorsee and medical backer, what some would call a “rubber stamp,” behind Pritzker’s mask and vaccine mandates.

Ezike was up for nomination to a new term but declined to be interview by a Senate panel last week noting a “scheduling conflict.”

That hearing lapsed on Feb. 23 without her participation.

Afterward, critics such as State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), a Republican gubernatorial hopeful, encouraged Illinoisans to contact their representative to encourage a “no” vote.

Illinois has taken one of the more drastic approaches to COVID mandates under Ezike's leadership.

Over the course of the pandemic, Ezike has been a divisive character.

Ezike has been one of the state's foremost masking proponents, even advising individuals to mask in their own homes when they are surrounded by relatives.

According to Politico, Illinois was also one of the worst-affected states economically. Thousands of small business were unable to overcome the lockdown environment and closed their doors for good.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has been accused of ignoring a letter from Republican State House representatives asking proof that closing bars and restaurants would help stop COVID from spreading across the state.

COVID regulations advocated by Ezike have harmed the restaurant industry in particular.

Her agency has also been accused of mishandling COVID data, resulting in the Metro East's closure. 

Ezike was also questioned regarding apparently erroneous mortality rate data in which the cause of death was linked to COVID but the deceased were diagnosed with the disease.