Dupage Policy Journal

Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) laments Gov. J.B. Pritzker seems to have a one-track mind when it comes to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Gov. Pritzker has a Chicago-centric view that impedes his ability to make decisions that make sense across Illinois,” Ives told the DuPage Policy Journal of the governor’s recent decision to extend his statewide stay-at-home order through the end of the month. “Our state is a very diversified entity. It is not surprising that people are upset with his one-size-fits-all policies that fail to respect the diversity of the state.”

Hundreds of residents recently took to the streets outside government office buildings in Springfield and downtown Chicago, where they called on the governor to pull the plug on the order that has forced countless small businesses to either shutter or reduce operations after they were deemed to be nonessential by the government.

Ives, now running against U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) in the 14th Congressional District, argues Pritzker has brought it all on himself.

“Oftentimes, governing requires nuance; Gov. Pritzker exhibits none,” she said. “Additionally, his policies have been ruled unlawful and ordinary Illinoisans also find them arbitrary.”

Pritzker first enacted his order in late March and moved to extend it roughly a month later. More recently, a downstate lawmaker filed suit challenging his authority to extend the shutdown beyond 30 days as outlined in the Illinois Constitution’s Emergency Management Act.

A Clay County judge ruled in the favor of state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), granting him a personal exemption from the order the lawmaker in his action blasted as “flawed as a matter of law.”

Ives previously served six years as state representative in the 42nd District and narrowly lost out in her 2018 Republican primary run against then-Gov. Bruce Rauner.