Dupage Policy Journal

The Brownstone Institute has given Gov. J.B. Pritzker an F on a recent report regarding how states handled the initial 14 months of the pandemic.

The study listed state governors on the efficiency of their COVID mitigations. Pritzker’s response was deemed a  “complete fail.”

“There’s a special place for governors that locked kids out of classrooms for a year and a half, ordered sick COVID-19 patients back into nursing homes, did not practice their own orders, shut down tens of thousands of businesses and still couldn’t beat the U.S. average in COVID-19 deaths or excess all-cause deaths,” the Brownstone Institute said in its report.

“I was one of the first to point out that the administration was not prepared for what was coming, and sadly I was not proven wrong,” Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Gov. Pritzker should have worked with the legislature; he repeatedly refused. The failure to respect both the legislative process as well as due process led to a constant state of chaos and fear among too many Illinois residents. Refusing to accept that there was room for debate and proclaiming that he and he alone represented ‘science’ has created a public policy mess.”

Mazzochi said that Pritzker should have taken into account feedback to the specific wants and needs of state districts because communication is key to respect free speech and civil liberties.

“I can respect Gov. Pritzker doing what is best for his family, as long as he respects my rights to do my best by mine,” she said. “But he rejected the premise that people deserve their freedom to exercise their best judgment for what is right for their families. I have heard many complaints from district residents that they are tired of the political class exercising perks and privileges while expecting the little guy to live up to rules they routinely ignore.”  

Mazzochi said that Pritzker’s daughter celebrating New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas without a mask was not a good look when he urged state residents to cancel their plans for the occasion.

“Scientific studies on various issues relating to these topics have been mixed,” she said. “There are patient populations where vaccines seem to help; others where the results are of minimal clinical benefit. The recent Johns Hopkins study showed minimal benefit to lockdowns; one of the CDC's recently reported mask studies in schools showed minimal benefit; others they touted had demonstrable flaws with several confounding factors.”       

Pritzker’s COVID-19 policies have led to irreparable damage to K-12 public education, said Mazzochi.

“I have filed legislation to give parents more freedom, flexibility and funding support to get their students the education they need on a more permanent basis for precisely this reason,” she said.

Mazzochi said that her district rejected Pritzker’s policy initiative on a graduated income tax.

“Under the Pritzker administration, the insider class may be better off; many in the working and middle class definitely are not,” she said.