NW Illinois News

In a recent Facebook post, Illinois state Sen. Win Stoller (R-Germantown Hills) questioned the continuation of pandemic-related emergency powers for Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.

"If not now, then when will Governor Pritzker end these Emergency Declarations?" Stoller said in the post. "What criteria or metrics does he need to see? Because the majority of our nation agrees that the emergency phase of COVID-19 has been clearly over for some time."

Stoller’s post also shared a link to a Dec. 13 Wirepoints article marking 1,000 days under emergency declarations from Pritzker.

"Gov. Pritzker recently extended his Disaster Proclamation for Illinois for the 37th straight time, a period that now stretches over 1,000 days," article authors Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner said. "The governor’s extension of the state’s Covid disaster declarations, in conjunction with President Biden’s continued aid, is harmful to Illinoisans in so many ways. Loss of rights and crippling inflation are but two of them. On top of that, keeping Illinois a 'disaster area' gives the state access to extra Medicaid and food stamps, and that’s creating more government dependency and killing jobs at the same time."

The most recent executive order tied to COVID-19 was signed on Dec. 8 and reissued multiple similar executive orders through Jan. 6, the State of Illinois Coronavirus Response website said. In November, Illinois Policy contrasted the state's pandemic response status with neighboring states.

"None of Illinois’ neighboring states remain under emergency orders," the article said. "Illinois is one of just 10 states nationwide still being ruled through emergency powers, with eight of the 10 led by Democratic governors."

Stoller, a Germantown Hills resident, was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2021; the General Assembly website said. His legislative experience includes serving on the Environment and Conservation Committee and the Senate Higher Education Committee.