Pritzker rips rep. as state marks worst day for COVID-19 deaths

Guv blasts ‘cheap political stunt’; 144 new deaths push state toll past 2,000

Gov. Pritzker blasted a lawsuit against his stay-at-home order as “irresponsible” and said he expects to prevail in the courts to protect the people of the state. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

Gov. Pritzker blasted a lawsuit against his stay-at-home order as “irresponsible” and said he expects to prevail in the courts to protect the people of the state. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

By Ted Cox

The governor blasted a lawsuit attempting to quash the statewide stay-at-home order as “the height of recklessness” Tuesday as the state marked its worst day in the pandemic with 144 new COVID-19 deaths.

“The stay-at-home order, designed in close consultation with scientists and public-health experts, remains in place,” said Gov. Pritzker at the daily coronavirus briefing at the Thompson Center in Chicago. He insisted, “The state has acted well within its legal authority to protect the health of the public.”

State Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia won a ruling in Clay County Circuit Court Monday quashing the extension of the stay-at-home order through May, but only for himself, in the decision rendered by Judge Michael McHaney. But Pritzker said the state immediately appealed it, and he expected to prevail. “As it stands, the judge’s ruling is limited,” he added, “applying only to one person — the state representative from the 109th District,” Bailey, whom he did not mention by name. “This ruling only applies to one person because it was only ever about one person.”

Pritzker pointed out that Bailey’s district has the lowest number of available hospital beds and ventilators in the state and includes Jasper County, just outside Effingham, the county with the highest COVID-19 mortality rate per capita.

“So it is reckless in the extreme for a state representative, who should know better, to bring a lawsuit like that, that he knows might have a terrible effect on the health and safety of people all across the state,” he added. “That’s what’s reckless. He should be more responsible.”

Calling the suit “callous,” a “charade,” and a “cheap political stunt” meant to attract attention, Pritzker said his administration is nevertheless taking it seriously and intends to dismiss it in court before it can multiply with copycat suits. “While the court’s order is limited, the risk it poses is significant,” he said. “My hope it to move swiftly just to move this out of the way, because we have so much to do. We have so much to do to keep people safe. And wasting our time and effort on these ridiculous lawsuits is something that we shouldn’t have to do.

“On this topic, I leave you with this,” he added. “I know this virus is causing devastating economic consequences, just as it has caused tens of thousands to become ill and thousands to die. … Responsible people understand the trade-offs and the consequences of reopening too early.

“The danger has not passed yet, no matter whether you live in Little Egypt or in Freeport or in Quincy or in Chicago,” Pritzker said. “We will not let one irresponsible state representative deter us from success.”

He said polls show the “vast majority” of Illinoisans, Democrats and Republicans, support the stay-at-home order as the best way to limit the spread and ultimate impact of the coronavirus. “I don’t think there’s a partisan divide,” Pritzker said. “ I do think that there are a few people that are trying to take political advantage at the moment in the middle of the pandemic that is killing people. They’re politicizing it.”

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported a new one-day high Tuesday with 144 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the state toll to 2,125. Some 2,219 new confirmed cases brought the state total to 48,102. She added that 80 percent of the deaths were in northern Illinois, but 14 percent occurred in southern Illinois, with 6 percent in central Illinois. Some 44 percent of the victims were white, 28 percent African American, 13 percent Hispanic, and 8 percent Asian American.

The state remained well above Pritzker’s stated goal of 10,000 tests a day, with 14,561, while hospitalizations increased just over 100 to 4,738. According to Ezike, almost half of COVID-19 patients reported being better after two weeks, 61 percent by four weeks, and 74 percent after that. “I hope that’s seen as encouraging news, that people do recover,” she said. “The majority of individuals do recover.”

“Here’s the facts,” Pritzker said. “We are defeating this virus by virtue of having a stay-at-home order.” Calling Bailey’s suit “the height of recklessness,” he said, “There would have been thousands more deaths in the state” without the stay-at-home order, “and there will be thousands of deaths if this executive order is not allowed to proceed.”

Pritzker called the suit a “partisan endeavor at a moment when frankly political parties shouldn’t matter at all. We should be focused on doing what’s best for our people, keeping them safe and healthy.”