Pritzker Blasts Lawsuit; IL Has Most Coronavirus Deaths In 1 Day

ILLINOIS — As Illinois marked yet another grim milestone — the highest single-day coronavirus death toll since the outbreak began — Gov. J.B. Pritzker spoke out against a Clay County judge's ruling Monday to block his stay-at-home order extension for just one person: state Rep. Darren Bailey, who represents Illinois' 109th District.

Bailey, who hails from the small town of Xenia, filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to declare that the governor had overstepped his authority each time he extended the effective date of his emergency order declaring the COVID-19 pandemic a statewide disaster.

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Clay County Judge Michael McHaney issued a temporary restraining order Monday blocking the extended stay-at-home order starting May 1. The ruling applies only to Bailey.

Pritzker on Tuesday called the ruling a "dangerous precedent," saying it poses the risk that other citizens could follow suit — damaging the state's ability to slow the spread of the coronavirus. He also said the ruling could prove especially dangerous to Bailey's district.

"For those unfamiliar, the 109th District happens to have among the lowest hospital bed availability and ventilators in the state, making it uniquely ill-equipped to respond to a surge in cases," Pritzker said. "The district is also home to the county experiencing Illinois' highest death rate per capita from COVID-19."

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"This ruling only applies to one person because it was only ever about one person," Pritzker added. "This was a cheap political stunt designed so the representative can see his name in headlines and, unfortunately, he has briefly been successful in that most callous of feats. As absurd as this charade is, we are taking this matter very seriously."

On his website, Bailey posted a news release trumpeting, "Darren Bailey Beats Gov. JB Pritzker."

"Our governor has acted as if he knows best, but he does not know what's best for all 12 million residents in our state," Bailey said. "We have a mechanism in place through the Illinois Department of Public Health; and how to act during a pandemic was laid out many years ago, long before J.B. Pritzker came to office. I've asked him since day one to respect local governments throughout the state and he's refused, but I believe this lawsuit is the mechanism by which 'we the people' will be allowed to govern ourselves as our constitution demands."

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Meanwhile, Illinois is reporting 144 additional coronavirus deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 2,125. Another 2,219 new cases bring the coronavirus case count to 48,102.

When it comes to case counts within the United States, Illinois remains in fourth place, behind New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts and just ahead of California.