SPRINGFIELD – Governor JB Pritzker, who anticipated death and sickness on an appalling scale and little economic harm, turned out wrong on both counts.
He proceeds on his virus lockdown plan – though gradually loosening – with few supporters beyond his lawyer, Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Legislators failed to rally around Pritzker’s proposal to lock Illinois down as tightly as any state, and he withdrew the proposal.
Those proposed rules would have provided criminal charges for opening anything Pritzker closed.
Pritzker currently defends three federal suits at the Southern District of Illinois, seeking judgment that his emergency power expired in April.
He removed all three suits from state courts, including one that State Rep. Darren Bailey of Louisville filed in Clay County.
At a hearing on April 27, prior to removal, Circuit Judge Michael McHaney granted Bailey a temporary restraining order.
The order no longer holds, but McHaney’s statements at a hearing reached social media a month later and blew up.
“These executive orders are not laws,” McHaney said. “They are royal decrees.
“The last time a monarch tried to rule Americans, a shot was fired that was heard around the world.”
When Pritzker formed his plan, Americans generally believed they needed to interrupt their lives in order to prevent a disaster.
His plan stated, “The severity of the next pandemic cannot be predicted, but modeling studies suggest its effect in the United States could be severe.”
Nationally, the plan estimated 89,000 to 207,000 deaths, 314,000 to 734,000 hospitalizations, 18 to 42 million outpatient visits, and 20 to 47 million sick.
“Between 15 percent of and 35 percent of the U.S. population could be affected by influenza pandemic, and the economic impact could range between $71.3 billion and $166.5 billion,” it stated.
Beyond that half sentence, the plan didn’t address the lockdown’s cost.
The state’s share of that impact would run roughly from $3 billion to $7 billion, microscopic figures in hindsight.
Pritzker’s plan predicted dire results, but didn’t indicate how long they would take.
One section of the plan projected 4,000 to 9,000 deaths, and another section projected 7,907 to 47,462 deaths.
The provisional count to date has topped 5,000, but the count doesn’t separate those who died of the virus from those who died with it.
In April, a lawyer for Illinois state’s attorneys advised them that damage claims will increase when citizens see official counts.
Pritzker’s plan projected 12,000 to 38,000 hospitalizations.
Hospitalizations peaked at 5,036 and dropped to 4,002 as of May 18, according to CBS Chicago.
Pritzker’s plan projected 750,000 to two million outpatient visits.
The state health department, which suspended elective surgeries in March so doctors could deal with the virus, allowed them to resume May 11.
Pritzker’s plan projected two million to 4.5 million cases.
As of May 28, a state website reported 114,306 confirmed cases.
Pritzker’s plan authorized him to evacuate the population from any area and to prescribe their routes and destinations.
He authorized himself to control ingress and egress to and from an area, movement within the area, and occupancy of premises therein.
He authorized himself to take personal property including airplanes, automobiles, trucks, trailers, buses, coal, oil, gasoline, explosives, livestock, seed, food for humans and animals, clothing, bedding, and medicine.
He authorized himself to occupy any real estate.
His plan stated the health department could order isolation and quarantine.
“Within 48 hours, Illinois Department of Public Health must gain consent of the person or owner of the place and request a court order,” it stated.
According to Rep. Bailey’s lawsuit, Pritzker hasn’t followed that law.
The plan stated that when the number of fatalities exceeded the capabilities of state agencies, Illinois would request federal mortuary response assistance.
“In a disaster situation, identification of the dead is a critical issue,” it stated.
It stated that response organizations should have procedures and guidelines for dealing with mass fatalities.
“To keep mass fatality plans practical and efficient, drills and exercises should be conducted routinely,” it stated.
It called for temporary morgues, “close to the area where large numbers of deceased are located.”
It called for guards, “for security of remains and personal property.”
It stated the site should be removed from public view, not a school, “or other sites of local potential for long term sensitivity.”
“Potential temporary morgue sites can be in existing mortuaries, hangars, large garages, National Guard armories or other areas without wooden floors,” it stated.
It stated coroners should obtain refrigerated trailers, railroad refrigeration cars, vans, or other cold storage, to aid in preservation of bodies.
“Consideration should be given to assigning a person to each body or body part,” it stated.
It stated many would be unable to handle psychological aspects of the problem and no one should have a prolonged assignment at this task.
“The deceased must be treated with respect and dignity in all thoughts and actions,” it stated.
“A bioethics committee will be consulted before any decisions are made on the mass burial or disposal of victims.”
He relied on state emergency management law, which grants power for 30 days.
When he extended his order, Rep. Bailey sued him.
At the hearing, Judge McHaney said, “I won’t get Covid if I get an abortion but I will get Covid if I get a colonoscopy.”
He said pot dispensaries didn’t exist in the state until five months ago and they became essential, but a family business of five generations is not.
“A family of six can pile in their car and drive to Carlyle Lake without contracting Covid but if they all get in the same boat they will,” he said.
“We are told that kids rarely contract the virus and sunlight kills it but summer youth programs and sports programs are cancelled.
“If I go to Wal-Mart I won’t get Covid but if I go to church I will.
“Murderers are released from custody while small business owners are threatened with arrest if they have the audacity to attempt to feed their families.
“Our economy is shut down because of a flu virus with a 98 percent plus survival rate.”
Pritzker appealed his temporary order.
Instead of opposing the appeal, Bailey moved to vacate McHaney’s order.
He amended his complaint and Pritzker removed it to district court, claiming Bailey raised issues under the U.S. Constitution.
Bailey moved to remand the suit to Clay County, claiming he raised issues only under state emergency management law.
At a status conference on May 26, Magistrate Judge Gilbert Sison set a June 5 deadline for Raoul to respond to Bailey’s motion on Pritzker’s behalf.
If either side declines magistrate jurisdiction, a district judge will preside.
Thomas DeVore of Greenville and Steven Wallace of Glen Carbon represent Bailey.
They also represent hair stylist Sonja Harrison of Louisville, who sued Pritzker in Clay County, and Dookie Set bar of Carlyle, which sued him in Clinton County.
Their suits haven’t advanced since Pritzker removed them.