(Editor's note: This article was published first by Wirepoints)
The covid pandemic began with health officials urging lockdowns for “15 days to slow the spread.” Gov. Pritzker issued his first disaster proclamation on March 12, 2020.
Three years – or 1,114 days – later and Pritzker just issued his 41st declaration on March 31, 2023.
This is supposed to be the governor’s last full extension of his powers. Pritzker announced at the end of January that his emergency powers will end the same day Pres. Biden is set to end the federal government’s own emergency on May 11. With that proclamation, Pritzker effectively added disaster declarations 39, 40 and 41 in one shot.
Announcing three declarations at once was the culmination of Pritzker’s years of wearing down democratic norms, the roteness of which Wirepoints covered on our Instagram.
Illinois is now just one of seven states still operating under emergency orders.
Texas stands out as the anomaly, but as we wrote previously, Gov. Abbott’s orders are in place to ensure localities don’t force covid mitigations on Texans – pretty much the opposite purpose of Gov. Pritzker’s powers to impose one-size-fits all mask, vaccine and other restrictions on Illinoisans.
As covid continues to wind down, Illinoisans should be reminded of just how draconian Gov. Pritzker’s policies were. Every one of Illinois’ neighbors ended their emergencies at least a year ago – and some over two years ago.
What’s most frustrating about Gov. Pritzker’s continued use of declarations and the powers that come with them is how ineffective they were in actually mitigating covid. An April 2022 study published in NBER found that despite Illinois’ draconian mitigations, the state ranked right at the average for deaths nationally – 24th.
The costs – from deaths of despair, closed businesses, lost jobs and learning loss – were heavy. Illinois ranked 46th to 43rd in measures tied to economic performance. The state also scored a low 43rd on keeping schools open during the pandemic.
Overall, Illinois earned a combined ranking of 46th and an ‘F’ grade. Only California, New Mexico, New York, the District of Columbia and New Jersey scored worse.