Illinois Lawmakers call for COVID-19 Hearings

By Gary Scott on November 16, 2020 at 10:50am

Illinois lawmakers are calling for hearings on the state’s response to COVID-19.

In a bipartisan press conference held last week, Republican State Senator of the 38th District, Sue Rezin of Morris, says there should be more transparency about why certain decisions are being made and that legislators need to have a voice during the pandemic: “I understand the seriousness of this pandemic, and I do not take it lightly. The reality is we’re 8 months into the pandemic, and the General Assembly should have a say and a seat at the table and be allowed to have hearings and ask questions.”

Democrat Representative of the 8th District in Chicago LaShawn Ford joined Rezin in asking leaders in the Illinois House and Senate to schedule hearings saying that legislators should be able to publicly ask Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Office and the Illinois Department of Public Health questions about both data and mitigations. Ford also says legislators need to have a seat at the table: “We get calls everyday in our office. [For] the current processes that the Governor is using, I commend him and his entire team for the mitigation efforts, but what I know is we need all hands on deck.” 

Both Rezin and Ford are asking legislative leaders to set up meetings for discussion and Ford says it would also be a good idea to set up a state Coronavirus Task Force made up of members of several areas of the state.