Rockford Sun

Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly are pushing to curb the powers a governor can exercise during a declared disaster by limiting the frequency with which proclamations can be issued without the agreement of legislators.

State Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford), who is the lead sponsor on the bill, took to social media to express his feelings on the importance of limiting what a governor can do without the General Assembly’s permission.

“It has been proven that running the state through dictatorship is ruining people's lives, livelihoods, and freedoms,” Sosnowski said in a post on his official Facebook page. “We need to get back to a democracy.”

If the bill became law, it would limit any governor to unilaterally issuing only a single proclamation per disaster in any 12-month period, the Journal-Courier reported. The governor could issue further proclamations, but each subsequent proclamation would require two-thirds of each chamber in the General Assembly voting in favor of it before it would go into force.

Sosnowski said that he wants to return to the notion that the executive and legislative branches of state government are co-equal, even during times of crisis, the Journal-Courier reported. While he understands that he will need cooperation from Democrats in order to get the legislation passed, he said he believes enough bipartisan frustration exists with the degree to which Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ruled the state without legislative consultation in order to move the bill forward.