Proclaiming Springfield “unsafe for session,” Illinois legislative leaders on Tuesday canceled the fall veto session amid concerns about convening hundreds of lawmakers and staff in the capital city as the coronavirus again surges across the state.
Of particular concern were the rising number of coronavirus infections in the Springfield area and the potential for overwhelming the local health care system, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon said in a statement announcing the cancellation.
“This is not the time to physically bring together hundreds of people from all around the state,” Harmon said. “Given what’s happening, it was an obvious decision. It’s not safe or responsible to have a legislative session under these circumstances.”
A “strong majority” of House Democrats preferred delaying session, “primarily motivated by concerns about the rising COVID-19 rates and proximity to upcoming holidays,” House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff, Jessica Basham, wrote in an email to lawmakers Tuesday afternoon.
The pandemic also cut the General Assembly’s spring session drastically short.
Lawmakers were due to return to Springfield on Tuesday for the first day of a scheduled six-day fall veto session, but now it is unclear when they will again convene. The next General Assembly is due to be inaugurated Jan. 13.
Among the items left hanging by the cancellation of the fall session is a broad legislative agenda the Black Caucus is developing that aims to address systemic racism in areas ranging from criminal justice to workforce development and economic access.
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus chairwoman, said in a statement the legislation will be ready when lawmakers return.
“While we will not be able to pass legislation as soon as we hoped, the urgency to bring an end to systemic racism remains,” Lightford said.
The fall session was scheduled for the three days in each of the weeks before and after Thanksgiving, and the cancellation avoids a potentially precarious situation as the state continues to see increasing COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and case counts.
But it’s unclear where Illinois will be in its ongoing struggle to control the new coronavirus come January.
Legislative leaders “will continue to monitor the situation, consult medical experts and do intend to schedule additional session days so we can finish our important work,” Madigan said in a statement.
Also on hold is a package of ethics law changes born out of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation, which also is expected to be one of the major pieces of legislation during this year’s spring session.
Madigan has been caught up in the investigation, with Commonwealth Edison admitting to a “yearslong bribery scheme” involving Madigan allies that was aimed at currying favor with the powerful and long-serving Democratic lawmaker.
A handful of House Democrats have said they won’t support Madigan for another term as speaker, part of a growing chorus of Democrats who have called for him to step aside.
Madigan has denied wrongdoing and said he had no plans to step aside in a statement issued after Gov. J.B. Pritzker said last week he should no longer be leading the state Democratic Party.
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The cancellation of the fall session comes a week after Pritzker’s graduated-rate income tax plan was defeated at the polls, which coupled with pandemic-driven instability means the state is facing an increasingly daunting financial dilemma.
Before the session cancellation was official, Pritzker said at a news conference Tuesday it would be “disappointing” if lawmakers didn’t return to Springfield for the fall session.
“We have so much work to do in Springfield, there’s no doubt,” he said. “I know why people are concerned about gathering. I am discouraging gathering across the state, but I must say it would be disappointing. There are so many things we need to accomplish, with regard to the budget, in particular. We have major efforts underway that will require the legislature’s engagement.”
Not all legislators were on board with the cancellation.
“There’s a lot of frustration that we haven’t been down in Springfield,” state Rep. Mark Batinick of Plainfield, the House Republican floor leader, said Tuesday before the announcement was made. “Other states have found a way to operate. Congress has found a way to operate during COVID, and we need to be part of the process.”
Republican Rep. Avery Bourne of Morrisonville said the decision to cancel would show that Madigan “doesn’t want to get his caucus together because he has such an issue with not being able to have the confidence of his own caucus.”
When Illinois was in the grip of the initial COVID-19 surge in the spring, the General Assembly canceled weeks of scheduled session, returning only for a four-day pandemic-driven special session in May to pass a $43 billion state budget and an enhanced vote-by-mail program for the November election.
The state Senate met in its chamber at the Capitol for that abbreviated session, with limits on the number of lawmakers and staff permitted on the floor at any given time. The House met at the Bank of Springfield Convention Center to allow for more space between lawmakers.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
