Chambana Sun

The Champaign City Council is on the defensive after passing an ordinance that grants the mayor the power to do everything from ration utilities, seize private property and restrict gun sales in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

In the face of mounting concerns about government overreach, city officials have released a press release where they stress that no actions have been taken along any of those lines while insisting that the aforementioned policies have actually been part of the city code for more than a decade.

Edgar Watchdog is keeping a close watch.

“Sadly, those very items trample on people’s constitutionally protected rights,” the group said on its website. “We suspect any attempt to exercise those items will result in a hefty legal battle that will cost the taxpayers dearly. An emergency does not overrule a person’s due process rights nor does it give the government the right to take possession of their property or acquire full title.”

The newly approved legislation also gives leaders the power to impose emergency curfews, bar residents from public buildings and shutter businesses over the next 28 days.

More recently, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker moved to enact a “stay at home” order for all residents that is in effect through Tuesday, April 7. Under the provisions of the order, all public schools have closed as have all businesses not deemed to be essential.

In Champaign, home to the state’s 10th largest city with a population of just over 88,000 residents, in-person classes at the University of Illinois Urbana have already been canceled.