Chambana Sun

After a photo was posted on Facebook early this week of a maskless Gov. J.B. Pritzker toasting with fellow Democrats, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), on their trip to London for a United Nations climate summit, state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) cried foul.

Through Pritzker's executive orders, Illinois has stringent mask mandates and is one of only a handful of U.S. states with indoor masking requirements, though Illinois' mask mandate explicitly allows the removal of face coverings indoors while actively eating and drinking.

“Rules for thee but not for me," Holbrook told the Chambana Sun. "I think people are tired of the double standards of J.B. Pritzker and others when it comes to the mask mandates. Only 6 states still have indoor mask mandates. Illinois is one of them. Ending these mandates is long overdue.”

Pritzker owns an estate in Wellington, Fla., where he has spent time during the pandemic. Florida relaxed mask policies in June 2020, and since that time Pritzker’s 19-year-old daughter Teddi has been repeatedly spotted out and about taking advantage of the state’s lax policies, the Prairie State Wire reported.  

Pritzker has said that he was examining several factors before determining when to end the mandate, ABC5 reported, including hospitalizations due to the virus and vaccination numbers. He gave no definite date for it to expire.

“I think it is pretty obvious that these mandates have nothing to do with public health and public safety,” Holbrook said. “It has everything to do with control. The governor continues to refuse to provide any information on what criteria he is using to continue these mandates. It seems to me he ought to at least provide some information on the numbers he is using and some information as to why Illinois still has mask mandates while most of the country does not. It is clear, Gov. Pritzker is more interested in keeping his authority than he is in serving the best interests of the people.”

The efficacy of fabric masks in particular to combat the spread of COVID-19 has come under scrutiny in some academic studies. A University of Illinois at Chicago study from April 2020 found that "cloth masks and face coverings are likely to have limited impact on lowering COVID-19 transmission, because they have minimal ability to prevent the emission of small particles ... and offer limited personal protection with respect to small particle inhalation.”

“The governor needs to end his emergency powers and return Illinois back to normal life. There is no need to continue to infringe on the rights of Illinois citizens,” Halbrook said.