Governor Withdraws Misdemeanor Rule for Business

SPRINGFIELD – A local state senator says Illinois businesses won a “small victory” when Governor J.B. Pritzker withdrew an emergency rule that would have allowed small businesses to be charged with misdemeanors if they reopened prematurely.  In Springfield Wednesday, lawmakers were told by the Illinois Department of Public health that the emergency order had been pulled.  Pritzker had earlier claimed the rule charging businesses with a Class A misdemeanor was less harmful than taking a business’s license away.  State Senator Sue Rezin called the rule a “massive overreach of power” and she says the outcry against the rule forced the Governor to go through the full legislative process.