CARTERVILLE (WSIL) -- As lawmakers return to Springfield next week, several regional members are calling for Public Hearings on Governor Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan.
In letters to the governor's office, they say the legislature was left out of the decision-making in crafting the plan.
"The Governor shouldn't be doing all this by himself, he needs support, he needs support from all four chambers and all four chambers to have a voice," said State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg), on why he is joining a growing number of lawmakers asking for public hearings.
Fowler said, they "have been left in the dark" on the development of the reopen plan, and their constituents' voices should be heard. In several press statements from lawmakers in Illinois' southern region, they say there is much to be debated, from the amount of time between lifting restrictions in phases, to the make-up of regions sharing those restrictions.
"He's divided the state in fourths, we are in a region of 27 counties, that's just too large," said State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), adding that he has received many complaints on the governor's plan, with the size of those regions and the time between phases being the top two.
"We believe in the counties that have not been as impacted as other parts of the state, that we should be allowed to move to those phases sooner rather than waiting on things in Chicago or other, more populated areas, in the state which are being hit harder," said Windhorst.
Republican Leader Bill Brady has led the call for the public hearings. In a letter to Democrat Senate President Don Harmon on Thursday, he suggested the governor's office allow a bipartisan inquiry into the Restore Illinois plan, and discuss what revisions would they accept to open regions sooner.
Gov. Pritzker says he and his staff have answered questions, provided data when requested, and "is not sure what Brady is missing out on."
"Leader Brady has my number, I speak with quite frequently so, there's no lack of communication," said Pritzker. "I'm not sure what he's missing out on, it sounds like grandstanding to me."
In a statement, the Republican leader Brady said his caucus takes the lives of residents and their livelihood seriously, going on to say, "This is not about grandstanding this is about transparency."
Fowler said as lawmakers return next week, it will be for a special sessions with a limited number of items open.
"I"m anxious to see how it's all going to unfold," said Fowler. "We just want people to know we're working hard for the citizens of southern Illinois."
