Illinois rep. who sued over Covid-19 laws removed from House for refusal to wear mask
The Illinois House voted to remove Representative Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, from a special session at the Bank of Springfield Center on Wednesday for refusing to wear a face covering intended to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier Wednesday, the House of Representatives adopted rules to require face coverings for members, staff members and visitors.
Bailey, who told the House he “will not” comply with the requirement, was removed from the House in a 81-27 vote initiated by Democratic Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, according to the Chicago Tribune.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, who was wearing a mask, spoke for several minutes with unmasked Rep. Darren Bailey before the session reconvened, an ABC 20 report stated. When the House returned to session, Durkin urged all members to comply with the new rules.
“We cannot ignore nor compromise the health and safety of every member of the General Assembly, their family members, every one of our staffers who works tirelessly for us,” Rep. Durkin said.
Pritzker commented on Bailey’s removal Wednesday as well.
“The representative has shown a callous disregard for life, callous disregard for people’s health,” Pritzker said during his daily COVID-19 news conference. “A doctor (will) tell you why people wear masks in the first place. It’s to protect others. So clearly, the representative has not interest in protecting others.”
Bailey gained national attention earlier this month when he sued Pritzker for enacting the stay-at-home executive order. He won a temporary restraining order exempting only himself from the rules, which was later dropped.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:29 PM.
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