"Do as I command"

Covid Conflict: Illinois Prosecutor Will NOT Enforce Governor’s Lockdown Order

Written by  Selwyn Duke

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Taking to heart St. Augustine’s observation that an “unjust law is no law at all,” a growing number of protesters and some sheriffs have decided to resist coronavirus lockdown orders. And now they reportedly have a powerful new ally: an Illinois state attorney who has announced that he will not enforce Governor J.B. Pritzker’s lockdown order in his county.

Pritzker has already been accused of “acting like a dictator, not a governor” and has had his

30-day stay-at-home order extension blocked by a judge. Now Gregory M. Minger, the state’s attorney in centrally located Woodford County, has announced in an e-mail communication that he has joined the freedom phalanx, according to website Illinois Leaks.

Presented by the website, the e-mail reads, in part:

Dennis,

I sent the following to the Sheriff, Hillary, Kent, and John Krug earlier today. This can be forwarded on to the mayors if it has not already been done. 

… “I just want this group to know that I have been receiving daily questions from citizens of my opinion of the constitutional issues with Governor Pritzker’s extension of the stay-at-home order. I plan on responding with it is not enforceable and will not be enforced at the county level due to statutory issues (beyond the 30 days) as well as improper taking of property interests and pecuniary interests without just compensation. There are certainly due process issues with a continued stay-at-home order. The law does not provide for a quarantine of the state, only individuals that have a contagious illness.

Every four years I swear an oath that in part states “…do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois…”.  I cannot let the powers that be continue to impose their will on the people in violation of separation of powers, due process, and our most basic concepts of liberty and freedom for all. We need to live in a world with COVID-19 … no doubt about it. But the basic ideals our country were established on and that people have fought so hard for over the past more than 200 years cannot be eroded in this way.

… Bottom line is as it stands at this moment, the extension of the stay-at-home order will not be prosecuted or enforced in Woodford County. People, not government, need to determine what is best and safest for them, their loved ones, and the community around them. If that means staying at home, then they should. If that means going back to work and opening restaurants and bars and stores, then they should.”

Gregory M. Minger
State’s Attorney
Woodford County, Illinois
115 North Main Street
Eureka, IL 61530
309-467-3212

Minger should be applauded for taking his oath of office seriously. Contrast this with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who said that the Constitution was above his “pay grade” when asked about his lockdown-order civil rights violations.