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Legislative action was required to counter a ridiculous conscientious objection to being tested for COVID-19

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Illinois

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

The current topsy-turvy political landscape was on full display in the Illinois House and the Senate last week as the chamber debated and passed a bill to slightly narrow the scope of the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

A bedrock Republican Party principle over the years has been to help shield employers from frivolous lawsuits. But every single Republican voted against a bill in the two chambers that would effectively prevent anyone who is fired or punished after refusing to take regular COVID-19 tests from suing their employer and recovering triple damages, including pain and suffering.

Public school teachers, for example, must now either be vaccinated or submit to regular virus testing, yet several unvaccinated teachers are suing because they do not want to take any tests. A court loss by those districts could be very costly, but some judges are siding with plaintiffs and concluding that a law designed to protect doctors who refuse to perform abortions also applies to people who don’t want to be vaccinated or get tested.

Democrats are usually all-in on the right of employees to sue, but definitely not in this instance. Like I said, topsy-turvy.

Also, for a year and a half now, Republicans have been demanding that the super-majority legislative Democrats vote on bills related to the pandemic rather than sit idly by while Gov. J.B. Pritzker issues executive orders.

But, when the Democrats finally took up the Health Care Right of Conscience Act legislation last week, folks like Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) argued that the General Assembly ought to drop this issue and instead allow the courts to decide whether the HCRCA applies to the current controversy over vaccines and testing.

That makes no sense considering the endless GOP demands that the General Assembly “do something.” But, in reality, that demand for legislative action has mainly been a rhetorical device to allow the Republicans to avoid commenting directly on a range of pandemic topics. Last week’s vote, however, smoked them out.

Pretty much all polling shows that the majority of Republican voters oppose things like COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates. So, it’s no surprise that Republican legislators would also be opposed to this change, particularly in a redistricting year when legislators will have new turf to defend and primary opponents can always pop up out of the blue.

What is a tiny bit surprising, though, is that the Republican Party has become so completely monolithic.

The party has for decades in this state included several legislators who were willing to break ranks on things like taxation, labor unions and abortion. But those members have left office, lost primaries to more conservative Republicans, lost general elections to more liberal Democrats or, in the case of folks like Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) who voted for the 2017 tax hike, lurched to the far right. It’s also easier to be unified in the super-minority party, mainly because there is so little pressure or enticement to participate in actual governance. The age of Donald Trump has forced the entire party into a niche, whether party members like it or not.

Unlike the Republicans, House Democrats were not totally unified on the HCRCA legislation last week. It probably didn’t help that tens of thousands of electronic witness slips were filed in opposition to the bill.

Seven House Democrats wound up voting against the measure: Carol Ammons of Urbana, Kelly Burke of Evergreen Park, Anthony Deluca of Chicago Heights, Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego and John D’Amico, Mary Flowers and Fran Hurley of Chicago. Two voted “Present”: Angie Guerrero-Cuellar of Chicago and Rita Mayfield of Waukegan.

In the Senate, six Democrats sided with the opposition: Rachelle Aud Crowe of Glen Carbon, Suzy Glowiak Hilton of Western Springs, Mike Hastings of Frankfort, Patrick Joyce of Essex, Meg Loughran Cappel of Shorewood and Doris Turner of Springfield. Four Democrats didn’t vote: Tom Cullerton of Villa Park, Napoleon Harris of Harvey, and Rob Martwick and Tony Muñoz of Chicago.

That Democratic opposition was enough to bring the final tallies below the threshold needed for an immediate effective date on the legislation, so it won’t take effect until June 1 of next year. But it’s likely the two chambers will vote on it again in January, when it can take effect immediately. In the meantime, the governor’s and attorney general’s offices believe the action was probably enough to stave off the lawsuits.

All because some folks who won’t get vaccinated say they have some mysterious conscientious objection to being tested for a disease and would sue any employer who claims otherwise.

Ridiculous.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 9:25 am

Comments

Nice. Hopefully, any cases that appear before the courts prior to January will be decided based on the spirit and most parsimonious interpretations of the law, rather than the most liberal interpretation which the republican plaintiffs are seeking. Good grief. We have lost our sense of community it would seem.

Comment by H-W Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 9:43 am
“What is a tiny bit surprising, though, is that the Republican Party has become so completely monolithic.”

While Illinois’s moderate Republicans survived the “Reagan Revolution,” the Trump Devolution has completely transformed and twisted the party.

No longer any room for non-cuckoo thinkers.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 9:43 am
[Sarcasm font on] The Democrats should let a GOP bill to permit COVID vaccination denial be heard in committee, and then one of the Democrats should introduce an amendment to delete “COVID” and insert “Polio” and then allow debate.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 9:54 am
Great read, Rich.

This is so on point it’s scary to the honesty;

=== What is a tiny bit surprising, though, is that the Republican Party has become so completely monolithic.

The party has for decades in this state included several legislators who were willing to break ranks on things like taxation, labor unions and abortion. But those members have left office, lost primaries to more conservative Republicans, lost general elections to more liberal Democrats or, in the case of folks like Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) who voted for the 2017 tax hike, lurched to the far right. It’s also easier to be unified in the super-minority party, mainly because there is so little pressure or enticement to participate in actual governance. The age of Donald Trump has forced the entire party into a niche, whether party members like it or not.===

The old, angry, white, rural GOP… the Raunerite GOP that shed pro-labor Republicans and the phony legislators who voted against higher ed and purposely hurt their regions fir Rauner, this slide into the Trumpkin ignorance is not only embraced, but the cult must be obeyed… even is science gets in the way.

I’ve been screaming in the wind since the first budgetary destruction Rauner engineered, along with the encouraging of non-Raunerites leaving the stage for mere seat warming switch turners…

… the irony, of course, is Rauner shunned Trump all the way until the end when Rauner, in full costume and phony lingo went south for a rally that Trump ignored him at, and sent a message.

Rauner set the table, forced a purge, allowed Jeanne Ives to control “the base”, and even with the millions Rauner had, the beast that he helped empower turned on him… and the cult that has to have legislative action to help end a global pandemic is the result.

Chairman Tracy exposed the truth to this too, welcoming racist thinkers, insurrectionists, and conspiracy theorists who see this shot, these vaccinations as some sort of ridiculous religious culling of a herd of sheep that believe facts and science… so they must be evil.

The ILGOP, the caucuses, the members, the entire party needs this battle to make that monolithic evolution become the monolithic litmus test to ensure purity remains well after this vaccine battle of ignorance.

No free thinking with this ILGOP, they learned the lesson from Rauner… Bruce wore the costume and was shunned… you need to become a full clown to get that blessing needed… even at the cost of our health.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 10:03 am
Remember a time when I opted for the Rep over the Dem if I wasn’t sure about either.

Figured the R would be more level-headed.

Seems so long ago.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 10:09 am
=====Hopefully, any cases that appear before the courts prior to January will be decided based on the spirit and most parsimonious interpretations of the law, rather than the most liberal interpretation which the republican plaintiffs are seeking. =====

While not dispositive of the case, several dozen more plaintiffs were added to the Kankakee County hospital TRO on Friday afternoon, and the hearing on the preliminary injunction was continued until January.

Comment by DIrtLawyer Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 10:12 am
What we are witnessing is Forward to the Past where public health gains in curtailing preventable communicable disease will be reversed in addition to other societal advances. This is being pushed because a narcissistic sociopath led his party down a path of lies and misdirection for partisan benefit. Lives have been lost and will be lost.

I fear this bill will not be sufficient to halt this problem in Illinois. We’ll see the pandemic continue much longer than necessary and the resulting economic damage will bring the perpetrating party the political benefit they wanted.

Comment by Norseman Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 10:29 am
@Norseman is spot on, but there is a much more organized and intentional process going on than simply cult-like following of Trump. This little man and his pathological narcissism definitely moved it into overdrive though.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 10:58 am
It seems like in the old days the GOP would have been pro-vaccine and pro-mandate. But today the party basically is right wing economic types plus Trumpers, ALEC and Alex Jones, so to speak.

Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 11:03 am
==unvaccinated teachers are suing because they do not want to take any tests.==

It’s funny how people don’t hesitate to throw out meat or vegetables when the CDC says they’re unsafe, but choose to ignore (even flout) their advice in the middle of a pandemic.

Comment by Jocko Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 11:32 am
Norseman “This is being pushed because a narcissistic sociopath led his party down a path of lies and misdirection for partisan benefit.” I hate to give DT this much credit and power. He stepped into an opening that was there and gave voice to what a fringe within the Republican Party was already thinking. Now the crazies have taken over the asylum formerly known as the GOP

Comment by illinifan Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 12:18 pm
@MrJM, thanks to Reagan’s 80% rule, the GOP of his era was more tolerant and less monolithic. Now when I ask what happened to the 80% rule, I get glares back for an answer.

Comment by Louis G Atsaves Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 12:22 pm
===Now when I ask what happened to the 80% rule, I get glares back for an answer.===

Wasn’t it YOU as one during the Rauner years that made clear that if you didn’t back the Turnaround Agenda of Rauner that was not being a good Republican?

I can check if you’d like…

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 12:26 pm
@Oswego Willy, nice anti-80% glare of a response.

Comment by Louis G Atsaves Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 12:32 pm
=Now when I ask what happened to the 80% rule, I get glares back for an answer.=

You can’t long for the days of Reagan while being complicit in the banishment of Adam Kinzinger.

Comment by Pundent Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 1:09 pm
====Now when I ask what happened to the 80% rule, I get glares back for an answer.

How do you support a platform 80 percent when the only thing to it is Donald Trump is good and no actual platform? I guess if unquestioning allegiance to an individual is the party platform, the 80% rule gets kind of hard to even consider.

Comment by ArchPundit Monday, Nov 1, 21 @ 4:33 pm