SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — One Central Illinois Republican lawmaker is celebrating a new mask-optional policy now in place at the State House of Representatives in Springfield.
State Representative Adam Niemerg, of Dietrich says it’s about time.
“Those who want to wear a mask on the floor of the House are free to do so, but those who don’t will no longer be forced to wear the mask and this how it should be,” he said.
“The pandemic was a serious public health crisis, but the worst is behind us, and it is time to return to life before the pandemic and we can’t do that as long as these mandates are in place. ”
On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 104 to 1 in favor of lifting the mask mandate in the state house chamber.
The rule had been a flashpoint for heated debate.
Some lawmakers were even ushered out of the chamber for getting too testy.
Illinois Republicans accuse Governor J.B. Pritzker of abusing his emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic and they accuse Illinois Democrats of going along with it for too long.
State Democrats have continued to argue they always intended to follow advice from the scientific community about COVID-19 rules in the state legislature and elsewhere.
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