Grundy Reporter

In an Aug. 13 Facebook post, State. Rep. Jackie Haas pointed the finger at Gov. JB Pritzker for the dysfunction she says is plaguing state agencies. 

In the post, Haas also shared a link to an Illinois Times news article in which Pritzker’s July 6 executive order that would suspend the statutory waiting period for state hospitals to take on prisoners for court-ordered psychiatric care was ruled invalid by Sangamon County Associate Judge Karen Tharp, who issued a temporary injunction preventing the order from taking effect. The news article also noted that the injection also included Rock Island, Madison, Knox, Macon and McLean counties. 

“Gov. Pritzker's attempt to rule by executive order has led to dysfunction throughout the state agencies he oversees,” Haas said in the Facebook post. “A system of checks and balances needs to be restored in Illinois to ensure our state is running efficiently and our residents are being heard.”

According to the news report, sheriffs from each of the counties said the are concerned about already long waits for inmates to receive treatment even though state law requires that they be admitted within 20 days of a court order. According to Illinois.gov, Pritzker's order waives that requirement. 

According to the Illinois Times report, Pritzker’s order suspends the requirement and does nothing to fix delays, which can run into months. 

The report also noted that representatives of the state and the sheriffs will appear before Tharp on Aug. 25 to decide where to go from here.