Fireworks for lawmakers first day back in Springfield

Posted on May 21, 2020
State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), who pointed out everybody in the Illinois House was practicing social distancing, said he has the freedom not to wear a mask.(PHOTO:Pixabay)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD– The Illinois state representative who made national news by suing Gov. JB Pritzker over his “stay home” order was kicked out of the Illinois House Wednesday because he refuses to wear a face mask.

“Friends, enough is enough,” said State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia). “You want to send me or anyone else outside these doors today, I understand. Go right ahead. But know this: if you do that, you are silencing millions of voices of people who have had enough.”

The 81-27 vote included many Republicans supporting Bailey’s ejection. State Rep. Dan Brady said, “I don’t think the people who sent us here – in all this turmoil that’s going on – that those people intended for us to focus our time on a mask showdown. We hear it all the time: we’re all in this together.”

For perhaps the first time since he was a little boy, Bailey was told he was welcome back in the chamber once he decided to follow the rules.

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