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Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Can the governor of Illinois extend a state of emergency past 30 days?

William Boger, Gigafact Foundry
yes

Per Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, once the governor declares a disaster, such as a pandemic, he or she may exercise emergency powers for a period that does not exceed 30 days. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has extended his original March declaration twice by making further disaster declarations.

The Illinois statute has no explicit limitations on how many times he can renew the declaration and extend the emergency powers. Illinois Policy, an independent research group, observes that as the initial emergency eases responsibility for policy measures to deal with COVID-19 can be shared with the state legislature and relevant local authorities.

Sources

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