Metro East Sun

State Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) is pointing an accusatory finger at Gov. J.B. Pritzker for what he sees as the state’s faulty vaccine rollout.

“Illinois’ vaccine rollout has not been as near as effective as the rollouts in many other states,” Plummer recently posted on Facebook. “This administration has demanded unchecked power when it comes to Illinois’ response to the pandemic. The governor and his allies refused to hold hearings and refused to bring the General Assembly together to do the work of the people for many months.”

Plummer’s ire was raised all the more when in February, the Senate Health Committee held its first-ever virtual meeting on the vaccination rollout, only to have the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Dr. Ngozi Ezike suddenly depart before the vast majority of Republican lawmakers' inquiries were addressed.

“She literally left shortly after her speech to avoid questions from committee members,” Plummer added. “So lawmakers’ questions and concerns continue to go unanswered. On top of that, the IDPH staff who did stick around long enough to answer some questions all left before the committee hearing was over. The IDPH staff didn’t stick around to answer their questions or to interact in order to provide more information for lawmakers or the public.”

Plummer charged it all fits a pattern that the Pritzker administration has become all too well-known for when it comes to its handling of the pandemic.

“This all follows a committee hearing I had earlier in the day where the state agency director failed to show up at all,” he said. “The lack of accountability and transparency from this administration is breathtaking and brazen. It’s frustrating and inexcusable. Illinoisans deserve better.”