Illinois lawmakers will have a shorter 2022 session due to the surge in COVID-19 cases

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The 2022 session of the Illinois General Assembly will be even shorter than originally planned due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Democratic leaders announced.

The session was originally scheduled to start this week with three meeting days — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But leaders announced last week they will meet only Wednesday this week and likely will cancel all in-person meetings the following week, Jan. 11-13.

In an announcement released Thursday, Dec. 30, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said COVID-19 cases in Illinois had increased 130% over the previous two weeks while hospitalizations were up 50%.

“This pandemic is not over,” Welch said in a statement. “We must take necessary precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, reduce the burden on our health care systems and keep each other as safe as possible.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-01-04/illinois-lawmakers-will-have-a-shorter-2022-session-due-to-the-surge-in-covid-19-cases