Illinois Republicans call for an end to ‘finger-pointing and name calling’ in coronavirus crisis

Cook County Republican Chairman Sean Morrison lashed out Monday at Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, accusing them of putting politics before constituents with their “volley of combative and sarcastic tweets” aimed at President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

“Finger-pointing and name calling by Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot solves absolutely nothing except for trying to score some cheap political points,” Morrison said in a statement. “We need steady, effective and focused leadership and they’re not providing it.”

Morrison, who is also a Cook County commissioner, wasn’t the only Illinois Republican weighing in on the twitter scuffle.

Rich Hein/Sun-Times file

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin also called for an end to partisan finger pointing, but stopped short of naming who he thought was responsible. His Monday statement was aimed at “anyone making partisan attacks” rather than just one person, a spokeswoman said.

”Fighting for our state through this pandemic is neither a Republican nor Democrat issue,” Durkin said in a statement. “We share a common enemy and share the same goal of working together to eradicate Covid-19. As in all emergencies, time spent on blame or fault provides little or no merit nor solutions. Despite the challenges, the time is now and we must be vigilant and united to defeat this virus.”

Rich Hein/Sun-Times file

At his afternoon briefing Monday, Pritzker said had spoken directly with Trump earlier in the day when the president returned his call shortly after noon. Pritzker told reporters that he voiced concerns about having to compete with other countries and “the federal government to get ventilators” and other medical equipment and supplies for Illinois.

“The president was very responsive, frankly,” Pritzker said. “He said, you know, he didn’t so much like the idea of invoking the Defense Production Act. But he did say, ‘What do you need? Let me see if I can get that for you.’

“And I gave him some numbers. I told him what we had ordered from the government already, and he said, ‘Let me work on that.’

“And so, I really thought It seems like he’s being very responsive to what I asked for, and I hope we’ll be able to receive those items in relatively short order.”

Trump mentioned the conversation with Pritzker in passing at the president’s own briefing hours later.

It was a different tone from the war of words between the governor and Trump on Sunday after Pritzker told CNN that he needed more federal help to get masks and other protective equipment for healthcare workers in the state as it grapples with the coronavirus.

Trump shot back at Pritzker, in tweet form, shortly after his appearance.

“@JBPritzker Governor of Illinois, and a very small group of certain other Governors, together with Fake News @CNN & Concast (MSDNC), shouldn’t be blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings. We are there to back you up should you fail, and always will be!”

Pritzker responded by tweet a short time later, saying “You wasted precious months when you could’ve taken action to protect Americans & Illinoisans. You should be leading a national response instead of throwing tantrums from the back seat. Where were the tests when we needed them? Where’s the PPE? Get off Twitter & do your job.”

And Lightfoot leaped into the fray, too, tweeting out “.@realDonaldTrump, dear Lord — please step up and be a leader. While you have been yammering about hoaxes and fake news, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit all over America. @GovPritzker and others have filled this country’s leadership gap. Lead or get out of their way.”

AP file

The chairman of the Illinois GOP, Tim Schneider said in a Monday email blast, “in this difficult time, we need all our leaders, Republican and Democrat, to come together and solve this crisis.”

“While we’ve seen plenty of partisan bickering at home and throughout the nation, we’re grateful for the Trump Administration’s steadfast leadership and transparent, whole-of-government approach to mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” Schneider said in that email, lauding Trump’s response as “unprecedented, comprehensive, and aggressive.”

Pritzker and Lightfoot did not respond to requests for comment.