Senate Democrats decide ‘it makes sense’ to meet virtually, but GOP argues ‘it is time to get back’ to Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Over the objections of Republicans concerned about a “lack of public and media access,” state Senate Democrats on Tuesday cancelled in-person session days for the entire month of February, announcing all upcoming committee meetings and hearings would be held online.

“Given the ongoing pandemic, it makes sense to utilize the Senate’s remote committee meeting authority to continue doing the work of the people,” said John Patterson, spokesman for state Senate President Don Harmon.

The cancelled session days had been scheduled for Feb. 9-11 and 16-18.

“There shouldn’t be any issues. We had dozens of committee hearings over the summer. And they seemed to work really well. So, I think we learned from that process, and we’ll just utilize it for these next couple of session weeks,” Patterson said.

But Senate Republicans blasted Harmon for the Oak Park Democrat’s reliance on meeting remotely during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Illinois Senate Republicans continue to be concerned about the lack of public and media access through an online-only legislative option,” said Whitney Barnes, press secretary for Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie. “Other state legislatures are meeting in person and have for months. We need to move towards a more transparent legislative process with safety measures and testing, instead of delaying another entire month.”

Barnes pointed to last month’s lame duck session, in which the Senate met at the state Capitol.

“It is possible to legislate in person in a safe and effective manner. It is time to get back to doing the people’s business at the people’s house with the people’s active participation,” she said.

Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register file

Last month, the Senate cancelled in-person meetings for the week of Jan. 26, announcing the decision in a joint statement from Harmon and McConchie.

That bipartisan statement suggested they would still meet in person at some point in February.

“It is our intent to have the proper procedures in place for a safe return to Springfield in February, hopefully by our next scheduled date, Tuesday, February 9, 2021,” the two wrote on Jan. 21.

The Senate joins the House, which cancelled all but one day of the month’s in-person meetings last week. The House is scheduled to meet Feb. 10 to pass a rules package. These rules will allow “remote work and legislating for committees, similar to the Senate,” said Sean Anderson, spokesman for House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. The Senate voted last May to allow remote voting “in times of pestilence or public danger,” but the House has not.

For that one-day meeting, the House is planning to convene in the Capitol, rather than the Bank of Springfield Center, where it met last month to allow for social distancing.

Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP file

The Senate is next scheduled to meet in-person March 2. Patterson allowed for the possibility those session days would be cancelled as well.

“That decision will be made sometime before March 2,” he said.

“The Senate President and staff continue reviewing workplace protocols with the goal of having a testing and safety process in place when in-person Senate floor action resumes,” Patterson said in his written statement.