Carbondale Reporter

State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) is getting a head start in her run for the new 58th District.

The veteran lawmaker recently took to Facebook to officially announce her candidacy in a district where new boundaries are formally set to take hold in 2023.  

“The people of the 58th district deserve a Senator with a strong conservative record,” Bryant said in her post. “My record as state senator reflects my pro-growth, pro-jobs, limited government philosophy. I’ve stood strong against what I think are executive overreaches and I’ve taken JB Pritzker to task for his failed handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to blasting the governor over the way he forced businesses to close, Bryant also assailed him for what she sees as a botched distribution of unemployment benefits, causing further hardship across the state.

“The Governor’s lack of engagement with the legislature in managing the COVID-19 pandemic amount to the actions of an out-of-control chief executive and people are sick of it,” she said.

Bryant recently filed legislation she said is aimed at protecting parents from what she describes as  the governor’s overreach.

“This legislation seeks to preserve a parents’ decision-making authority regarding their child’s education and healthcare,” she recently posted on Facebook. “Throughout this pandemic, we’ve seen countless examples of the government’s disregard for the rights of Illinois parents. Enough is enough. Parents have a right to be involved and to have a say in the education and wellbeing of their child.”

Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment (SJRCA 12) seeks to add a new section to the Illinois Bill of Rights establishing that parents have the right to determine their child’s education and healthcare in relationship to the coronavirus without infringement up until the time that the child attains the age of majority.

Republicans have been critical of what they view as the governor’s one-man-army handling of the pandemic, including him recently reimposing a universal masking mandate for all public and private school students. The mandate also expands to apply to all teachers and other staffers.

“Throughout this entire pandemic the governor has continued to exclude other lawmakers, local leaders and parents in his pandemic response,” Bryant said. “SJRCA 12 is a proactive step to put an end to his ongoing record of overstepping his authority, and to take a stand against any future attempts to cut parents out of decisions impacting the health, future and wellbeing of their children.”