Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blocks Jan. 6 rioters from state jobs after Trump pardons
Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking those who took part in the Jan. 6 riots from jobs in Illinois state government.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol from working in state jobs, ignoring President Donald Trump's attempt to offer them a clean slate last week in a sweeping set of pardons and commutations.
Late Thursday, Pritzker directed the state’s Department of Central Management Services, the state’s primary hiring authority, to restrict hiring of those who took part in the attack on the Capitol by declaring they had taken part in “infamous and disgraceful conduct that is antithetical to the mission of the State.”
“These rioters attacked law enforcement officers protecting people in the Capitol, disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, and undermined bedrock principles of American democracy,” Pritzker said in a written directive obtained by NBC News. “Our State workforce must reflect the values of Illinois and demonstrate honesty, integrity, and loyalty to serving the taxpayers. No one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”
Pritzker’s new directive marks the first and most direct pushback to Trump’s power spree that has tested the bounds of presidential authority through a fray of executive orders, including some that have drawn judicial rebuke. The Democratic governor of the Midwestern blue state has for years acted as an antagonist to Trump.
Pritzker's directive is likely to draw legal challenges, but sources familiar with it said that working through the personnel code was thought to serve as the best legal footing should it face court pushback.
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