The Libertarian Party of Illinois passed a resolution this month condemning the Illinois state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that measured used by the state violated individual liberties, harmed businesses, and lacked scientific justification. The party is now demanding legal accountability for those responsible.
In a press release on Wednesday, the party announced that its resolution, adopted last week, marks the five-year anniversary of Illinois’ pandemic response. It criticizes government-imposed lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine requirements, arguing that these policies were economically damaging to small businesses and contributed to a major loss of public trust in government authorities. The resolution also calls out the suppression of alternative theories regarding COVID-19’s origins and the long-term negative impact of school closures on children.
The party is calling for an independent investigation into the scientific basis of the state’s mandates, new limits on emergency powers, and legal consequences for public officials who enacted policies without constitutional or scientific justification. It also intends to distribute the resolution to state officials and health departments.
The statement with full resolution is included below:
Libertarian Party of Illinois Passes Resolution Condemning COVID-19 Response
CHICAGO, March 26th, 2025 – Reflecting on the fifth anniversary of the government response to COVID-19, the Libertarian Party of Illinois passed a resolution condemning the reaction and demanding accountability.
The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, on March 21, 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order that significantly restricted personal freedoms and economic activity in Illinois under the guise of public health emergency measures; and
WHEREAS, government officials and many in the media actively suppressed alternative theories regarding COVID-19’s origins, particularly the Wuhan lab leak theory, limiting public discourse and scientific inquiry; and
WHEREAS, mask mandates and social distancing requirements were implemented without sufficient scientific evidence, as later acknowledged by public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci’s admission that the six-foot social distancing rule lacked scientific basis; and
WHEREAS, government-mandated lockdowns caused severe economic damage, particularly to small businesses, while arbitrarily designating workers as “essential” or “non-essential” without clear metrics or reasoning, and the closure of schools severely disrupted children’s education, resulting in significant learning losses—especially among disadvantaged students lacking access to online resources—while also contributing to widespread youth mental health issues including anxiety and depression, creating profound and long-lasting educational, social, and economic consequences; and
WHEREAS, experimental mRNA vaccines were deployed under emergency use authorization, bypassing standard testing protocols, and were mandated for many workers without full informed consent or recognition of natural immunity; and
WHEREAS, no government officials have been held accountable for policies that violated individual liberties, caused economic devastation, and exceeded constitutional authority; and
WHEREAS, these actions have resulted in a significant loss of public trust in government institutions and public health authorities; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Libertarian Party of Illinois formally condemns the overreaching COVID-19 response measures implemented in Illinois since March 2020; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we demand a thorough, independent investigation into the scientific basis and decision-making process behind all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions implemented in Illinois; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we call for the creation of new legislation preventing future executive overreach during declared emergencies and establishing clear limitations on emergency powers; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we advocate for legal accountability for any public officials found to have knowingly implemented policies without scientific basis or in violation of constitutional rights; and be it finally
RESOLVED, that this resolution be distributed to the Governor of Illinois, the Illinois General Assembly, and all Illinois county health departments as an expression of our firm commitment to preventing such governmental overreach in the future.
Adopted this 19th day of March, 2025
Libertarian Party of Illinois
If we presume (perhaps incorrectly) that the opinions of media / publishers / reporters who aren’t members of your group matter, and (I’ll avoid temptation to put this into a “whereas/resolved” format)…
If the media predictably ignores a long winded statement from a “spoiler” party about a larger public issue and only covers it in the context of where it might seem relevant to them, ie ballot access and whether or not it might shift the balance of power between parties which might win significant numbers of elected offices –
How would recycling that statement 5 years later when the issue is far less in the center of the public debate achieve a different result?
Have you demonstrated anything except that after 5 years you have not gotten any better at figuring out what does and doesn’t get picked up by media or why – if getting picked up by media was your goal, rather than, say, complaining how unfair it is that you don’t?
While we’re at it: what is the point of such resolutions in general? Who are they aimed at and how are they supposed to achieve their goals?
I was thinking they are aimed at influencing public opinion and thus are ineffective since they are far too long for the 21st century attention span (which is particularly short when it comes to things being hollered from the powerless fringes)….but Mr. Leonard suggests opinions of outsiders to the organization don’t matter anyway, so maybe I was thinking about it all wrong? Is the point of such resolutions purely for internal party thought discipline?
“I’ve been part of the Libertarian Party of Illinois since 2013, and I’ve never heard of you in my entire time in the party. Therefore, your opinion is invalid. ”
If the opinions of people who are not in your affiliate or party don’t matter, why do you bother to address comments made outside your internal communication channels?
What is the point of restating something they stated 5 years ago? Do they recycle their other proclamations on a 5 year plan too?
@Jake Leonard
“we made this statement IN APRIL 2020 mere weeks after we filed our landmark lawsuit against JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Elections because the stay-at-home order would have resulted in no one outside of the Democrats and Republicans would make the ballot.”
Only taking an interest when it affects your ballot access, isn’t principled, it’s egotistic and opportunistic.
“This statement REAFFIRMS what we stated back in 2020, although the mainstream media in Illinois ignored us on that statement, but spent hours upon hours covering our ballot access lawsuit against Gov. Pritzker.”
And if, as you say, the LPIL also cared outside of that ballot access suit, then why did the LPIL nominate and endorse candidates who were at best ambivalent towards medical fascism, if not outright championing it, not (just) in 2020 but still(!) in 2024?
The LPCO, LPNH, MTLP, LPTN, LPFL and LPID (and that may not even be an exhaustive list!) all at the very least fought against doing so in 2024. Why is the LPIL not in that list?
“I’ve never heard of you in my entire time in the party. Therefore, your opinion is invalid. […] Again, I affirm that your opinion is invalid and doesn’t matter, because you are apparently not a member of the Libertarian Party of Illinois.”
Firstly, you can hardly tell whether you’ve heard of someone based on an online handle. And secondly, just because someone is not in the party does not make their opinions invalid.
That is wikipedia-type thinking: “we don’t care about truth, we only care about consensus between the few sources that agree with out preconceptions and are therefore acceptable”… It’s analogous to the fallacy that turns democracy into ochlocracy by conflating acting in the best interest of the majority with being a slave to the whims of the majority.
Sure, the party is under no obligation to take it into consideration outside opinions – and knowing the LPIL, the more valid the opinion is, the less attention they will pay to it – but that does not take away from – nor add to, for that matter – the validity of the opinion itself.
Back in 2020, Libertarians were ignoring this most egregious assault on liberty during our lifetime.
Ben, the Libertarian Party of Illinois didn’t ignore this at all. In fact, we fought it tooth and nail, including throughout our ballot access drive in 2020. It took a landmark lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Elections jointly filed alongside the Illinois Green Party that we were even allowed to circulate petitions for office despite the stay-at-home order. Instead of making baseless attacks, maybe read the case law in Libertarian Party of Illinois v. Pritzker. In fact, the statement we approved as a board reaffirms what we stated back in 2020.
Only took five years. Pathetic move from a pathetic affiliate.
I’ve been part of the Libertarian Party of Illinois since 2013, and I’ve never heard of you in my entire time in the party. Therefore, your opinion is invalid. This statement REAFFIRMS what we stated back in 2020, although the mainstream media in Illinois ignored us on that statement, but spent hours upon hours covering our ballot access lawsuit against Gov. Pritzker. Again, I affirm that your opinion is invalid and doesn’t matter, because you are apparently not a member of the Libertarian Party of Illinois.
Ah… a bit late.
We made this statement five years ago. The national party never shared it, and the media certainly ignored the media release. But they spent roughly 100 hours reporting on our ballot access lawsuit that we jointly filed alongside the Illinois Green Party. This statement in 2025 reaffirms what we said five years ago.
This is just empty posturing long after the fact, now that they’ve finally realized which way the wind has been blowing for years.
LPIL said this same thing five years ago, hardly posturing. It was sent to the media the following morning after we made this statement IN APRIL 2020 mere weeks after we filed our landmark lawsuit against JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Elections because the stay-at-home order would have resulted in no one outside of the Democrats and Republicans would make the ballot.
That statement in 2020 was agreed upon by all factions within the party. The reiterated 2025 statement is the same thing word-for-word, also agreed upon by all factions within the party. Mainly because no one in our party gives two craps about which caucus you’re part of, as long as you’re not creating unnecessary drama
What Ben, Rick and NewFederalist said.
This is just empty posturing long after the fact, now that they’ve finally realized which way the wind has been blowing for years.
Are supposed to be grateful to and heap praise on the LPIL now, just because they aren’t practicing apologetics today – like some others – for specific instances of medical fascism five years ago?
Ah… a bit late.
Only took five years. Pathetic move from a pathetic affiliate.
Didn’t John Phillips support the lockdowns and mandates? His heroes Chase Oliver and Nick Sarwark did.
A little bit too late, don’t you think? Back in 2020, Libertarians were ignoring this most egregious assault on liberty during our lifetime. As I recall, the LP national website during that time had articles espousing the benefits of marijuana legalization. But nothing opposing the freedom to breathe without a mask or move around uninhibited by curfews and lockdowns. So much for challenging the cult of the omnipotent state and defending the rights of the individual, huh? The Covid years were the chance for the LP to shine the beacon of freedom to America. Instead, they blew it big time.