An Illinois lawmaker wants to remove China’s sovereign immunity and sue for damages incurred from the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, introduced two House Resolutions that would compel China to pay the State of Illinois for the damages.

In order to do this, Rep. Davidsmeyer wants the United States Congress to waive China’s sovereign immunity.

Davidsmeyer is calling for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to start the litigation against China for damages caused to the State of Illinois and its citizens by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 coronavirus should have been contained at its outset in China,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t and now the entire world is suffering from this pandemic. We are learning more and more every day that the communist regime in China actively worked to conceal how easily this deadly virus was spreading amongst its population.”

Rep. Davidsmeyer is citing a Bloomberg report that said the U. S. intelligence community found that “China has concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in its country, under-reporting both total cases and deaths it’s suffered from the disease.”

More than 7,695 Illinois residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 157 have died.

“The American people’s way of life has been turned upside down by this pandemic,” Davidsmeyer said. “My constituents can’t go to work, church or out to eat. We’re being attacked by a silent killer, a coronavirus that started its spread in communist China, which refuses to tell the truth about the virus’ spread. On top of the horrific loss of lives, our economy has been decimated and we are spiraling down into the worst recession since the Great Depression. China should have to pay for the damage caused to our country by their reckless cover-up and wanton disregard for life.”