State Rep’s case against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker belongs in circuit court, DOJ says
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois says state Rep. Darren Bailey’s lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his emergency stay-at-home orders belongs in the jurisdiction of the circuit court.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a motion Thursday to move case to the federal court, a day before a Clay County circuit judge was to rule on a hearing.
In a 21-page statement of interest filed Friday on behalf of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft said the question of whether the governor overstepped his authority, as Bailey’s suit alleges, should be answered back in a Clay County courtroom.
“While this case is important, it does not rise under federal law and thus falls outside this court’s jurisdiction,” Weinhoeft wrote. “It is up to Illinois courts to rule on Plaintiff’s claims which, because of the sweeping nature of the Orders, may affect millions of lives and raise significant constitutional concerns in other litigation.”
A federal judge still has to rule on the state’s motion.
The Department Justice said that, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, states must follow the legal processes established to protect the people’s health while also protecting their rights.
“Such legal procedures enable the states to make sensitive policy choices in a manner responsive to the people,” Weinhoeft said.
Bailey, a Republican from Xenia, gained national attention earlier this month when he sued Pritzker, then won a temporary restraining order that exempted only himself from the rules.
His lawsuit alleges that Pritzker overstepped his authority as governor by imposing, then extending the executive order to temporarily shut down “nonessential” businesses and limit gatherings.
Because Bailey’s complaint alleges a violation of constitutional rights, the Illinois attorney general’s office argued that the federal court has jurisdiction.
Thomas DeVore, attorney for Bailey and businesses across Illinois that are challenging Pritzker’s orders, said Thursday the state’s motion “could perhaps be the most disreputable invocation of federal jurisdiction ever seen in modern times.”
Devore accused the governor of “forum shopping” and filed a motion in federal court to return the matter to Clay County.
“The United States supports the plaintiff’s motion (and recommends) the court promptly to return the matter to the Illinois Circuit court where it belongs because the plaintiff makes no federal claim,” Weinhoeft’s filing states. “Rather, he alleges the governor has exceeded the statutory authority granted under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act. The only claim at issue in his suit is under state law.”
The attorney general’s office had previously been denied a motion to move the case to Sangamon County and petitioned the state Supreme Court for intervention.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 6:50 PM.
