Case Update: Victory for free speech! On May 18. 2023, the federal court permanently barred Illinois from enforcing two Election Code limits for judicial races: the ban on donations from out-of-state persons to judicial candidates and the $500,000 cap on donations to independent expenditure committees supporting judicial candidates.
Case Background: The U.S. Supreme Court said that “the First Amendment stands against… restrictions distinguishing among different speakers, allowing speech by some but not others.” But two Illinois campaign finance laws placed illegal restrictions on only certain Americans in specific races.
In 2021 and 2022, Illinois enacted two bills that restricted contributions only in judicial campaigns by, among other things, prohibiting out-of-state donations to candidates and placing arbitrary limits on contributions to independent expenditure committees.
Matt Chancey, a former Illinois resident, as well as Fair Courts America, and Restoration PAC, wished to speak through their contributions in what was at the time, the upcoming Illinois judicial elections. Illinois’ limits on their ability to support judicial candidates violated their free speech rights provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They filed a federal lawsuit with representation from attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center.
Senate Bill 536, enacted in November 2021, prohibited candidates for Supreme Court, Appellate Court, or Circuit Court from accepting “contributions from any out-of-state person.” House Bill 0716, enacted in May 2022, said any independent expenditure committee to support or oppose a judicial candidate “may not accept contributions from any single person in a cumulative amount that exceeds $500,000 in any election cycle.” It also required that any amount received that exceeded $500,000 must be immediately forwarded to the State Treasurer who would deposit the funds into the State Treasury.
The Liberty Justice Center filed the case on August 3, 2022 in United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
Jeffrey M. Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Interim Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.
Reilly Stephens is a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center, where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.
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