Since March 2020, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has used executive orders and other loose policy initiatives to place limits on public gatherings in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of Illinoisans have been required to stay at home and then eventually limit their gatherings to 10 people.
The governor has been routinely critical of mass gatherings and protests against his stay-at-home orders, saying the gatherings threatened progress Illinois was making against the disease. At one point, the governor even made defying his order on gathering limitations a criminal misdemeanor — however this was quickly reversed due to push back from law enforcement and the public.
In May and June 2020, the governor began allowing particular groups that he favors to gather in larger numbers. He allowed some churches to begin holding services. The governor personally participated in rallies with crowds numbering in the thousands as well as other gatherings in which people were not socially distanced. Pritzker defended the large gatherings, telling the Chicago Tribune: “It’s important to stand up for people’s First Amendment rights … It’s important to have the governor stand with them on issues that are important.”
The Illinois Republican Party, Schaumburg Township Republican Organization, Northwest Side GOP Club and Will County Republican Central Committee filed a federal lawsuit on June 15, 2020, to challenge Gov. Pritzker’s unequal application of his stay-at-home orders. While Pritzker grants carve-outs to organizations he likes, other groups are limited to gatherings of 10 people. For fear of criminal penalty, the Illinois Republican Party held a statewide convention virtually on June 12-13 — over videoconference — instead of in person.
This lawsuit highlights the selectivity and arbitrary nature of Pritzker’s Executive Order regarding group gatherings. Some groups can exercise their First Amendment rights, while others face restrictions and the threat of criminal penalties for violating the governor’s order. It also calls into question his legal authority to issue a second, third and fourth disaster declaration after his initial declaration in March.
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.
(Law 360)—A Seventh Circuit Judge pushed back Tuesday on Illinois Republicans’ claim that they should be exempted from group-size limits like religious gatherings are under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest COVID-19 safety order, saying the party isn’t comparing apples to apples under the First Amendment. Counsel for the Illinois Republican Party...
(Chicago Law Bulletin)—The Illinois Republican Party and three local GOP groups sued Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in federal court Monday, challenging a provision in his May 29 executive order that limits public gatherings to 10 people or less during the pandemic. Along with the Will County Republican Central Committee, the...
(WTTW News)—With an historic election less than six months away, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider says the GOP is at a disadvantage due to the terms of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order. The party is seeking to get restrictions — which currently include a ban on gatherings of more...
(Chicago Sun Times)—A week after Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker stood alongside protesters to fight police brutality, the Illinois Republican Party along with other state GOP groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court over their constitutional rights to assemble as a political group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit, filed...
(The Chicago Tribune)—Illinois Republicans allege in a federal lawsuit that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order limiting in-person gatherings to 10 or fewer people unfairly curtails the rights of political organizations to free speech and assembly. The lawsuit, filed late Monday by the state GOP and three local Republican organizations,...
(Fox News)—The Illinois Republican Party, along with other GOP groups, has filed a lawsuit over its right to assemble as a political group during the coronavirus pandemic, one week after Gov. J.B. Pritzker marched alongside protesters to fight police brutality. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court late Monday, claimed...
(WGN News)—The Illinois Republican Party and three local party committees sued Gov. Pritzker over his executive order banning group gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Gov. Pritzker has allowed groups he favors to gather and protest without consequence, other political activities are halted. Daniel Suhr, senior associate attorney at Liberty...
(Associated Press)—Illinois’ Democratic governor was sued Monday by the state’s Republican Party, which is seeking exemption from the 10-person limit on public gatherings. The Chicago Tribune reports the GOP contends in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s limit on in-person gatherings to battle...