On August 29th, the Liberty Justice Center (LJC) sued Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to challenge a new law that would prevent Illinoisians from challenging state laws, rules, or orders in any state court except the Circuit Courts in Chicago and Springfield.
The law in question is House Bill 3062, which Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law on June 6, 2023. The bill strips all trial courts in Illinois—except those in Cook and Sangamon counties—of the power to hear constitutional challenges to state laws, rules, and orders. The lawsuit alleges that House Bill 3062 is unconstitutional because the Illinois legislature may not limit the subject matter jurisdiction of state circuit courts, and because it denies residents of all counties other than Sangamon County and Cook County the equal protection of the laws. LJC’s complaint also alleges that House Bill 3062 disenfranchises voters. Under this law, Illinois residents outside Sangamon County and Cook County are forced to present their constitutional claims to judges in other jurisdictions—whom they had no opportunity to vote for or against.
Weisenstein v. Raoul was filed in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County, Illinois, on August 29, 2023.
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.
(The Carbondale Reporter)—The new Illinois law that restricts the locations where citizens can file lawsuits regarding the constitutionality of various laws is now facing its own legal challenge. Rep. Paul Jacobs recently brought attention to House Bill 3062, which has caused controversy among Illinois residents. The Liberty Justice Center filed...
(Illinois Policy Institute)—A law limiting where people may file legal complaints for state constitutional violations is facing its own lawsuit – with plaintiffs claiming the law infringes on their rights by forcing their claims to be heard by judges they aren’t even allowed to elect. The lawsuit was filed Aug....
(Madison-St. Clair Record)—The Liberty Justice Center is suing Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul in St. Clair County Circuit Court, challenging a state law that requires all Illinois residents to file Constitutional claims against state laws, rules, or orders in Cook or Sangamon County Circuit Courts. House Bill 3062 was passed...
(Chicago City Wire)—Legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, signed this week that limits challenges to his and the General Assembly’s Democratic agenda to circuit courts in Cook (Chicago) and Sangamon (Springfield) counties is in direct violation of the Illinois Constitution on at least two fronts, Jacob Huebert, president of...