A lawmaker who filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s extended stay-at-home order has requested the judge temporarily suspend the restrictions until the court has ruled.
State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, filed the request for a temporary restraining order in 17th Circuit Court in Winnebago County on Tuesday.
“J.B. Pritzker has unveiled a wholly inadequate ‘plan’ to ‘Restore Illinois’ that appears to be an arbitrary carving up of the state into four regions that does not make any sense,” he said. “I have filed my temporary restraining order to put the governor on notice that we are not going to let him dictate to local communities. I trust our local officials and our citizens more than I trust politicians from Springfield or Chicago.”
Pritzker was asked about the suit in a news conference earlier this month. The governor called it “similarly irresponsible” to the suit filed against him by state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia.
Cabello’s lawsuit differs from Bailey’s in that it would apply to all residents of Illinois, where the ruling that was subsequently dropped by Bailey only applied to Bailey. Should Cabello prevail, the courts could order Pritzker to rescind his extension, meaning residents and businesses could operate as they please without fear of retribution from the state.
Shortly after Cabello’s request for a temporary restraining order was filed, state officials filed for a change of venue. Initially, the state asked to move the case to a Sangamon County Circuit Court, but Cabello said they later requested the suit be moved to federal court.
Cabello said he didn’t immediately file the request for a temporary restraining order last month because he wanted to give Pritzker’s office a chance to come to a resolution that achieved the governor’s goals but also protected the constitutional rights of Illinoisans.
“If we would have come up with common-sense solutions, we would have brought in the General Assembly, the two coequal branches of government to make some decisions, there wouldn’t have been a need for a lawsuit,” he said.
Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to convene next week in Springfield.
Pritzker announced an extension of his order through May 30 with some business restrictions loosened. The heart of Cabello’s legal challenge is Pritzker’s ability to extend the emergency declaration beyond the 30 days of the initial measure.
The court is scheduled to meet virtually on Thursday in what Cabello expects will be to consider where the case will be heard.