Liberty Justice Center
Recent News About Liberty Justice Center
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Appeals panel won't block pro-union Amendment 1 from ballot; Critics: Would give unions unconstitutional powers
Appeals panel says the pro-union Amendment 1 must be approved by voters before it can be challenged in court, even though opponents say the amendment's language already blatantly conflicts with federal law and is itself unconstitutional -
Lawsuit challenges campaign contribution limits in Illinois judicial races
Limits on political donations in Illinois judicial races are illegal and violate the U.S. Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court in Chicago. -
Springfield judge denies bid to block 'unconstitutional' Amendment 1 from fall ballot; Appeal forthcoming
Plaintiffs say the proposed Illinois state constitutional amendment would allow unions to use collective bargaining agreements to override state and federal law, which the plaintiffs say makes Amendment 1 unconstitutional from the start -
Fear & Politics: Judges, lawyers reluctant to defend rights vs guv's, mayors' emergency power amid pandemic
Why have judges and lawyers - including those who bill themselves as defenders of civil liberties - largely deferred to the widespread use of emergency executive power by governors, mayors and others, throughout the Covid pandemic, despite constitutional questions? -
Appeals panel says states can make lawyers join the bar based on 'undermined' law, but SCOTUS might say 'no'
A Chicago federal appeals court has ruled it is constitutional for Wisconsin to make lawyers belong to the state bar association, despite a lawyer's contention his dues back political causes he does not support -
Lawsuit: Pro-union IL constitutional amendment would clash with federal law, U.S. Constitution, must be struck down
A group of Cook County taxpayers, with lawyers from the Liberty Justice Center and Illinois Policy Institute, say the measure, known as Amendment 1, would unconstitutionally give unions expansive new powers that exceed the limits on union organizing and bargaining set by federal law -
Judge: Waukegan teacher voluntarily joined union, can't claim union misled her, violated constitutional rights
A Waukegan high school English teacher said she believed she had been misled into joining the local teachers union. The union refunded her dues, plus $500, when she resigned and filed suit. -
Liberty Justice Center accuses River Forest D90 of not following Open Meetings law, singles out Equity committee
"All citizens have the right to know what their government is doing," says nonprofit civil liberties group, about a letter it sent to River Forest District 90, demanding officials provide proper notice and minutes for meetings. The letter particularly noted problems with notice and records for the district's equity and policy committees. -
Lawsuit: Chicago, Cook County vax passports do nothing vs omicron, 'patently irrational,' unconstitutional
A group of Chicago and Cook County residents have sued the city and county, saying the vaccine passport orders deprive people of their rights without coming close to achieving their stated goals of reducing the spread of the omicron COVID variant -
'Illegal strikes... must be stopped': Parents to continue lawsuit vs CTU, despite deal to reopen Chicago Public Schools
The lawsuit vs the Chicago Teachers Union called the union's 'remote work action' an illegal strike that harmed children and families in Chicago -
Parents sue Chicago Teachers Union, ask judge to rule union's COVID 'remote work action' actually illegal strike
The parents of Chicago Public Schools students assert the union has violated state labor law and their contract by refusing to come to schools, even though CPS has declared school can be carried out safely amid the COVID surge -
SCOTUS refuses school workers' claims unions unconstitutionally took dues after they tried to leave
Two Chicago teachers and a Moline custodian claimed their unions ignored the Supreme Court and the Constitution by limiting their ability to leave the union only to one "escape period" each year. -
IL Dems revise Conscience Act, but say they're not, in 'implicit recognition' law protected vax mandate objectors
Courts will ultimately be left to unravel whether the Democrats' "declaration of existing law" should now allow the state and employers to enforce vaccine mandates against religious objectors, when courts have been skeptical, at best. -
Judge: COVID gathering limits not likely to return, so IL GOP can't sue Pritzker over earlier shutdowns
Republicans had argued Gov. JB Pritzker's COVID-related limits on the size of political gatherings were unconstitutional, because he selectively enforced them, allowing huge Black Lives Matter protests, while shutting down GOP gatherings in 2020. -
Landlords' federal lawsuit: CDC has no authority to ban evictions
A group of Illinois landlords and the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association have become the latest plaintiffs to argue the Centers for Disease Control overstepped its authority in prohibiting most evictions nationwide, in the name of fighting COVID-19. -
Hinsdale high school district warned of lawsuits over actions to implement 'equity statement' goals
The Liberty Justice Center has threatened to sue Hinsdale High School District 86 should it take actions in furtherance of its "equity statement," that result in violations of student or teacher free speech or equal protection rights -
Appeals court says SCOTUS decision on union fees only applies to fees extracted from non-union workers, not dues paid by union members
A federal appeals panel has said an ex-union member has no claim for dues voluntarily paid while a member, because the U.S. Supreme Court's Janus ruling only pertained to fees forcibly paid to unions by nonunion workers for represention. -
US Supreme Court rejects appeals asking court to order unions to refund unconstitutional fees
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied appeal petitions in three cases arguing courts have been wrong to allow unions to use a "good faith" defense to keep millions in fees deducted for the unions by governments from the paychecks of non-union government workers. -
Judge nixes bid to block Illinois Vote by Mail over fears of Dem cheating; Affirms limits on ballot harvesting
A federal judge in Chicago said fears of Democratic vote fraud are only "speculative," as he refused a request from Cook County Republicans to slap a hold on Illinois' new election rules, including vote by mail. -
Appeals court: Pritzker OK to limit - or not limit - religious, political gatherings to combat COVID-19
Just because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker granted greater leeway to religious gatherings, and marched in a massive Black Lives Matter protest, doesn't mean Pritzker's 50-person limit can't apply to Republican Party political events, the appeals panel ruled.