State Rep. Dan Caulkins and other gun owners from Macon County say the U.S. Supreme Court needs to undo the Illinois high court's ruling on the "assault weapons" ban, because they could not receive a fair hearing when two justices, who already were endorsed by anti-gun groups, got millions of campaign cash from Gov. Pritzker
A 2-1 panel of the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court in Chicago refused to block Illinois' 'assault weapons' ban from being enforced. A dissenting judge said the ruling conflicts with SCOTUS rulings, and effectively subjects Americans' Second Amendment rights to a 'military veto'
In seeming 4-3 decision, court's majority says gun ban doesn't violate equal protection rights. Dissents divided, as Pritzker-backed justice says the law wrongly allows cops to keep gun rights, and conservatives say lawmakers unconstitutionally OK'd the law
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he believes the state has the power to "prosecute people" for speech about abortion, if the state of Illinois determines that otherwise constitutionally-protected speech is "deceptive."
The law empowers Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a staunch supporter of unlimited abortion rights, to use a state consumer fraud law to investigate, prosecute and potentially fine and shut down pro-life pregnancy centers if Raoul believes they are spreading "misinformation" about abortion
IL A/G says plaintiff hasn't proven A/G is acting under political pressure to seek to dismiss a lawsuit against politically connected ex-state worker accused of defrauding state for $500K, allegedly under protection of Gov. JB Pritzker's office
Gov. JB Pritzker and other prominent Illinois Democrats lined up to blast the U.S. Supreme Court for three recent decisions. They may rue those statements in coming years, warns Mark Glennon, of Wirepoints
Justices on the Illinois high court questioned what legal standards to use to determine the fate of the lawsuit by downstate gun owners claiming the Illinois 'assault weapons' ban violates their rights to equal protection, by denying most of Illinois a right to own and use 'assault weapons,' while exempting others
U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins says the law holds up, even under recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, because the country has a history of banning 'particularly dangerous' weapons, so the Illinois law doesn't violate the Second Amendment
Justices Elizabeth Rochford and Mary K. O'Brien said plaintiffs can't prove they are biased in favor of the state gun ban, just because they each received $1 million in campaign donations from Gov. JB Pritzker and strong endorsements from gun control organizations in the 2022 elections
Lawyers for gun makers' trade group, the National Sports Shooting Foundation, and others have filed briefs seeking to undo a Chicago federal judge's order largely upholding the Illinois "assault weapons" ban, saying the reasoning doesn't hold up under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent rulings
Lawyers for plaintiffs say Justices Rochford and O'Brien both accepted millions in campaign contributions and endorsements from Gov. Pritkzer, other top Dems, and gun rights activists, making it difficult for public to believe they can be impartial on gun ban challenges
EAST ST. LOUIS – Supporters of Gov. Pritzker’s gun law committed serious error by claiming the Fourteenth Amendment changed the Second Amendment’s meaning, according to the Second Amendment Law Center.
The justices will decide if state lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker had the authority to simply abolish cash bail, despite constitiutional language and past constitutional amendments appearing to assume the existence of the system
Gov. JB Pritzker said it was "ridiculous" to ask if two Illinois Supreme Court justices should step aside from hearing constitutional challenges over cash bail and 'assault weapons' bans. But a never-enacted rule change recommended by the Illinois State Bar Association may have called for precisely that, because of Pritzker's campaign donations to the justices
Illinois state officials have responded in opposition to requests for preliminary injunction from the Protect Illinois Communities Act in southern district court, arguing that semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines are not protected as “arms” under the Second Amendment. Specifically, they argue that while the weapons regulated by the law are widely owned, they claim the weapons are not used for self-defense but are commonly used in mass shootings.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said banning so-called 'assault weapons' is acceptable because the state believes the weapons are too "dangerous." Other requests for injunctions vs the gun ban remain pending before other judges
Some observers say most Illinois sheriffs' strong stand vs new so-called "assault weapons" ban is "extreme" and sends a concerning message. But the state's options to respond are limited, because discretion to enforce law is 'well recognized component of separation of powers'
The ruling is not statewide, limited only to the plaintiffs and members of Macon County gun owners association listed in the complaint led by State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur
Downstate and suburban pension funds for police officers and firefighters argued the law, backed by Gov. JB Pritzker, unduly stripped them of local control and violated the Illinois state constitution's pensions protection clause
