The Illinois Republican Party has joined the growing list of those suing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over his COVID-19 restrictions, asserting the governor has improperly forbidden them and others opposed to Pritzker from campaigning, while turning a blind eye toward, or even participating himself, in mass demonstrations and other gatherings of those favored by the governor.
“Political parties are barred from gathering in groups of more than 10 under the Governor’s Executive Order…,” the lawsuit said. “ And unlike protestors against police brutality, they have not been given an exemption based on his sympathy, recognition, and participation.
“This disparate treatment of similar expressive activities violates both the First and 14th Amendments.”
On June 15, the Illinois Republican Party, along with three suburban Republican organizations, filed a complaint in Chicago federal court, accusing Pritzker of trampling their constitutional rights to campaign and otherwise engage in political speech and assembly.
The state GOP organization and its local affiliates particularly took aim at Pritzker’s orders, limiting the ability of people throughout the state from gathering in groups of more than 10 at a time.
Pritzker issued those orders in March, as part of a series of executive actions he took, using emergency powers to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the weeks and months since, the governor has fiercely defended his ability under the law to wield those powers and to enforce those orders. Pritzker has defended his decisions both in public statements and in court, against a number of lawsuits challenging his authority.
Several of those lawsuits, particularly those filed by state Reps. Darren Bailey and John Cabello, both downstate Republicans, take aim at the governor’s authority under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act. They assert that law gives the governor only 30 days after the declaration of a disaster to wield emergency powers and govern by executive order. After that, they say, Pritzker needs to secure approval from the Illinois General Assembly to continue using his emergency powers.
They have presented opinions from both the U.S. Justice Department and from former Illinois Attorneys General backing their interpretation.
Pritzker and current Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, however, have taken the position that the governor has the power to continue ruling by emergency executive order for as long as he believes an emergency still exists, so long as he makes the determination the emergency exists every 30 days.
Judges are currently hearing arguments over those questions.
In the state GOP lawsuit, the Republican Party repeats those assertions.
However, the lawsuit also takes aim at Pritzker’s permissive attitude to other gatherings, particularly anti-racism demonstrations and protests that have brought tens of thousands of people into the streets of Chicago and hundreds elsewhere in public protests statewide.
Pritzker himself, along with Raoul, publicly participated in such a demonstration earlier this month. On June 16, Raoul reported he had tested positive for COVID-19, about 10 days after participating in the march.
In their lawsuit, the Republicans assert Pritzker’s decision to not only allow the demonstrations to continue, but to encourage and participate in them, undermines his legal authority to restrict other gatherings for political purposes held by his political opponents.
“When the state grants access to one set of speakers, it must give equal access and treatment to all speakers of a similar character,” the Republican lawsuit said. “It may not favor one speaker over another.
“To do otherwise is to discriminate in favor of certain speakers and against other similar speakers based only on the content of their speech, in this case … protest speech versus Republican speech, and this the First Amendment does not allow without a compelling government interest and narrow tailoring.
“Though the government has a compelling interest in preventing the spread of COVID-19, its restrictions are not narrowly tailored because it is exempting certain politically powerful or sympathetic groups while enforcing them against similarly situated actors who lack the same political favor of the Governor.”
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the governor’s orders and allegedly unequal treatment of different political speakers and causes violate the First Amendment’s free speech clause and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. They seek an order blocking Pritzker from enforcing his orders limiting the size of political gatherings.
“Last week the governor’s double standard was on full display as he defended, joined and endorsed large gatherings that violate his very own Executive Orders,” said Tim Schneider, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, in a prepared statement. “It’s clear the governor keeps one set of rules for the people in politically advantageous photo ops and another for the rest of Illinois.”
The state Republican Party is represented by attorneys with the Liberty Justice Center, of Chicago.