OF COURSE

Department of Justice Wades Into Lawsuit Against Democratic Governor of Illinois

The DOJ issued a statement of interest backing a Republican state lawmaker who challenged the legality of J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus-related restrictions.

The Department of Justice on Friday waded into an Illinois lawsuit challenging the legality of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home restrictions, saying a Republican state representative’s legal challenge against the restrictions should be heard in state court. After Pritzker, an outspoken Trump critic, moved to have the lawsuit filed by state Rep. Darren Bailey heard in federal court earlier this week, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said in a statement that “the Governor of Illinois owes it to the people of Illinois to allow his state’s courts to adjudicate the question of whether Illinois law authorizes orders he issued to respond to COVID-19.” In the lawsuit, Bailey, who was booted from a legislative session earlier this week for refusing to wear a protective face mask, argues that Pritzker’s executive stay-at-home orders are invalid because they go beyond the scope of 30 days approved by the state legislature.