EAST ST. LOUIS – State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), who sued Gov. JB Pritzker for recovery of his rights, must plead his case in U.S. district court.
Pritzker removed the suit from Clay County court on May 21, arguing that Bailey alleged deprivation of at least four rights secured by the U.S. Constitution.
Pritzker declared an emergency on March 9, and issued an order under state emergency management law on March 20.
Bailey sued him on April 23, claiming the law limited his order to 30 days from the date of declaration.
Attorney Thomas DeVore of Greenville wrote for Bailey that Pritzker issued redundant proclamations for the sole purpose of rendering the limit meaningless.
“The emergency powers granted to office of governor ensured a quick response to a disaster event until such time as the legislature had ample time to convene and address whether any laws need to be codified to further protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state of Illinois,” the suit argues.
DeVore wrote that if protection of the people required additional legal safeguards, “it is far past time for the legislative branch to act.”
Circuit Judge Michael McHaney granted a temporary restraining order on April 27, ruling that Pritzker couldn’t quarantine in his home.
He left it to Pritzker and Bailey to set a date on a preliminary injunction.
Pritzker petitioned the Fifth District appellate court to vacate McHaney’s order, and Bailey chose not to fight.
He and Pritzker agreed that Bailey would consent to vacation, return to McHaney’s court, and amend his complaint.
Fifth District judges Randy Moore, John Barberis, and Milton Wharton vacated McHaney’s order on May 1, and remanded the suit for further proceedings.
DeVore amended Bailey’s complaint on May 13, to challenge Pritzker’s assertion that he acted under public health law.
It states that the Department of Public Health has supreme authority in matters of quarantine and isolation, and that no person may be quarantined and no place may be closed without prior consent or court order.
If further states that to obtain an order, the department must prove significant danger from a person or group it reasonably believes to have been exposed. The department also must prove that other reasonable means of correction were exhausted and that no less restrictive alternative existed.
Pritzker retained attorney Thomas Verticchio, of Swanson, Martin and Bell in Chicago, and he removed the suit to district court.
Verticchio asserted the court’s original jurisdiction over allegations that Pritzker deprived Bailey of liberty without due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
He wrote that the U.S. Constitution secures freedoms that Bailey alleges to have been violated and for which he seeks address.
He attached Pritzker’s plan, which calls for private organizations to share information, identify risks, assess vulnerabilities, and make plans for response, continuity, prevention, and protection.
The plan states that private organizations support the plan by “donating or otherwise providing goods and services through contractual arrangement or government purchases to assist in response to and recovery from an incident.”
The district court clerk assigned the suit to Magistrate Judge Gilbert Sison, who will preside unless one of the parties declines consent to magistrate jurisdiction.
Pritzker previously removed constitutional challenges DeVore filed for a bar owner in Clinton County and a hair stylist in Clay County.
The clerk notified DeVore in those cases that the district hasn’t admitted him.
Upon removal of Bailey’s case, Steven Wallace of Glen Carbon entered an appearance for Bailey.