State's Attorney Tom Haine filed suit in Sangamon County Circuit Court Friday afternoon seeking to stop implementation of a state law creating subcircuits in Madison County's judiciary.
The suit names the State Board of Elections, its members, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Supreme Court Clerk.
Bethalto resident Christina Wiley is included as a plaintiff. She claims the law, passed earlier this month, "unconstitutionally purports to convert every at-large circuit judgeship within Madison County into a residential judgeship, limiting the filling of future vacancies to the subcircuits only," the complaint says. "Moreover, the General Assembly, illegally prescribes the manner in which the new residential circuit judgeships will be selected and elected.
"Madison County will sustain substantial, irreparable harm by forcing the application of an unconstitutional law suddenly drafted and immediately applied here (but not other places in Illinois) without adequate review which will risk confusion and defects in the upcoming 2022 judicial election.”
A temporary restraining order is sought "maintaining the status quo and barring defendants from taking any steps to enforce or institute the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022 until such time as the parties brief and the Court considers Plaintiffs' forthcoming motion for preliminary injunction," the complaint says.
“This subcircuit law has serious Constitutional issues, and is being rushed forward in a reckless way,” Haine said. “We are arguing that a pause is warranted here to let clearer heads prevail. With this pause, our upcoming 2022 judicial elections can be held county-wide, as they have always been, while the courts closely review this very dubious new subcircuit scheme.”
The suit also states that the act is “unconstitutional, ambiguous, and poorly-drafted… and required to be implemented immediately with no time for a cleanup, clarification, or judicial review. The act’s ambiguity and inconsistency place an undue burden on Madison County to interpret and successfully implement new subcircuits for the 2022 elections.”
House Bill 3138, which was passed and signed into law by Governor Pritzker earlier this month, creates four judicial subcircuits in the Third Judicial Circuit, which includes Madison and Bond Counties.
The Madison County Board passed a resolution on Jan. 13 condemning the subcircuit legislation and authorizing the State’s Attorney’s Office to consider legal action.