Limits on political donations in Illinois judicial races are illegal and violate the U.S. Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court in Chicago.
Represented by attorneys from Liberty Justice Center, plaintiffs include former Illinois resident and lawyer Matt Chancey, and Illinois-based independent expenditure committees Fair Courts America and Restoration PAC. Defendants include the Illinois State Board of Elections and its board members as well as Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
In the last year, Illinois has enacted two bills that restrict contributions only in judicial campaigns by, among other things, prohibiting out-of-state donations to candidates and placing arbitrary limits on contributions to independent expenditure committees.
The plaintiffs claim the laws' limits on their ability to support judicial candidates violates their free speech rights provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Chancey had lived in Illinois for 63 years. He practiced law from 1978 to 2016, then moved to Texas upon retiring.
He claims he would like to donate money to individuals running in various Illinois judicial races but is prohibited from doing so by a law enacted in November 2021, Senate Bill 536, which prohibits candidates for Supreme Court, Appellate Court, or Circuit Court from accepting “contributions from any out-of-state person.”
“Illinois’ new law restricting out-of-state donors seems like a solution in search of a problem,” Chancey stated. “As a 63-year resident of Illinois and an attorney there are many friends and colleagues I’d like to support in upcoming elections. This ban is an unnecessary and illegal limit on my right as an American to speak in politics through my support for candidates.”
Fair Courts America and Restoration PAC are also seeking to participate in judicial campaigns in the state, but are now prohibited from accepting donations over $500,000, due to the enactment in May of House Bill 716.
The law says that any independent expenditure committee to support or oppose a judicial candidate “may not accept contributions from any single person in a cumulative amount that exceeds $500,000 in any election cycle.”
It also requires that any amount received that exceeds $500,000 must be immediately forwarded to the State Treasurer who will deposit the funds into the State Treasury. Only committees for judicial candidates are restricted by Illinois law. Similar groups established to support any other candidate may receive an unlimited amount of money from any person.
"It's obvious that Illinois politicians have passed laws trying to disenfranchise their opponents by restricting their political speech,” said Restoration PAC founder and president Doug Truax. “That's unconstitutional and anti-American and both laws need to be struck down immediately."
“Political donations are a way for donors to show support for candidates and have been repeatedly protected as speech by the U.S. Supreme Court,” said
Jeffrey Schwab, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center and lead attorney on the case, said that political donations are a way for donors to show support for candidates, and have been repeatedly protected as speech by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Any government efforts to limit donations, and therefore limit speech, must pass a high level of scrutiny to be upheld," Schwab stated. "Illinois’ new restrictions in only judicial races do not pass this test and must be struck down.”