Pritzker Ordered To Appear In Court In Contempt Case

Updated at 4:00 p.m. Aug. 7:

ILLINOIS — A Clay County judge ordered Gov. J.B. Pritzker to appear in court next Friday to fight a contempt motion filed by Illinois State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).

Pritzker is order to appear at the Clay County Courthouse in Louisville, Illinois, "to show cause why he should not be held in indirect civil contempt and sanctioned for his willful disregard" of a previous order from the court.

"Failure to appear may result in a warrant for arrest," the order says.

Bailey filed a petition Wednesday to hold Pritzker in civil contempt for issuing multiple coronavirus-related executive orders after a Clay County judge ruled in July that the governor no longer held emergency authority.

Jordan Abudayyeh, who serves as press secretary for Pritzker's administration, said Bailey's contempt motion is "legally baseless, frivolous and a distraction from the serious crisis facing our state."

Abudayyeh slammed Republicans in the Illinois House of Representatives for "rejecting science and perpetuating a sideshow to this global pandemic."

"Not a single member of the GOP caucus in the General Assembly has yet to publicly express their rejection of or outrage at this legal maneuvering that creates unnecessary confusion around public health guidance," Abudayyeh said in Friday in a statement to Patch.

The Clay County judge's order for Pritzker to appear in court "is procedurally improper" and violates "elementary principles of fairness," Abudayyeh said, noting Bailey filed his contempt motion just two days prior.

Abudayyeh said Pritzker's administration is working with officials throughout the state to limit the spread of the coronavirus, "all while the GOP is playing politics."

"The Governor will continue to focus on protecting public health and not on the political sideshow in Clay County," Abudayyeh said.

Reported Aug. 5:

ILLINOIS — A downstate lawmaker is taking his fight against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus executive orders back to court. State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) filed a petition in Clay County court Wednesday to hold Pritzker in civil contempt for imposing new orders after a judge had already ruled the governor overstepped his emergency authority.

Bailey claimed victory July 2 in his battle to invalidate Pritzker’s coronavirus-related executive orders after a Clay County court ruled the governor’s 30-day emergency powers expired April 8. Pritzker has issued numerous since that date, all of which are void, according to Bailey and his attorney, Thomas DeVore.

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Bailey on Wednesday challenged Pritzker in court over the governor’s most recent executive orders, arguing he has no power to act unilaterally in crafting the state’s coronavirus response. The executive orders — issued July 24 and July 27 — extend many of Pritzker’s previous orders through Aug. 22, require schools to follow public health guidelines when reopening, and outline safety protocols for Illinois jails and prisons.

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In the petition, Bailey “respectfully prays” for a Clay County judge to hold Pritzker in indirect civil contempt and force him to explain his “willful and contumacious disregard” for the court’s previous ruling that voided his authority to issue coronavirus-related orders. Bailey is also calling for the court to order Pritzker to rescind the three recent executive orders.

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If he does not rescind the orders, he should be thrown in Clay County jail until he does, Bailey’s petition says.

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Speaking Wednesday during his daily coronavirus briefing, Pritzker said “the rulings out of Clay County have been ridiculous.”

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Pritzker said “there’s no other court that has ruled as they have” on his authority to issue coronavirus-related executive amid the ongoing pandemic. He highlighted a recent ruling by Will County Circuit Judge John Anderson, in which he wrote the “Clay County rulings are … bereft of meaningful legal analysis, and are wholly unpersuasive for that reason.”

“I think that’s accurate,” Pritzker said Wednesday before moving onto the next question.