Pritzker Contempt Hearing Delayed By Illinois Supreme Court

ILLINOIS — Gov. J.B. Pritzker is no longer due in Clay County court this week to defend his recent coronavirus-related executive orders after the Illinois Supreme Court granted a stay in the case.

A Clay County judge last week ordered Pritzker to appear in court Friday afternoon to fight a contempt motion filed by Illinois State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia). The judge’s order threatened to issue a warrant for Pritzker’s arrest if he did not show up for the hearing.

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Bailey filed a civil contempt motion against Pritzker, arguing he should be forced to withdraw three executive orders issued in July because a Clay County judge previously ruled the governor no longer holds emergency powers.

Pritzker is showing a “willful and contumacious disregard” for the court’s previous ruling by continuing to issue executive orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bailey said in his contempt motion.

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The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to delay the hearing. The state’s highest court also ordered Bailey’s lawsuit to be moved from the Clay County court system to a circuit court in Sangamon County, where it will be combined with other coronavirus-related cases.

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Tori Joseph, a spokesperson for the Illinois Attorney General's Office, said Friday that the office is "pleased" the Supreme Court granted its request to stay the hearing "so that it does not continue to serve as an unnecessary distraction from the important matter at hand."

"As stated in our emergency motion for supervisory relief, there is no legal basis for the governor to be held in contempt for his efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," Joseph said in a statement to Patch. "We appreciate the court’s decision to transfer and consolidate this case with nearly identical cases currently pending in Sangamon County, where we will continue to defend the governor’s authority to protect Illinois residents."

Bailey’s attorney, Thomas DeVore, could not be reached to comment on the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling.

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