Illinois Judge Rules Against State’s Stay-at-Home Order

(Bloomberg) -- An Illinois judge ruled that Governor J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order violated the liberty of a state lawmaker who sued to block the measure, signaling potential legal hurdles for extended periods of social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak.

Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney on Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring Pritzker from imposing additional stay-at-home restrictions on state Representative Darren Bailey, who filed suit on April 23. While the decision affects only Bailey, it could spur opposition by other Illinois residents. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul appealed the ruling in the state’s appellate court in the fifth judicial district Monday asking to “dissolve the temporary restraining order.”

Pritzker, a Democrat, last week extended a modified stay-at-home order through May 30, after his disaster proclamation was set to expire in April. While the order allows some businesses to reopen, Bailey claimed the governor exceeded his power beyond the 30 days allowed by the proclamation, according to the Republican lawmaker’s website.

“Our governor has gained power without anybody asking any questions,” Bailey said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Bailey said his goal is to uphold democracy and the constitution of the state. He also said he’s concerned about the “financial pandemic we are going to be dealing with long after covid-19.”

Bailey has “shown he has a clearly ascertainable right in need of immediate protection, namely his liberty interest to be free from Pritzker’s executive order of quarantine in his own home,” McHaney said in his ruling.

The stay-at-home order, which is intended to prevent illness and death, is still in effect, and the state has acted well within its legal authority, Pritzker said at his daily press briefing Tuesday. Pritzker said Tuesday the court ruling “set a dangerous precedent” but added that he expects it to be overturned.

“This ruling only applies to one person because it was only ever about one person,” Pritzker said. “This was a cheap political stunt.”

A similar lawsuit was filed last week by Republican lawmakers over the extension of Wisconsin’s stay-at-home order. Two California activists claim a ban on non-essential activities infringes on their right to protest at the state capitol building. U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday also issued a memo directing Department of Justice attorneys to be “on the lookout for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”

The debate over how long and far governors’ directives can extend may heat up even more as hot spots fear surges, businesses worry temporary closures may lead to their demise and unemployment claims breach records.

Illinois has among the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and continues to grow, though the rate of increase in new infections is slowing. Meanwhile, the state’s number of new initial unemployment claims from March 1 through April 18 is 12 times the amount in the same period last year, according to data released April 23.

Bailey said on Tuesday that he regularly hears from residents concerned and worried about their livelihoods in his district, a rural area dependent on small businesses, agriculture and oil drilling that’s been devastated by the drop in prices of commodities and the economic rout spurred by Covid-19. He said he’s heard constituents express frustration that they can’t get their unemployment claims filed on the state’s overburdened computer and phone systems, while sole proprietors struggle to figure out how to file for loans.

Pritzker on Tuesday added that the 109th district that Bailey represents has among the lowest hospital bed and ventilator availability in the state, “making it uniquely ill-equipped” to respond to a surge of coronavirus cases.

“Nothing about today’s ruling will change the city’s intention to continue imposing the stay at home restrictions,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement on Monday. “We need this effort to keep all Chicagoans safe and healthy, and we will stay the course.”

Bailey’s lawsuit is “extremely reckless,” Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan said in an emailed statement.

“The governor’s actions have consistently reflected an understanding that, as we face this crisis, we must be guided by what is right -- not what is easy, comfortable or expedient,” Madigan said.

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