No more venue shopping when it comes to Constitutional court challenges.
Any lawsuits filed against state laws will be limited to just two counties: Cook and Sangamon, under a bill Governor JB Pritzker has just signed. Representative Jay Hoffman of Swansea says the idea is to prevent lawyers from choosing a certain county where they think a judge might take their side.
“We all know what has happened over the past few years. There have been judicial shopping whether it was Covid related restrictions, masks, vaccines, or assault weapons ban, the list goes on and on.”
Hoffman says this will also make it easier for the Attorney General’s office, which represents the state in these challenges, to travel to court.
Representative Patrick Windhorst of Metropolis opposed the measure.
“This is going to have a much bigger impact on individuals in our various communities who want to get justice in their local community and not travel to Springfield or Chicago to get that justice.”
The law comes in response to numerous challenges over the past couple of years such as Covid-19 mandates and the ban on assault weapons. Several of those challenges were initially brought before judges in Clinton and Clay Counties.
