darren bailey

Rep. Bailey Wants Gov. Pritzker Held in Contempt, Jailed for Continuing to Issue Executive Orders

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is once again lashing out at State Rep. Darren Bailey after the downstate lawmaker sought for a judge to rule that the governor was in contempt of court and that he should be jailed.

According to court records, Pritzker is facing what is known as an “Indirect Civil Contempt Motion” in connection with a lawsuit filed by Bailey in Clay County. The motion accuses the governor of ignoring prior orders by the court, and says he should be held in contempt for continuing to issue executive orders in connection to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The motion seeks to have Pritzker held in contempt of court, and to be imprisoned in the Clay County Jail “until he purges himself by rescinding the above-mentioned executive orders.”

Pritzker all but scoffed at a question about the motion, saying that Bailey’s court victories in Clay County have been repudiated in numerous other Illinois courts.

“All I can say is the rulings in Clay County have been ridiculous,” Pritzker said. “There’s no other court that has ruled as they have on the matter that they ruled on. In fact there’s a judge on Friday who specifically pointed to Clay County and said that the decision by that judge was bereft of any legal analysis, and I think that’s accurate.”

According to Capitol Fax, Pritzker was quoting in part, a ruling by a circuit court judge in another lawsuit alleging he’d overstepped in issuing executive orders.

In a lawsuit filed in Will County, a group of plaintiffs accused Pritzker of overstepping his authority as governor in extending a moratorium on evictions, and Circuit Court Judge John Anderson ruled against them, saying that the governor’s authority to issue executive orders has been upheld by numerous federal judges and by virtually every other state judge in Illinois, with the exception of Clay County.

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