‘Best justice money can buy,’ plaintiff says of Illinois gun ban ruling

[August 12, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – While a split Illinois Supreme Court upheld the state’s gun and magazine ban, Gov. J.B. Pritkzer acknowledges the chances it survives a federal challenge aren’t great.

Pritzker praised Friday's ruling in a statement.

“This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship,” Pritzker said. “Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state – whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work – and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes.”

State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, who brought the case, disagreed.

“Just the opposite,” he said. “It disarms honest [Firearm Owner Identification] card citizens. It takes away common guns that they use for self protection or to protect their families.”

Friday's outcome was “the best justice money can buy,” Caulkins said. Caulkins' attorneys motioned for Justices Elizabeth Rochford and Mary O'Brien to recuse themselves before the case was heard in May because of $1 million political donations they each received from Pritzker last year. The justices denied those motions. Rochford wrote the majority decision upholding the law Friday. O'Brien joined the dissent.

Asked if he’ll pursue that perceived conflict in federal court, Caulkins couldn’t say.

"I don't know the answer to that," Caulkins said. "That's going to be up to our attorneys and how we want to proceed and what we can afford to do."

Pritzker previously downplayed concerns over donations he gave to two of the justices’ campaign accounts last year.

Caulkins’ case in state court dealt with equal protections challenges as the law does not apply to police or others working in the law enforcement and security sectors. Separate challenges of the law in federal court focus on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Illinois.gov

It’s unclear when the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will rule on the Second Amendment challenge in federal court. That could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before Friday’s ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court, Pritzker acknowledged the outcome in federal court could trump that.

“And that as of late the appointees to the Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, are people who unfortunately want to take away the rights of parade goers and people who live in our neighborhoods to live safely,” Pritzker said.

The state-level cases may not be over. Attorney Thomas DeVore, who secured temporary restraining orders for thousands of clients in cases separate from Friday’s ruling, said those orders are still in place until they are dissolved by a judge.

“If the court enters an order sometime in the next week or two dissolving the TRO, it will be what it is, but ultimately the bigger issues is our case surviving and being able to address the issue of constitutionality that Caulkins and his team let fall by the wayside,” DeVore told The Center Square.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office said in a statement they “are pleased with the court’s decision” and the law upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court is “part of a multi-faceted approach to addressing gun violence.”

“We are firmly committed to protecting Illinois residents from the gun violence that impacts too many communities throughout the state,” the AG’s office said. “We will continue to defend the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act and other measures that reduce gun violence in our communities.”

The AG’s office didn’t immediately respond when asked about the status of DeVore’s TROs.