Pritzker: FBI can’t arrest Texas lawmakers sheltering in Illinois
[August 08, 2025]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker brushed aside suggestions Thursday that
FBI agents could be deployed to arrest a group of Texas Democratic
lawmakers who have fled to Illinois to delay voting on a mid-decade
Republican redistricting plan.
Pritzker’s comments came amid escalating tensions over the Texas
redistricting drama. Earlier in the day, according to the New York
Times, Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, of Texas, said the FBI had
agreed to his request to help locate the absent Texas lawmakers.
“Look, I’ve said it before. This is a lot of grandstanding by the Trump
administration, by John Cornyn, by Governor (Greg) Abbott in Texas,”
Pritzker told reporters after cutting a ribbon to officially open the
Illinois State Fair. “The reality is that all that he has said, Cornyn,
is that the FBI has been authorized to locate the Texas House Democrats,
nothing more. And you know why? Because there is no federal law that
allows them to arrest Texas Democrats who are here visiting the state of
Illinois.”
“I welcome the FBI coming to the state,” he continued. “I hope they take
in the State Fair. I hope they go see the beauty of Lake Michigan. … But
they won’t be arresting anyone because there is no U.S. federal law that
prohibits those Texas House Democrats from being here in the state of
Illinois.”
The drama began Sunday when dozens of Democratic members of the Texas
House left the state while the Texas Legislature was meeting in a
special session that was called primarily to respond to devastating
floods that struck the central part of the state in July, leaving more
than 100 people dead.
However, at the urging of President Donald Trump, the
Republican-controlled legislature is also considering a congressional
redistricting plan that is designed to give Republicans an additional
five seats in the U.S. House.
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House: 219-212, with
four seats vacant. Increasing the GOP’s margin among the Texas
delegation could help Republicans from losing control of the House in
the 2026 midterm elections.
But the idea of drawing new maps midway between federal censuses, solely
for the purpose of gaining more partisan advantage, has sparked protests
and threats of retaliation from leaders of Democratic-leaning states
like Illinois and California.
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Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to reporters outside the Illinois State
Fairgrounds after cutting a ribbon to officially open the fair on
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter
Hancock)
Enacting a new congressional map for Illinois in time for the 2026
elections would be difficult. Democratic and Republican candidates for
state and federal offices began circulating nominating petitions
Tuesday, Aug. 5.
It would also be hard for Democrats to gain any more advantage in
Illinois since they already hold 14 of the state’s 17 congressional
districts.
But speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pritzker would not rule out the
possibility of drawing new maps for Illinois if Texas Republicans follow
through with their plans.
“It’s never too late,” he said. “And the truth is that we’re going to
think about all the options. We’ve already taken one of those options. …
About six weeks ago, I talked about the possibility that Texas House
Democrats would, in fact, have to leave their state. And I made it clear
to them, as I have for the last six weeks, that they’re welcome in the
state of Illinois.”
Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Statehouse Oct. 14 for
the start of their annual fall veto session. But Pritzker said Thursday
he had not yet had any specific discussions with legislative leaders
about taking up a mid-decade redistricting plan.
“The only brief conversations that I’ve had about it have been about the
fact that we’ve got to do everything we can. And we’re all looking for
the right avenues. And let me be clear: We already have taken an
enormous step. We have welcomed those Texas House Democrats to the state
of Illinois. That is a big step.”
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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