Illinois judge rejects Texas legislature lawsuit over absconding Dems
[August 15, 2025]
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – An Illinois judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by
the state of Texas against 33 House Democrats who absconded from the
state to stop legislative proceedings.
The lawsuit was filed in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Adams
County, Illinois. It asked the court to hold the Democrats in contempt
and to domesticate Texas warrants, allowing for absconding Democrats to
be arrested and brought back to Texas.
It was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Illinois state
Sen. Jil Walker Tracy, R-Quincy, The Center Square reported.
Judge Scott Larson said in a Wednesday ruling that Paxton had “failed to
present a legal basis for the court to obtain subject matter
jurisdiction over this cause of action, this court is without
jurisdiction to grant petitioner’s emergency motion to rule on
pleadings.
“This court does not find that it has subject matter jurisdiction, this
court does not consider the issues of personal jurisdiction, venue or
the merits of the underlying petition for rule to show cause or the
request to issue a rule to show cause upon the respondents.”
Larson also said that Illinois courts can’t determine whether “foreign
legislators” willfully abscond from their duties and cannot direct
Illinois law enforcement to execute civil quorum warrants upon
“nonresidents temporarily located in the State of Illinois.”
Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows haven’t issued a statement in
response and didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Texas’ lawsuit disagrees, arguing the Full Faith and Credit Clause of
the U.S. Constitution establishes the doctrine of comity between states.
“This Court must give full faith and credit to warrants duly issued by
the Texas House of Representatives that compel these civil servants to
return to Texas and to their civic responsibilities,” the lawsuit
states.
In this case, Texas asked the court to issue an order “to effectuate the
Quorum Warrants, just as if they were acts of the State of Illinois,”
treating Texas’ Quorum Warrants “as its own civil order.” It also asked
the court to “issue a rule to show cause why Respondents should not be
held in contempt,” to initiate contempt proceedings against Texas
Democrats “for unlawfully seeking to evade Texas’s duly issued Quorum
Warrants,” and set a hearing as soon as possible. If it didn’t, “Texas
is threatened with immediate and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit argues.
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South grounds of the Texas Capitol - Texas Preservation Board
It is unclear if Texas will appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. If
it did, and the court ruled against Texas, Texas could appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court, The Center Square reported.
More than 50 House Democrats fled the state to avoid being arrested
in Texas after breaking quorum and stopping House proceedings during
a special session. The House is scheduled to convene on Friday. If
the House Democrats don’t show up, then both the House and Senate
will adjourn sine die and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will immediately
call a second legislative session.
After blocking a Hill Country relief package that was scheduled for
a vote in the House on Tuesday, House Democrats said they may return
after the first special session was over, The Center Square
reported.
Those “who left the state to prevent a vote on new congressional
maps will return to Texas, feeling they have accomplished their
mission of killing the first special session, raising awareness and
sparking national backlash about the mid-decade redistricting,” the
House Democratic Caucus said.
Abbott has said he will call special session after special session
until the legislature passes bills on the call for the session.
He also said Texas Democrats “mailing their ‘demands’ … FROM
CHICAGO” is “embarrassing.” He told them to “Come back and fight
like Texans rather than running and hiding like cowards.”
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