South Central Reporter

The Illinois Republican Party is taking Gov. J.B. Pritzker to task — and to court.

The state GOP has filed a federal lawsuit against Pritzker, alleging he has repeatedly violated the First Amendment. The lawsuit, filed June 15, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, notes that Pritzker participated in large rallies and supported events that had large crowds while using executive orders he issued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to prohibit gatherings of more than 10 people.

GOP activist Christopher Hicks of Sawyerville, who has sought public office and worked in several campaigns, said the Republican Party is correct to call Pritzker on his dual stances.

“I agree with the lawsuit citing violations of the First and 14th Amendments. Gov. Pritzker is stomping on the rights of citizens to free speech and equal protection,” Hicks told South Central Reporter. “Citizens have rights under the Constitution and a pandemic does not give this governor the right to pick and choose who gets to exercise those American rights. 

"Even more hypocritical, Gov. Pritzker and his immediate family have been traveling about the country to places such as Florida and Wisconsin while the rest of Illinois residents are told to stay home.”

“Gov. Pritzker is ruling Illinois like an unaccountable king where only he gets to decide which violations of his executive order have his blessing,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement. “The Illinois Republican Party will not sit idly by while the governor of Illinois applies one rule for himself and his political allies and another rule for everyone else. We agree that peaceful protesters have just cause to exercise their First Amendment rights, but they aren’t the only ones. The days of Gov. Pritzker picking winners and losers is coming to an end. The hypocrisy has to end. The violation of our First Amendment rights has to end.”

The Illinois Republican Party was forced to hold its quadrennial convention virtually, eliminating in-person collaboration, networking and training, the release noted.

“The 2020 general election is five months away, and the only opposition to Pritzker and Illinois Democrats’ control is indefinitely barred from meeting for normal party functions,” Schneider said. “This isn’t the first time Gov. Pritzker has played by a different set of rules. When restrictions barred travel to vacation homes, and the governor lectured Illinoisans daily about not crossing state borders, Pritzker’s family was traveling to and from their equestrian estates in Florida and Wisconsin.

“And now, we see Pritzker continue to restrict funerals, weddings, festivals, youth sports — and political gatherings  — at the same time he marches with thousands of protesters on a crowded street.”

Hicks, 33, ran for a seat on the Macoupin County board in 2018 but lost by nine votes after a recount. Earlier that year he was disqualified, following a petition challenge, when he ran for the Republican nomination for Senate District 48.

Hicks ran in the 2016 GOP primary for state House District 95, was a candidate for mayor of Sawyerville in 2017 and sought a position on the city board of trustees in 2015.

He is a veteran of many campaigns and currently is employed as a field director for a political consulting firm.

Hicks said the legal challenge is timely, with the general election 4 1/2 months away.

“If successful, this lawsuit will allow candidates to resume door knocking and field operations which are crucial to any campaign,” he said. “Voters should not be denied the right to voice their opinions and concerns to elected officials and prospective candidates. Door-knocking is freedom of speech, although social distancing measures need to be followed.”

Hicks said the state GOP has a strong case to make.

“The lawsuit should be successful based on the obvious violations of free speech and equal protection rights,” he said. “I could not imagine any circumstance existing in which a judge would rule in favor of Gov. Pritzker.”

COVID-19 was described as a public health crisis, but Hicks said it appears to have become something else in Illinois, adding, “If the pandemic has not become a political tool for Gov. Pritzker, myself and many others are going to need more convincing.”