Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul finds himself in the unpleasant position of defending the indefensible. It falls upon him to defend Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new gun and magazine ban in the courts. At a court hearing yesterday, Raoul got off to a rocky start. Despite 450 attorneys working for him, Illinois’ top lawyer couldn’t even muster enough juris doctors to defend each of four named defendants in the first court hearing.
I know. You’re probably like me, reaching for a tissue at the news.
Just kidding.
Many if not most of Raoul’s crew of attorneys work in Chicago. Those city slickers try to avoid going south of Interstate 80, which in the minds of more than a few Chicagoans represents the demarcation between their idea of civilization and the cornfields, hicks, and bumpkins that could star in Deliverance 2.
As an Illinois resident from south of the I-80 demarcation line, I can just imagine the reaction of Raoul’s attorneys being asked to travel four hours downstate to defend the Senate President and the Speaker of the Illinois House. “You want me to go where? That’s way down there in hillbilly country! Besides, they probably don’t even have running water there.”
Anyway, it didn’t go well for AG Raoul. First he tried to delay by asking for a new judge to hear the case. The chief judge assigned a new jurist, but kept the hearing time at 11a.m. on Wednesday.
Frustrated on the first request, Raoul’s office then asked for a week-long delay in the hearing. Bzzt.
In the end, the hearing happened and only the named defendants of the Governor and Attorney General had legal representation. The Attorney General’s office left the Senate President and the House Speaker without any legal counsel.
That’s right, AG Raoul has 450 attorneys and he couldn’t get four of them to show up in Effingham for an emergency hearing. Meanwhile, Attorney Tom Devore moved forward, asking for a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of HB-5471, the Draconian new gun and magazine bans that outlaw the hottest-selling firearms for personal defense in the Land of Lincoln. And a whole lot more.
The Illinois Review has some details of the hearing. A decision is expected by end of business Friday on the motion for a temporary restraining order.
On Wednesday morning, in an emergency hearing to discuss, what many are calling, an “unconstitutional” assault weapons ban, Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison heard arguments from representatives of Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, and from Tom DeVore, representing over 860 plaintiffs, saying he will issue a ruling by Friday.
Sources confirmed to Illinois Review that late last night, Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office attempted to delay the hearing by seeking substitution of assigned Judge Chad Miller. In response, Chief Judge Douglas Jarman reassigned the case to Judge Morrison, and the hearing proceeded as scheduled.
Earlier in the evening, sources also confirmed to Illinois Review that Raoul’s office asked for a one-week continuation, but that request was denied.
The hearing proceeded, ex parte (one side only), meaning a Judge can proceed without any representation from defendants. Ex parte is usually reserved for emergency purposes.
During the emergency hearing, representatives from the Attorney General’s office were present, attending on behalf of Gov. JB Pritzker, D, and Attorney General Raoul, D. However, the General Assembly and named defendants Speaker Chris Welch, D, and Senate President Don Harmon, D, were unrepresented at the hearing.
Former Republican nominee for Attorney General Thomas DeVore, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of over 860 plaintiffs, was also present at the hearing.
DeVore argued for roughly 25 minutes, while representatives from the Attorney General’s office spoke for more than 45 minutes.
DeVore’s lawsuit challenging the new gun ban in state court is just one of three filed so far this week. Thomas Maag, famous for winning a settlement in a class action lawsuit about the Illinois State Police fee-stacking on FOID applications, filed suit in the Southern District of Federal Court.
And the Illinois State Rifle Association, backed by the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation, also filed in the same federal court district.
If that wasn’t enough work for Raoul, the Illinois Gun Rights Alliance will likely file their lawsuit next week or the week after in federal court as well. The IGRA, a new group, includes the Aurora Sportsman’s Club, FFL-IL, Guns Save Life, the State Line Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Second Amendment Law Center / Chuck Michele. We (I serve as the executive director of Guns Save Life, one of the founding member groups) just put out a press release announcing our group earlier this week.
Suffice it to say that the Governor thought the gun and magazine bans would make him look like an effective statesman capable of accomplishing the impossible. He likely believe it would serve as a pillar in a possible future presidential campaign.
Instead this thing is morphing into an epic political embarrassment in real time. Pritzker looks weak and inept as within days of signing the measure into law, Pritzker faced 90+ county sheriffs and/or state’s attorneys telling him publicly to pound sand on enforcing the new law. And now his precious new law looks like it may very well be blocked by the courts.
Adding insult to injury, an inept Attorney General can’t even scrape up enough attorneys to represent all of the named defendants in the first court hearing of many to come.
Then again, this is the dim bulb AG who appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court when a county judge blocked the “No Cash Bail” law for 64 counties prior to the new year. Not only did the local Supremes reject Raoul’s motion, but they expanded the order to all 102 counties. That’s some mighty fine lawyering there, Mr. AG.
In the end, J.B. Pritzker does not look like a wise and capable statesman destined for higher office. Instead, he looks more like a feckless blow-hard surrounded by incompetents.
Looks like?
It looks like a whole lot like unbridled arrogance, to me. They had their asses handed back to them on a plate because they couldn’t be bothered to prepare for a simple hearing.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that office later on that day… 🙂
looks like Chicago vs the rest of the state….should be interesting…
And yet fat boy Prickster will smirk & drool about those “laws”. President LOL🙄 Godspeed Bock et all!
That is Chicago. Let’s see what happens when the bags of cash start being distributed…
“Let’s see what happens when the bags of cash start being distributed…”
What ‘bags of cash? He’s a public ‘serpent’. He doesn’t have the sacks of cash to hand out to the judge to buy him off.
He’s used to people handing sacks of cash to *him*, so they don’t get jammed-up by bullshit charges.
That’s the ‘Chicago Way’… 🙁
Illinois AG, minority hire. Kinda like the WH press secretary. Rather humorous to watch.
Yup. I bet Boch and crew would pay good money to watch Raoul argue this in person.
These idiotic laws are Humpty Dumpty and as long as all the king’s men are lazy scheisters like Kwame they’ll never put him back together.
Unfortunately, they (the AG, and the rest in his pen) don’t see it as a failure.
This is just one more call to rally their base, and will ensure their next election victory by and even wider margin.
The problem lies with the ignorant and deceived who support these America haters.
Every time they “lose,” they get more support from their base.
I’d have thought they’d have had a dozen lawyers on tap for this. I mean the various gun rights groups have only been tweeting about doing this since before the signing in all probability.
Don’t get cocky though.
Andrew Lias,
I would have thought that countless prominent private-sector attorneys would have voluntarily represented any/all of the defendants. That is what the forces of civilian disarmament recently promised for, what was it, the New York versus Bruen case?
“Every time they “lose,” they get more support from their base.”
Because evil never rests. It grows stronger over time, like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; the lion only roars when it springs in attack.
And what is the defense from a predator that is attacking you ?
“And what is the defense from a predator that is attacking you ?”
Evil depends on the disarmed*, whether from a lack of weaponry, or mere ignorance.
(no, there ain’t gonna be no boogey, Lou)
bury their unconstititional and unlawfully acting butts in law suit. they really need to be removed from office… flat-out tyranny, the kind the founders warned about and we fought a war to be rid of. blatant intentional abuse of power to oppress, persecute, terrorize, subjugate, and remove rights.
expanded to all 102 counties… somehow i missed that good bit.
kwame a river would have brought representation if it had been beneficial. they’re just getting started on this lyin’ dog faced dog and pony show.
matt gaetz calls for the abolishment of atf.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/18/matt-gaetz-abolish-atf-stabilizing-braces-rule/
I don’t see why the AG couldn’t represent all State defendants with a single lawyer. I suspect (or guess if you prefer) that the AG did not want to appear on behalf of the legislative defendants so that later he can demur to the complaint on the basis of their legislative immunity, an immunity that does not apply to the Governor and the AG. An appearance on behalf of those defendants might arguably have waived their rights to challenge the complaint. Or it could be a simple matter of those defendants not yet being served….In any event, I have no doubt that they will be adequately defended in the attorneys paid out of taxpayer funds.
Kwame Raoul’s ambulance chasing stall tactics won’t work on real cases.
His 450 attorneys were probably the lower 10% of their class.
I think JB probably paid someone to go to law school for him.
He does hold a Juris Doctor degree and should have known this “law” is just nonsense.
It has the smell of Kathleen Willis all over it who was voted out after this bill was passed.
Her qualifications? She was Vice President for the Kiwanis of a small suburb.
Meanwhile in Illinois the taxpayer also pays for the illegal aliens and people who come in from out of state for abortions. I strongly disapprove of my tax dollars being used for any of this.
$20 million for illegal aliens approved and $90 million for state welcoming centers?
$11.2 million for state paid abortions? Who knows to defend against the AWB lawsuits?
JB should pay for this out his his own pocket and keep the taxpayers out of it.
I don’t see this Gun ban going where it was intended due to compliance. Unfortunately all the non compliers each seem to be on a different page. I.E. I doubt bigots will stand against Gun Control based on its roots in racism and genocide. They’ll stand against the ban because they need guns to get the N-words, Turks, etc. Then you have the courtroom drama crowd who’ll annalise the proceedings like outhouse lawyers and surrender to Gun Control if the case does not go their way. Then there are the Constitutionalists who see their dug in non-compliance as protecting and defending the Constitution which in reality circles back to defense against the aforementioned rooted in racism and genocide Gun Control the nemesis of The Second Amendment that belongs in a toilet.
analyze
“I don’t see this Gun ban going where it was intended due to compliance.”
They are counting on folks having that attitude, it makes selective enforcement a handy tool to use against a political enemy… 🙁
tough s**t, dindu
tough s**t, ag-mau-mau
Kwame Raoul, LOL, and hes an attorney general, double LOL.
We R Fcked.
Two hudred forty five years ago the plain folks on the street wouldn’t even bother to file lawsuits. They just showed up, about 14,000 of them mustered overnight (remember no cell phones or TeeVee sets to spread the news) to stand firm against da Guvnrs orders to disarm. Da Guv had sent out 800 of his best, reinforced by another 1200 the next morning, late. Too little TOO late.
Da Guv got his hat handed him on a wooden trencher. So did the king who had sent him round to do his dirty work.
Good news out of Florida. Cities and counties can’t pass restrictive firearms laws.
Florida Supreme Court upholds gun law banning restrictions – ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/florida-supreme-court-upholds-gun-law-banning-restrictions-96544284
it used to be
that the greatest thing about america
was that anybody could be anything
now
as kwame raoul
and lori lightfoot
and kamala harris
and karine jean pierre
have shown
its one of the worst things about america
“In the end, it looks like J.B. Pritzker does not look like a wise and capable statesman destined for higher office. Instead, he looks like a feckless blow-hard surrounded by incompetence.”
To paraphrase, he’s a Democrat, a Marxist trying to camouflage his true nature.
JB Pritzker, D, and Attorney General Raoul, D. However, the General Assembly and named defendants Speaker Chris Welch, D, and Senate President Don Harmon, D…”
If you are voting D because your daddy and granddaddy were proud Ds, you sowing your own poison
I know a Democrat who remained a lifelong bachelor because his Daddy was a lifelong bachelor and his Granddaddy was a lifelong bachelor.
This poor AG is going to become the butt of a lot of jokes when he tries to defend this unconstitutional law.
Same ban introduced in Washington state legislature, already has 27 Democrats signed on as co-sponsors. Oh well, it’s tax money that gets used to defend it so no skin off their noses and no cost to them to force us to pay to take it to court.
Not all of his staff are boneheads. I know an outstanding attorney on his staff that lives in southern Illinois. It is very difficult to defend the indefensible!
Can you please advise the Colorado State Shooting Association? We are facing the very same threat in this legislative session, and of course with process-as-punishment it will become law until we fight it back. I’ll be forced to open carry, but at least I can explain to the scared people that they voted for it.
Oh it gets better. Yesterday evening Todd Vandermyde reported via his You Tube channel Freedoms Steel that the Federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has just vacated and remanded a lower district court case gun ban in Illinois for a new hearing/trial due to the new scrutiny standard mandated by the Bruen decision . So unlike the 2nd Circuit court, the 7th seems to be taking the Bruen decision very seriously.
https://youtu.be/Au1Gu0D7kjk
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