The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Pritzker faces arrest for contempt of court

J.B. Pritzker, jail bird? (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

UPDATES: Illinois Supreme Court disses downstate judge by yanking the case out of his hands.

He’s been ordered to appear in court at 1 p.m. (Chicago time) to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court. As Cook, Count Record explains:

On Aug. 7, Clay County Judge Michael McHaney issued an order directing Pritzker to appear in his courtroom on Aug. 14 to “show cause” why the governor shouldn’t be held in contempt and possibly jailed until he rescinds the COVID-19 disaster-related orders he has issued since May.

The order directing the governor to appear comes two days after State Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, and his attorney, Tom DeVore, filed the contempt petition before Judge McHaney.

That, in turn, came about a month since McHaney had ruled Pritzker overstepped the bounds of his authority under the state constitution and state law in using emergency powers to issue orders statewide, which Pritzker has said are needed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will he show up? Will he send a lawyer instead? How will the judge react to having his order summarily ignored by Pritzker. I thought no one is above the law, not even a governor.

Related:

Pritzker no longer has to appear in Clay County Court on Friday
Supreme Court moves Bailey suit to Springfield

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Filed under:
Health, Illinois politics

Tags:
Clay County Judge Michael McHaney, contempt of court, J. B. Pritzker