Former GOP Official Turned Judge Upholds Prtizker Restaurant Order
Governor JB Pritzker seemingly opened the door Thursday to another statewide lockdown if COVID-19 cases continue a drastic spike.
A state appellate court has overturned a decision by a suburban judge allowing a Geneva restaurant to stay open in spite of Governor JB Pritzker’s indoor service ban for bars and restaurants. But, the judge who upheld Pritzker’s order is a former Republican DuPage County State’s Attorney and candidate for Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor.
Judge Joe Birkett signed the opinion reversing the decision that allowed FoxFire steakhouse to stay open. Birkett was the Republican State’s Attorney in DuPage County from 1996 to 2010 when he was appointed to the appeals court. He ran for Attorney General in 2002, falling to Democrat Lisa Madigan. In 2006, he was Republican Judy Baar-Topinka’s running mate for Lieutenant Governor.
FoxFire owners had received a temporary restraining order allowing the restaurant to stay open immediately following the Governor’s suburban mitigations, but Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office appealed the ruling to the 2nd District Appellate Court.
There have been numerous Republican elected officials, attorneys, and business owners who have questioned Pritzker’s authority in issuing the executive order. In his ruling, Birkett wrote a plain reading of state statute showed Pritzker does have the authority to issue ongoing consecutive orders.
“While [the law] does not contain any limitations to the governor’s power to issue successive disaster proclamations, other sections of the Act do contain limitations on other local officials’ capabilities to exercise that power,” Birkett wrote. “Because [the law] does not contain any limitations on the governor’s authority to issue successive proclamations, a comprehensive reading of the Act supports the conclusion that the legislature did not intend to limit the governor’s authority in such a manner.”
It’s not clear yet what FoxFire owners will do in response to the ruling. A message left with the restaurant’s owners was not returned.