Skip to content

Governor’s indoor dining ban withstands court test

Supreme Court won’t hear restaurant’s challenge to indoor dining ban

FoxFire still has lawsuit pending in Sangamon County

By SARAH MANSUR
Capitol News Illinois
smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court will not take up a case from a suburban restaurant challenging Gov. JB Pritzker’s indoor dining ban.

FoxFire Tavern in Kane County asked the state’s highest court to hear their case in December after suing Pritzker over his ban in October.

The restaurant won an early victory when a Kane County judge granted the restaurant’s request for a temporary restraining order that allowed FoxFire to ignore the new indoor dining restrictions contained in Pritzker’s executive order.

An appellate court’s decision in November overruled the Kane County judge’s decision, finding the governor’s executive order is valid under the state law that gives the governor certain powers during a disaster. Following that appellate court decision, FoxFire’s attorneys appealed directly to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The announcement Wednesday ends the restaurant’s case at the Illinois Supreme Court.

FoxFire has a similar but separate legal challenge pending in Sangamon County.

A spokesperson for Pritzker said the governor “is pleased the court rejected this request and sided with upholding Gov. Pritzker’s ability to follow the science and protect the citizens of Illinois.”

Lawyers for FoxFire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

 

 

2 Comments

  1. Brian on May 27, 2021 at 11:27 am

    In Wisconsin and Michigan, the state supreme courts accepted the appeals of the governors’ emergency COVID measures and struck them down. But the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. The difference? Both the Michigan and Wisconsin supreme courts are majority Republican, while Illinois. . . well, you know.

    It’s discouraging to see such an important question come down to mere partisan politics. The least that the highest court of our state could have done is rule on the matter, even if it came down 9-0 in favor of Governor Toilets.

    • ok on June 3, 2021 at 12:25 pm

      So then you’re arguing that the decisions in Wisconsin and Michigan didn’t come down to partisan politics, even though you’ve stated the majority are Republican? I’m guessing Republicans just know the right answer? Hopefully, you’re not an attorney because that’s a terrible, conflicting argument.

Leave a Comment