* Background is here if you need it. From the attorney general’s filing…

Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 384, the Attorney General of the State of Illinois, Kwame Raoul, on behalf of Governor Jay Robert Pritzker, in his official capacity, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Board of Education, Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, in her official capacity as the director of the Illinois State Board of Education, and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, in her official capacity as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (“State Defendants”), hereby move this Court to: (1) transfer the above-captioned cases that are currently pending in the Circuit Courts of Kendall (No. 2021-MR-255), Macoupin (No. 2021-MR-91), Montgomery (No. 2021-MR-112), Sangamon (Nos. 2021-MR-1259 & 2021-CH-79), and Vermilion Counties (No. 2021-MR-432), to the Circuit Court of Cook County; and (2) consolidate those cases with the case currently pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County (No. 2021 CH 4914). In the alternative, the State Defendants respectfully request that the Court: (1) transfer the above-captioned cases that are currently pending in the Circuit Courts of Cook, Kendall, Macoupin, Montgomery, and Vermilion Counties to the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, and (2) consolidate those cases with the cases currently pending in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County (Nos. 2021-MR-1259 & 2021-CH-79).

Such relief is appropriate because these cases all challenge the executive orders and emergency rule issued by the State Defendants requiring students to wear face coverings while in school and/or requiring schools to exclude students from in-person learning if they come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19. These cases all seek similar declaratory or injunctive relief to nullify these requirements for students and school districts. Accordingly, transfer and consolidation would conserve resources, allow for a more efficient resolution of the cases, and avoid public confusion over the validity of the State Defendants’ actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Transfer to the Circuit Court of Cook County is warranted because the vast majority of the students who would be the subject of the sought relief are located in Cook County. Alternatively, Sangamon County is an appropriate forum as the venue of the first-filed case, and where counsel for the majority of the plaintiffs is already engaged in similar litigation against some of the State Defendants. In support of this motion, the State Defendants submit a supporting record and state the following.