* From a couple of weeks ago…

A pro-life group in Illinois is suing the governor over their right to assemble during COVID-19 restrictions.

Illinois ‘Right to Life’ claims it followed the stay-at-home mandate but says Gov. J.B. Pritzker has unconstitutionally allowed certain groups to disregard the state’s limits on the number of people who can gather together while holding other groups to a different standard.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order allowing the organization to gather in groups of more than 50 people.

* A federal judge ruled against the group yesterday…

The Court held a hearing on the plaintiff’s motion on July 13, 2020. At the hearing, the plaintiff’s counsel confirmed that the arguments advanced by IRLC are substantively identical to the arguments advanced by the Illinois Republican Party in Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker, Case No 20 CV 3489 (N.D. Ill.). In that case, Judge Sara Ellis issued a thorough and persuasive opinion denying the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunctive relief.

Judge Ellis denied IRP’s expedited motion for an injunction pending appeal and the plaintiff then filed an emergency motion before the Seventh Circuit seeking injunctive relief pending appeal of Judge Ellis’s order. The Seventh Circuit denied the motion for injunctive relief pending appeal, holding that the plaintiff-appellant IRP was unlikely to succeed on the merits and that the balance of harms “strongly favors the governor.”

* But the lawsuits keep coming. WTVO…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is facing a legal challenge from bowling alley owners, suing over COVID-19 capacity restrictions at their facilities.

The Illinois State Bowling Proprietors Association filed the lawsuit in Lee County on Tuesday. The suit asks the state court to invalidate Prtizker’s “unconstitutional and improper” exercise of authority to issue consecutive emergency declarations and restrict the number of people allowed in a bowling alley.

“Our members are suffering serious and irreparable harm in the form of insolvency or the permanent loss of their business and reputation as a result of these illegal orders,” ISBPA executive Director R. William Duff said. “While we tried to work cooperatively to find a solution, the state was unwilling to work toward a fair solution, so we were left with no choice but to seek a court order. We believe that we have both the facts and law on our side, and we look forward to presenting our case to the court.”

Under Phase 4 of the governor’s plan to slow the spread of coronavirus, bowling alleys are among the businesses restricted to allow a maximum of 50 people inside at any given time.

* And…

A southern Illinois lawyer who has tangled with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration over pandemic-related shutdown measures is suing the Illinois High School Association, claiming the group exceeded its authority by placing new limits on sports participation.

Thomas DeVore, who practices in the St. Louis area, sued on behalf of his two children, athletes who will be seniors in Hillsboro Community School District No. 3. He claims they will be irreparably harmed by participation rules the IHSA introduced this month.

The organization announced July 3 that athletes could return to summer practice and competition if schools followed a detailed plan of social distancing and sanitizing. But less than a week later, it announced drastic changes it said the Pritzker administration had required, including an end to scrimmages in basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

The lawsuit claims that change came after a COVID-19 outbreak at Lake Zurich High School. According to a July 7 email included in the filing, the school saw positive tests among 10 students who participated in Lake Zurich sports camps, along with one parent who was hospitalized.

…Adding… Forgot to include this…

The Naperville Park District spent at least $24,499 to sue Gov. J.B. Pritzker in May for authority to reopen park facilities and restart programs on its own schedule, rather than the state’s, amid the coronavirus pandemic. […]

After losing the first round in court and with some park facilities being reopened under the governor’s plan, the board voted 4-3 a month later to drop the lawsuit.

*** UPDATE *** I also forgot to include this one…

A hearing Friday in a lawsuit state Rep. Darren Bailey filed to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders could lead to a full-blown appeal.

Clay County Judge Michael McHaney sided with Bailey, R-Xenia, on two counts regarding the governor’s orders just before the Independence Day Holiday weekend. The judge ruled July 2 that any COVID-19 executive order beyond April 8 is invalid. McHaney didn’t rule on the first count, which deals with the definition of an emergency and if the COVID-19 meets that definition. […]

A circuit court hearing to bring finality to the case is scheduled for July 17. It’s then expected to be filed to the appellate court.