By: Mark Glennon*
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a motion Monday permanently enjoining his office from enforcing a state law that targeted pregnancy centers for using alleged “deceptive acts” to lead women away from getting abortions. The federal judge in the case entered an order for the injunction on December 14, dismissing the case with prejudice.
Raoul threw in the towel, in other words, on a case he should never have attempted to defend, about a law he personally drafted, that was a flagrant First Amendment violation from the start.
The law was a transparent effort to silence pro-lifers through viewpoint discrimination, which is what a Federal Court said in August when it temporarily restrained enforcement. The law was “both stupid and likely unconstitutional,” the federal judge wrote in a scorching opinion.
Rarely would we predict with certainty how courts will rule, but we wrote at the time that Raoul was certain to lose the case when it was fully decided.
Raoul initially persisted, with Gov. JB Pritzker’s encouragement. Both claimed confidence the law would be upheld on appeal.
Pritzker, as usual, blamed the “far right,” and he went on CNN with a still more silly claim — that there ought to be a private right of action for anybody that’s dissuaded or told anything that’s false. No, Governor, falsehoods get First Amendment protection, too (established law that Pritzker should be especially grateful for).
The climax of this matter is Raoul’s press release in which he clumsily tried to hide his Monday surrender.
His press release only references the case and the fact that an order was agreed to but includes nothing whatsoever about what the order says, which is that he agreed to permanently enjoin himself and his office from enforcing the law he wrote.
About Monday’s agreement, Pritzker says, “I haven’t spoken with the attorney general about his decision.”
Then there’s Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn), who is apparently upset with Raoul for his decision to surrender, and seemingly unaware that the bill, which she sponsored in the House, was doomed from the start. “I am heartbroken by the decision to back down…” she said in a statement, and added, “It is deeply unfortunate that these centers are trying to hide behind the First Amendment.”
It’s that kind of willful ignorance and indifference to the right of free speech that makes this matter significant. It’s not that any new law or precedent was made in this proceeding. Even a non-lawyer could have seen from a cursory review of First Amendment rulings that the law was doomed.
The Wall Street Journal earlier said in an editorial criticizing the law that “Mr. Pritzker is gaining a reputation as a hard-left culture warrior who is happy to silence political opponents.”
But Pritzker, Raoul and the ruling majority in the General Assembly who passed the law are hardly alone. The assault on free speech is a defining characteristic of today’s pogressive movement. This chapter was just a small illustration.
Be grateful that the First Amendment and courts that enforce it are there to stop them.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
This column was updated to include the court’s entry of the order imposing the injunction and dismissing the case.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
When is Pritzker going to work on the property tax issue in Illinois. He is wasting his time with pregnancy centers.
Dear Rep. Howard, No one was “hiding behind the First Amendment;” rather, they were standing firmly on it.
These Woke Dems apparently know that they are violating their oaths of office.
So one for us and millions for them. So why should we celebrate? We’re still losing big time.
As Tiny Tim would say, “ more please may we have more “.
Just like ‘racism’ & ‘hate crimes’…
The ‘demand’ for “deceptive acts” to lead women away from getting abortions, far exceeds the ‘supply’…
So this law was designed to go after pregnancy centers for deceptive practices, seems a bit ironic. If the name of a business is Planned Parenthood doesn’t that insinuate you would go there if you WANTED TO BE A PARENT. And you wouldn’t go there if you wanted to kill a baby. When that’s the name of your business it screams deceptive practices.
Because of democrats in both Illinois and in Washington DC America is the frog in a slowly boiling pot of water. Unless the state and nation get smart and jump out of the pot we’re done for.
The 2nd Amendment is the palladium that defends the 1st!
To quote Mr. Forrest Gump, “ Stupid is as stupid does”. Mr stupid is, Toliet Bowel King,
Pritzker, Mr Stupid does, Lost in General,
Kwamsee Roulette, both deserve each other.
Smiling so pretty like the cats that just have just eaten the canary.
“Be grateful that the First Amendment and courts that enforce it are there to stop them” Only because of the judge they got, Judge Johnson was a Trump appointee, appointed in 2020. I highly, highly doubt that Biden appointee Judge Jenkins, the same judge who upheld JB’s gun grabber law, would make any unfavorable rulings against Kwame. The constitution is just a piece of paper and judges have to swear an oath to uphold it. Many of these Obama and Biden appointees are ideologues who see the constitution as a minor obstacle to implementing their own views on social justice… Read more »
Were it not for the Supreme Court we now have, that enforces the First Amendment, the left would be winning these attacks on free speech routinely, and our democratic republic would be dead and gone.
Kwame may have lost this battle but he probably had a decent chance of winning over 2 out of 3 judges in the appellate 7th circuit. JB had two favorable judges on the gun grabber law. We’ve got a coordinated national level campaign against women’s pregnancy centers coming from the highest levels of power, particularly Elizabeth Warren, who is particularly irked by anything presenting an even minor roadblock to abortion on demand. My totally uninformed guess here is that he’s thin on staff to handle this appeal while he’s assigned multiple attorneys to file amicus briefs all around the country,… Read more »
Assault on free speech- yes!
Happy to silence political opponents- absolutely!
Pritzker should be grateful the 1st amendment protects falsehoods- lolol! So true!
Thank you for this excellent article.
“Progressive liberals” are illiberal through their selective application of the First Amendment. We see it here, and we saw it when three Ivy League college presidents testified before Congress last week. “Progressive liberals” favor the First Amendment when it protects speech that furthers their causes (i.e., pro-choice, antisemitism), but they silence it when it does not. Classical liberals, whatever their party affiliation, must stand up to regressive bullies who claim to be “progressive liberals”.
“Mr. Pritzker is gaining a reputation as a hard-left culture warrior who is happy to silence political opponents.”
Of course. He and Obama are from the same pathetic anti-constitutional school of thought.
Democrats are completely ignorant of the Constitution. Actually, they hate it because it interferes with their desire to be totalitarian despots.
Terra Costa Howard one of the worst in Springfield. Once she beat Peter Breen it has been downhill since. Going to be very hard to remove her, especially after the gerrymandering that was recently done.
Pritzler’s reaction is once again extreme and speaks to his totalitarian behavior. But these are the Leftist Democrats. They will try again I’m sure – Democrats absolutely hate the 1rst Amendment.
Kwame is just another progressive liberal who believes his own BS. Started his political career as an appointee and could list his life’s accomplishments on the back of a postage stamp. Keep up the mediocrity Kwame!
Affirmative Action in action, again and again and again. Postage stamp, I like it!
Another waste of taxpayer money all for flailing Democrat virtue signaling. Disgusting.