Tillman v. Pritzker Lawsuit Over Constitutionality Of Certain Illinois Bonds Reversed And Remanded To Allow Case To Proceed – Updated – Wirepoints

Full text of opinion here:

Tillman v. Pritzker (Ill. Ct. App. 2020)

This is correctly decided for reasons we wrote last year here and here.

Last year, An Illinois judge barred the lawsuit, which would have asserted that the state unconstitutionally issued two sets of bonds. An unusual procedural rule for this type of lawsuit requires the plaintiff essentially to get court permission even to proceed to file a complaint. That judge ruled that John Tillman, the plaintiff, could not file his complaint.

We criticized that judge harshly because the complaint at least deserves to be heard and Illinois needs clear, sensible rulings on the issues it raises. The judge’s reasoning was particularly silly.

This most recent ruling reversed the earlier court and will allow Tillman to proceed with his complaint. Tillman’s complaint, the new ruling says, was neither frivolous or malicious.

The final outcome on the merits remains to be determined. After the trial court rules, an appeal is likely, so final resolution is probably at least a year away.

And thanks to the reader who sent the opinion.

– Mark Glennon