Two ‘Compelled Speech’ Matters Beg For Litigation In Illinois – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constella­tion, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”

Those words are from the United States Supreme Court in 1943, which it quoted and affirmed with that emphasis added in 2017.

That star still guides the courts, but some in Illinois are in the dark. They include trustees of the University of Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker and the majority of the Illinois General Assembly.

Somebody needs to enlighten them. In court.

A couple First Amendment specialists joined me on our recent podcast to provide their take on two matters and to describe who would be in the best position to sue.

The first matter is the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s new policy that will require faculty to participate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts to earn tenure or a promotion, which was recently approved by its board of trustees. It’s mandated wokeness, in both words and conduct. It will require all faculty to “engage in DEI activism, or else.” That’s how The College Fix put it in their headline on a recent column discussing the new policy. Faculty will be required to submit personal statements attesting to their DEI efforts.

Those required statements reminded Anna St. John, one of the lawyers I spoke to, of “loyalty oaths” that were required in the days of McCarthyism. She and Adam Schulman, the other lawyer I spoke to on the podcast, are with Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a public interest law firm doing pro bono work on free speech and other matters around the country. And they’ve been winning. The First Amendment, as we discussed, prohibits not just restrictions on speech but forced speech, as reflected in that quote from the Supreme Court.

Among other wins they have had recently was Greenberg v. Haggerty, which is similar to the UIUC matter in several ways. In that decision, a federal court invalidated a DEI mandate of sorts that was part of Pennsylvania’s attorney conduct rules imposed by that state’s supreme court. It’s particularly interesting because the defeated defendant was the Pennsylvania Supreme Court itself. After losing, they claimed to comply by tinkering with there rules in a minor way, but got hauled right back into federal court and lost again on a summary judgement motion.

Who could sue UIUC on a compelled speech basis? The plaintiff would have to be a faculty member, St. John and Schulman said, not a student or a taxpayer.

The challenge, of course, is finding a faculty member with the guts to do that. Faculty at campuses across America are widely known to be intimated into silence by the woke mob of administrators and students, and UIUC is undoubtedly no different. The College Fix column addressed that issue. They found only anonymous sources who would talk about it.

The other matter subject to First Amendment litigation is Illinois’ new mandate that makes gas stations and grocers post notices of temporary suspensions of sales taxes. Failure to post the notices will mean hefty fines — $500 per day. We and others have criticized the mandate as transparently political election-year boasting by Pritzker and incumbents in the General Assembly. The sign mandate is also a form of coerced speech.

Here, according to St. John and Schulman, gas station and grocery owners are in a position to sue, but not customers or taxpayers.

On the sign mandates, help may already be on the way. The Illinois Fuel and Retail Association reportedly plans to challenge the constitutionality of the mandate. The association’s president believes the signs are an election year gimmick. “For us, that’s political speech. It’s unconstitutional to force businesses to do that and we’re not going to go along with that,” he said.

The association may have standing to sue over the signs, but more plaintiffs would help — gas station owners and grocers.

The First Amendment is not just some technicality. Trampling on it means no democracy. Most Americans are fed up with the wave of suppression and censorship now openly embraced by the far left that’s now in power, but they need to act.

Sue the offenders.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.

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Donna
1 year ago

There is the frustration that a highly- regarded educational institution would take this obviously illegal, morally reprehensible position. They may be imposing this on their faculty, but what message does this send to the students? And in that sense, I think a student should be able to initiate legal action.
And then there is the frustration that UIUC has a lot of poorly-performing professors, many students entering with lockdown learning gaps, and a horrific local violent crime situation, but those issues are not addressed.
Come on, Illini! I know you’re smarter than this!

Marie
1 year ago

If College professors, who are supposed to be the smartest people in the room, are too intimidated to speak up then they get what they deserve. Problem is we all have to live with it and they want to take us down with them. It’s no doubt “Wokeism” has run it’s corrupt course and is beginning to die in the US. I wouldn’t want to be deep in the middle of it when that fatality is a reality.

Honest Jerk
1 year ago

Year after year your comments complain, yet you submit to your captors when escape is possible. It’s kind of pitiful.

Pensions Paid First
1 year ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

The people that complain but have not left, have made the decision that Illinois, with all of its flaws, is still the best place for them. Maybe they won’t make as much money in another state, maybe their family ties are just too deep or maybe they just truly enjoy living here.

Voters continue to vote for these policies so they must prefer the outcomes.

Honest Jerk
1 year ago

Residents unwilling to take action (leave) when their sense of right and wrong is continually violated causes me to have an unfavorable opinion of them.

jajujon
1 year ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

It’s not a binary decision for many people, despite your concern for their wellbeing. So many other factors involved. Not sure why you don’t understand that. PPF above has it right.

Marie
1 year ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

What would make you think that I care what your opinion of me is?

nixit
1 year ago

I say the same thing about CTU. They’ve been complaining non-stop for 50+ years about horrible working conditions, yet each and every contract has been fully ratified. There are 850 other school districts within Illinois in which a CPS teacher can teach, yet few bother to leave the district.

CTU members continue to vote for these policies so they must prefer the outcomes.

Pensions Paid First
1 year ago
Reply to  nixit

The difference is that during that time, CTU member complain and get changes to their working conditions all the time. The CTU members are getting paid to deal with their complaints in their working conditions. The complainers on this board are no where near getting any of the changes that they desire. They don’t receive pay for these things they don’t like. Yet they stay because Illinois clearly offers them some type of advantage over other states.

Honest Jerk
1 year ago

Residents ignore their convictions/values for money/jobs. Not exactly admirable.

debtsor
1 year ago

But do they get changes? It seems like an awful lot of theater. I’ve seen the list of CTU demands, ranging from more social workers, to the socialist overthrow of the US government, but at the end of the day, it always seems to be about money.

Ironically, The complainers on this board are actually much nearer to getting any of the changes that they desire than we’ve had in a generation. Political pollsters have even starting dropping hints that JB Pritzker might be one of a handful of Blue State Governors who may not be re-elected.

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Pensions Paid First
1 year ago
Reply to  debtsor

Sure they are debtsor. Just one more election and then things will finally be fixed.

Tim Favero
1 year ago

Pritzker and the rest of the Democrats in Illinois are terrible people. They only care about themselves and not the taxpayers.

Joey Zamboni
1 year ago

It’s sad that our own government just does whatever it wants to, until it is forced to comply with the laws they presumably passed…

And waste our tax dollars in defending their illegality…

nixit
1 year ago

I’ll just reiterate my comment here two weeks ago. Print out the signs like this. Make sure “TAX INCREASE” is nice and large for all to see.

As of July 1, 2022, the State of Illinois has suspended the

INFLATION adjustment to the motor fuel tax through December 31, 2022. The price on this pump should reflect the suspension of the

TAX INCREASE.

Have Dan Proft or IPI finance the signs. Just provide address and # of pumps and the rest is handled.

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