Illinois (ECWd) –
What happens when an elected legislator, or two, violate the Constitution of Illinois?
House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate Leader Don Harmon failed to appear during a Temporary Restraining Order related to the gun ban bill HB-5471 which was heard on January 18, 2023. Of interest are key points raised by the judge in his ruling which may have direct ties to our state Official Misconduct statute.
From the TRO:
“Article IV, Section 8 of the Illinois Constitution provides that “a bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house.” 111. Const. 1970, art. IV, § 8(d). The Three Readings rule applies not only to the original bill, but to amendments. when they represent a substantial departure from the original bill.”
“This Court finds that Defendants unequivocally and egregiously violated the Three Readings Rule of the Illinois Constitution in order to circumvent the Constitutional requirements and avoid public discourse.”
“This Court finds that, due to the blatant disregard for Constitutional Law, the Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of this claim.”
We agree the Constitution was violated, however, the parties who violated it were not all the defendants in this case as Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Kwami Raoul had nothing to do with the certification. Speaker Welch and Senate Leader Harmon are the two who certified the legislation which indicates it complied with the Illinois Constitution.
(d) A bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house. A bill and each amendment thereto shall be reproduced and placed on the desk of each member before final passage.
Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject. Appropriation bills shall be limited to the subject of appropriations.
A bill expressly amending a law shall set forth completely the sections amended.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both houses to certify that the procedural requirements for passage have been met.
As confirmed by the Judge, the bill was not read three times as required, nor was it placed on the desk of each member before final passage according to legislators we spoke with, which constitutes another violation of the law, yet it was certified and sent to the Governor for signing.
Violations of our State Constitution by a public officer are subject to the Official Misconduct statute in the Criminal Code. Specifically, 720 ILCS 5/33-3(a)(1)
(720 ILCS 5/33-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 33-3)Sec. 33-3. Official misconduct.
(a) A public officer or employee or special government agent commits misconduct when, in his official capacity or capacity as a special government agent, he or she commits any of the following acts:
(1) Intentionally or recklessly fails to perform any mandatory duty as required by law;
Can Speaker Welch and Senate Leader Harmon honestly say they did not intentionally or recklessly fail to perform their constitutional duty as required by law, which in this case was the Illinois Constitution?
The court has confirmed they violated the Constitutional provision regarding the passage of legislation, so our question is what recourse the citizens of this state have when there is an “…unequivocally and egregiously” violation of the Constitution that the Judge said was a “..blatant disregard for Constitutional Law.”
Does that not fall squarely into the lap of Official Misconduct?
When will Attorney General Kwami Raoul demand an investigation into this matter on behalf of We The People of Illinois?
