North Egypt News

Without reading the ruling made regarding the Darren Bailey court case, state Rep. Diane Pappas (D-Bloomingdale) believes the ruling applies to Clay County alone.

According to Edgar County Watchdogs, she is wrong as the court clearly stated it applies to all citizens in the state. 

"6) Plaintiff's oral request that his Amended Complaint be a representative action and apply to all citizens of the State of Illinois is granted," the court ruling states. 

Pappas isn't the only one thinking it just applies to Clay County. Several media outlets are minimizing the claim or choosing to ignore the fact that the ruling does in fact reply to the entire State of Illinois, according to the Watchdogs. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker argued that the change of venue from Bailey County to Sangamon County was justified by the court multiple times. 

Some ways the court did clarify it are: "Continuing, the majority of the verified complaint addresses a requested declaration that affects the entire state"; "The court can not ignore the public interest factor of this being a localized versus state-wide controversy touching every corner of the state"; "The court finds it is as important to have consistency in rulings on a state-wide issue during this pandemic"; and "Same facts. Same legal issues. Same state-wide issues touching every resident of the state of Illinois."

But this still doesn't give reason as to why people are insisting the order only applies to Clay County instead of the state as a whole, Edgar County Watchdogs reported. Some are saying the court ruling isn't official either, but Pritzker plans on appealing the case and a case can only be appealed if the ruling is final.

No matter what people decide to believe, Judge Michael McHaney made the ruling, which clearly states it applies to all Illinois citizens, Edgar County Watchdogs reported.