North Egypt News

In a May 25 Facebook post, Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) voiced his opposition to House Bill 3062.

“Today, House Republican Floor Leader Windhorst forcefully opposed HB 3062, which requires all Constitutional challenges to laws and executive orders be brought in either Sangamon or Cook County rather than any county in the state,” the post said. “The bill passed on partisan lines in spite of staunch opposition from Republicans. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.”

House Bill (HB) 3062 limits the courts that Illinois residents can go to if they are filing "an action against the state, any of its officers, employees or agents ... seeking declaratory or injunctive relief against any State statute, rule, or executive order based on an alleged violation of the Constitution of the State of Illinois or the Constitution of the United States, venue in that action is proper only in the County of Sangamon and the County of Cook."

The bill would go into effect immediately upon the signature of Gov. JB Pritzker.

Windhorst’s post shared video of his speech on the House floor.

“The ultimate reason why this bill is being brought forward is because you can,” he said. “And we are seeing efforts made to undermine the legitimacy of the court system, by efforts like this. We redrew the maps for appellate and supreme courts, because you could. You did that because you could. Something unfavorable happened in an election and you changed the maps. You get an unfavorable court ruling, where people legitimately go to their home court where they live and get a ruling that you don’t like, or your side doesn’t like, and you change the rules. The ends do not justify the means. To the bill, we have seen many counties throughout our state pass resolutions saying, 'We don’t feel a part of the state of Illinois. We don’t want to be a part of the state of Illinois because they are passing these resolutions,’ because they don’t feel the respect from certain parts of the state of Illinois. What this bill does is it basically says, 'You’re right. You can’t go to court at your local jursidction. You can’t get justice at your local jurisdiction. You’ve got to come to Springfield or Chicago to get justice.’ That is fundamentally wrong. I urge a no vote.”

HB3062 was first filed by state Rep. Kevin John Olickal (D-Skokie) on Feb. 16. It moved to the Senate on March 23 and went back to the House of Representatives on May 19. It passed both houses on May 25 and now goes to the governor for his signature.

Windhorst was first elected to represent the people of the 118th District in 2019, but due to redistricting he now represents the 117th District, his website biography said. In two terms, he has served on the following committees and subcommittees: the Ethics and Elections, Higher Education, Human Services and Human Services Appropriations, Judiciary Civil Law, Judiciary Criminal Law, Mental Health, and Restorative Justice committees, along with the Criminal Administration and Enforcement; Family Law & Probate; Firearms and Firearm Safety; and Sentencing, Penalties and Criminal Procedure subcommittees.