In the Harrel AWB/LCM case against Public Act 102-1116, which is pending in the federal United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, there have been some significant developments. We filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction on January 25, 2023. At the same time, lawsuits filed by three other groups of Plaintiffs in the same Southern District were reassigned to our courtroom to be coordinated with our case, though each case retains its own identity. The other three groups of Plaintiffs also filed for a Preliminary Injunction. Though not a set-in-stone schedule, in all likelihood, the State Defendants (Governor Pritzker, State Police Director Kelly, Attorney General Raoul) will have until March 2, 2023 to respond to the Motions for Preliminary Injunction, and the Plaintiffs, including in our case, will have until March 23, 2023 to file a Reply. After that, the Judge may schedule a hearing or simply rule on the Briefs. While a hearing is most likely, it is unknown at this time how the Judge will want to proceed.

The granting or denial of a Preliminary Injunction is itself grounds for appeal, so it is possible the case will proceed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago shortly following the District Court’s ruling. If that does not happen, the case will proceed in the District Court towards summary judgment, hopefully (in that scenario) with a Preliminary Injunction in place.

In the meantime, the State Defendants (State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs) have been given until March 1 to respond to our Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Some of these Defendants are actively on our side, while others so far appear to be neutral. We will know more about their positions when we see the Responses.

Finally, there are multiple other lawsuits in the state and federal Courts regarding this law, and temporary restraining orders have been entered in State Circuit Courts (upheld by one Appellate Court) on behalf of thousands of specifically-named individuals. So far, those cases have not affected the progress or trajectory of our case.