DeVore gets ANOTHER T.R.O.

“Bazooka” Tom Devore scored YET ANOTHER temporary restraining order today, this one from an Effingham County Judge that impacts about 2300 plaintiffs. I’m not exactly sure what this pleading asks for or if these are 2300 new plaintiffs or existing plaintiffs from earlier decisions (I lean towards “new”).

Here’s the latest I could find:

From the Madison Record:

Another temporary restraining order (TRO) was entered in Effingham County Circuit Court, enjoining Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state defendants from enforcing a weapons ban against more than 2,300 plaintiffs from across Illinois. 

Circuit Judge Chad Miller entered the order on Feb. 10, granting the TRO on the plaintiffs’ argument that Public Act 102-1116, or the “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” violates the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution. Miller denied relief under the remaining claims in the complaint. 

Miller wrote that he is bound by a Fifth District Appellate Court’s opinion filed Jan. 31, involving another TRO request out of Effingham County. 

The appellate court agreed with Greenville attorney Tom DeVore’s argument that the gun ban law wrongfully provides exemptions for specific groups of people. The law does not provide an opportunity for exemption for the rest of Illinois’ citizens. The appellate court noted that in recent cases, the Illinois Supreme Court “specifically pronounced that the right to bear arms was a fundamental right under the second amendment of the United States Constitution.” 

“As such, we find that plaintiffs’ allegation that the Act infringes on their rights as Illinois citizens to keep and bear arms is a sufficiently alleged right in need of protection. Here, plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that the legislation’s exemption of seven categories of persons … had no basis and therefore violated equal protection guarantees,” the appellate court wrote. 

And from The Center Square (good job Greg Bishop for keeping up on all this!)

(The Center Square) – When the myriad cases against Illinois’ gun and magazine ban will be resolved remains unclear, but what is certain is taxpayers are footing the bill.

Illinois’ ban on certain semi-automatic guns and magazine capacities has been in effect since Jan. 10. Since then, four temporary restraining orders have been put in place, including a new TRO being issued Friday, the second one for Effingham County.

Attorney Thomas DeVore, who secured the latest restraining order in state court, says of the three cases he’s filed, two in Effingham County and one in White County, 4,713 individual plaintiffs and 148 Federal Firearms Licensees from across the state are protected against enforcement.

A separate state-level case from Macon County resulted in a TRO for several named plaintiffs and the plaintiff association Law-Abiding Gun Owners of Macon County, which has around 2,100 members.

Named plaintiffs in the four separate cases with temporary restraining orders can buy and sell guns and magazines despite the state’s gun ban.

I also caught this on Greg Bishop’s YouTube channel.