Fourth court order blocks enforcement of Illinois gun ban as taxpayers’ legal bill grows

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.

While the state hasn’t put up much of a defense in such state-level cases since the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the first Effingham County temporary restraining order, there are still staff with the Illinois Attorney General’s office funded with tax dollars putting hours of work in.

More work is expected in the state-level cases as motions for discovery and motions for declaratory judgements against the state advance. It’s possible such state-level cases could be consolidated into one for judicial economy.

In the federal cases, Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearons said taxpayers are in a tough spot, and it’s aggravating.

“[The state is] defending the suit with our money and we’re suing them with our money so they don’t have anything to lose and of course we do, so we have to keep pressing forward just on the financial end of it,” Pearson told WMAY.

If the state is found in violation over the ban, Pearson said there must be more than a restoration of rights, but doubts people will be made whole.

“The state has violated our civil rights, if we win, we get some of our money back,” Pearons said. “Of course they never pay you the whole amount.”

Pearson didn’t have much hope for one idea to hold people accountable for passing laws that violate rights.

“They can just keep doing that because they have unlimited funds,” Pearson said. “It’s really an unfair system as far as I’m concerned. I think it should be taken out of the peoples’ pocket who voted for it.”

The state was granted a delay to March 1 in when it is to respond to the ISRA lawsuit in Illinois’ southern federal court district, something Pearson said will cost more money.