MOKENA – Will County Board member Steve Balich says in a YouTube Wednesday that he just left his attorney's office – Bruggemann & Hurst in Mokena Illinois – after filing a federal lawsuit against Governor Pritzker and the state of Illinois for damages.
Will County GOP Chairman George Pearson, Will County Board member Steve Balich, pet groomer Samantha L. Palya, a non-essential worker Amanda Hameran are all co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed with the US District Court Northern District of Illinois – Eastern Division.
"I've gotten all kinds of calls from businesses complaining about why they're not open," Balich said. "I don't have a good answer. People are suffering, people of my district are crying out to me to do something. So I filed this lawsuit."
Pritzker faces lawsuits from two Republican lawmakers, as well as three Springfield business people: a hair salon owner and a restaurateur with two establishments. The cases argue the governor has neither constitutional nor statutory power to implement consecutive 30-day COVID-19 state of emergency orders.
The Will County complaint focuses on the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment and the state of Illinois' Article 1, Section 15:
