Texas House, Illinois state senator sue 33 AWOL Democrats in Illinois court

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Texas House of Representatives has sued 33 House Democrats who absconded to Illinois to prevent a vote on Congressional redistricting efforts in the Lone Star State.

The lawsuit was filed in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Adams County, Illinois. It asks the court to hold the Democrats in contempt and to domesticate Texas warrants, allowing for absconding Democrats to be arrested and brought back to Texas.

The lawsuit was filed by the Texas Office of Attorney General and Illinois state Sen. Jil Walker Tracy, R-Quincy.

“From day one, I have said that all options are on the table when it comes to making sure my colleagues who have fled the House return to fulfill their constitutional obligations,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said. Burrows signed civil arrest warrants for 56 House Democrats on Monday. Since then, eight Democrats have been present in the House. The majority of Democrats remain defiant, unmoved by threats of being arrested; 33 remain in the Chicago area.

“The members who fled have been given ample time and opportunity to return on their own accord, and because they have continued to refuse their responsibilities to their constituents and return to Texas, the State has no choice but to pursue additional legal remedies to compel their return from other states,” Burrows said. “Our full focus is on stopping this dereliction of duty and restoring quorum in the Texas House as soon as possible so we may return our time, attention, and resources where they most matter – on the critical issues of the special session call.”

Burrows issued arrest warrants pursuant to his authority under Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution and Rule 5, Section 8, of the Rules of the Texas House. It states that when a call of the house is issued, which Burrows did on Monday, “[a]ll absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found.”

The 16-page filling with the Illinois court sues 33 House Democrats remaining in Illinois: Reps. John Bucy III, Harold Dutton, Jr., Ann Johnson, Ramon Ramero Jr., James Talarico, Chris Turner, Charlene Ward Johnson, Gene Wu, Rafael Anchia, Sheryl Cole, Diego Bernal, Nicole Collier, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, Jessica Gonzalez, Christina Morales, Jon Rosenthal, Toni Rose, Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos, Rony Reynolds, Trey Martinez Fischer, Lauren Simmons, Venton Jones, Rhetta Bowers, John Bryant, Liz Campos, Aicha Davis, Josey Garcia, Terry Meza, Donna Howard, Linda Garcia, Gina Hinojosa, Vince Perez and Ray Lopez.

The Texas Democrats are protesting a measure filed during Texas’ ongoing special session that seeks to create a new map for Congressional district that potentially could flip up to five Congressional seats from blue to red ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The lawsuit states they “are harming the good order of Texas’s representative democracy” by intentionally breaking quorum to prevent the House from voting on bills by fleeing the State. They fled because they knew civil arrest warrants would be issued and by leaving Texas thought they could “evade lawful civil arrest.” By remaining in Illinois, they “hope the State of Illinois will provide safe harbor for their political actions and shield them from legal process,” the lawsuit states.

“The United States Constitution, federal statute, and the doctrine of comity between states demand otherwise. This Court must give full faith and credit to warrants duly issued by the Texas House of Representatives that compel these civil servants to return to Texas and to their civic responsibilities.”

It repeats what Gov. Greg Abbott has said, when a governor calls a special session, the Texas Constitution mandates that “the Legislature shall meet.”

Abbott called a 30-day special session that began July 21 to address 18 legislative issues, including Congressional redistricting.

The lawsuit cites Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who on Tuesday said, “in Illinois, the rule of law matters, and law enforcement must have a legitimate basis to arrest someone.”

“Texas takes Attorney General Raoul at his word,” the lawsuit states. “Texas seeks enforcement of the rule of law in Illinois, the assistance of Illinois law enforcement officials, and this Court’s assistance, to lawfully return to Texas the Respondent legislators who fled to Illinois to evade their duties to participate in the ongoing Special Session of the Texas Legislature.”

It also says that the courts of Texas’ fellow states “have the mandatory constitutional duty to respect and give full faith and credit to the public acts of the Texas House of Representatives, including the Quorum Order and the Quorum Warrants.” Texas is entitled to have its democratic process restored under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution “to full faith and credit from Illinois,” the lawsuit states.

Texas asks the court to issue an order “to effectuate the Quorum Warrants, just as if they were acts of the State of Illinois,” treating Texas’ Quorum Warrants “as its own civil order.”

It asks the court to “issue a rule to show cause why Respondents should not be held in contempt,” to initiate contempt proceedings against them “for unlawfully seeking to evade Texas’s duly issued Quorum Warrants,” and set a hearing as soon as possible. If it doesn’t, “Texas is threatened with immediate and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit argues.