South Cook News

Governor J.B. Pritzker's (D-IL) political campaign reportedly donated $1 million each to the campaigns of former State Supreme Court candidates Mary O'Brien and Elizabeth Rochford, according to an article published by the Center Square on March 7. Pritzker signed a law in 2022 capping campaign contribution limits to $500,000 from "any single person". Both Rochford and O'Brien won their elections in November and currently sit on the State Supreme Court. Pritzker is also listed as a defendant in the Macon County gun-ban challenge, which will be held in front of the Court.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) is also a top donor to O'Brien and Rochford, with the former receiving $350,000 from the "People for Emanuel Chris Welch" fund and the latter receiving $150,000. Welch, like Pritzker, is a defendant in the gun-ban challenge as well as the challenge against Illinois' no-cash bail law that's currently on hold and awaiting appeal.

The Court is currently set to hear arguments in the no-cash bail case on Tuesday. It's unknown if either justice will recuse themselves in either case. Justices can be listed as "took no part" in certain cases when opinions are issued.

“If we don’t have confidence in the opinions the judicial branch issues then our judicial branch is failing,” said Judicial Integrity Project executive director Chris Forsyth. “Political donations can lead to issues of judicial integrity and the United States Supreme Court has said so. In some cases, they have found political donations to be so grave that there is a conflict of interest that is impermissible.”