LOUISVILLE, Ill. (WGEM) � A lawsuit filed by Rep. Darren Bailey challenging Gov. JB Pritzker's Stay at Home order will not be transferred to Sangamon County.
At a status hearing Friday in Clay County, Judge Mike McHaney denied Gov. Pritzker's motion to move the case to Sangamon County.
Judge McHaney said he wasn't accusing Pritzker's team of court shopping, "but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck..." McHaney said this case has to be resolved in the Clay County court.
Bailey's attorney said this was an issue of convenience for the governor. "This court is just as convenient as any other court," Tom Devore said.
Both parties will return to Clay County next Friday for a summary judgment hearing at 1 p.m.
Gov. Pritzker had filed the motion to move the trial to Sangamon County claiming that the expert witnesses and health officials who would be needed to testify do not live near Clay County.
Gov. Pritzker had previously called the lawsuit a cheep political stunt.
"This was a cheap political stunt designed so that the Representative can see his name in headlines," Pritzker said. "Unfortunately, he (Bailey) has briefly been successful in that most callous of feats."
