In
Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker, (ND IL, July 2, 2020) an Illinois federal district court rejected arguments by state and local Republican organizations that the governor's COVID Order placing more restrictions on political party gatherings than religious gatherings violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The court said in part:
Because the exemption is a content-based restriction, this provision can only stand if it survives strict scrutiny....
Plaintiffs contend that the Governor cannot satisfy the least restrictive means test because a political party caucus is no more likely to spread COVID-19 than a church service.... However, the Constitution does not accord a political party the same express protections as it provides to religion.... Additionally, the Order’s limited exemptions reinforce that it is narrowly tailored. The Order only exempts two other functions from the gathering limit: emergency and governmental functions. These narrow exemptions demonstrate that the Order eliminates the increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 when people gather while only exempting necessary functions to protect health, safety, and welfare and free exercise of religion. Therefore, the Governor has carried his burden at this stage in demonstrating that the Order is narrowly tailored to further a compelling interest, and the Order survives strict scrutiny.
