A temporary restraining order on the state’s judicial subcircuits taking effect was suspended yesterday by the Fourth District Appellate Court.
Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine filed for the TRO in Springfield late last month. Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan granted the TRO.
Haine expressed his disappointment in a press release yesterday, but did find a silver lining in the Appellate Court’s ruling: “We find significant encouragement in the Appellate Court’s analysis. In today’s summary order, the Appellate Court pointedly asked for a deep consideration of one of our central concerns: ‘the issue of whether the General Assembly can eliminate all at-large judgeships within a particular judicial circuit.’ The Appellate Court then ‘encourage[d] the parties and Circuit Court to proceed expeditiously in this matter given the implications on the upcoming elections.”
Haine said in the press release that he’s confident that the Constitutional questions at the center of his argument will ultimately fall in his favor. A preliminary injunction to the Circuit Court is scheduled to move forward next Tuesday.