Two Illinois Supreme Court Justices, Mary O'Brien and Elizabeth Rochford, have received sizable political donations from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. | PxHere.com/Mohamed Hassan
Two Illinois Supreme Court Justices, Mary O'Brien and Elizabeth Rochford, have received sizable political donations from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. | PxHere.com/Mohamed Hassan
Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has been a primary donor to the campaigns of two Illinois Supreme Court justices, who are set to decide his fate in the the Macon County gun-ban challenge case.
According to The Center Square, Pritzker donated $1 million each to the campaigns of Illinois Supreme Court then-candidates Mary O’Brien and Elizabeth Rochford. Despite his donation totaling $2 million, Pritzker later signed a law in 2022 that capped contribution limits in such campaigns to $500,000 from “any single person.”
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) is also a leading donor. Welch donated a total of $500,000, with $350,000 going to O’Brien and Rochford receiving $150,000 from The People for Emanuel Chris Welch fund.
In addition, he is a defendant in the gun-ban challenge and the challenge against Illinois’ no-cash bail law that’s currently on hold, pending appeal.
Chris Forsyth of the nonpartisan Judicial Integrity Project out of Colorado spoke out about politicians making large donations. He claimed it could be seen as unethical.
“Political donations can lead to issues of judicial integrity, and the United States Supreme Court has said so,” Forsyth told The Center Square. “In some cases, they have found political donations to be so grave that there is a conflict of interest that is impermissible.”
The Illinois Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the no-cash bail case on Tuesday, March 14. It’s unclear if O’Brien and Rochford will be recused from the case. However, it is possible to claim “took no part” in certain cases where opinions are being issued.
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