Judicial Watch Sues Illinois Gov. Pritzker for Records on ‘Safe Haven’ for Texas Democrat Lawmakers

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) for records on the state’s role in providing refuge to Texas Democrat legislators, who fled their state in an attempt to deny quorum and block a redistricting vote (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Office of the Governor (No. 2025CH000057)).

Texas’ House Rules Manual states that “all absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and retained.” The state Supreme Court in 2021 upheld that rule, giving the House the power to arrest absent members to establish a quorum.

The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division after Pritzker’s office failed to respond to an August 2025 FOIA request for:

All audio/visual recordings, handwritten notes, agendas, minutes, and reports related to a meeting or meetings held between Governor Pritzker and congressional Democrats at which Texas congressional redistricting and/or Illinois possibly housing Texas Democratic state lawmakers was discussed.

All audio/visual recordings, handwritten notes, agendas, minutes, and reports related to a meeting held between Governor Pritzker and Democratic party officials in late June 2025 in Oklahoma regarding congressional redistricting matters, as discussed at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inside-texas-democrats-plan-to-seek-refuge-with-illinois-gov-j-b-pritzker/ar-AA1JVS1T?ocid=socialshare.

All emails sent between and among officials in Governor Pritzker’s immediate office, including but not limited to Governor Pritzker and his chief of staff, regarding Texas congressional redistricting.

On August 3, 2025, more than 50 Texas Democrats fled the state in an attempt to derail a congressional redistricting bill. Pritzker said, “[Texas Democrats] are here in Illinois. We’re going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them and make sure that — ’cause we know they’re doing the right thing, we know that they’re following the law.”

Pritzker’s involvement reportedly began “at a dinner in late June hosted by Oklahoma Democrats, where he discussed the possibility of helping Texas Democrats fight back against the redistricting plan with state party chair Kendall Scudder …”

Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on August 6, 2025, and when asked why the Texas legislators went to Illinois, the governor responded, “The great heroes of the House Democratic caucus decided the only thing they could do in order to stop it was leave Texas. And where did they decide to come to? The safe haven of the state of Illinois where we are going to protect them and take care of them.”

Later in the interview, Colbert asked whether the FBI could arrest the Texas legislators located in Illinois. Pritzker stated, “Frankly in the state of Illinois, we are not going to let them get taken away. We are going to protect the Texas House Democrats…. As long as they are in Illinois, they are safe.”

The Texas Democrats ended their walkout on August 18, 2025. The Texas state Senate on August 22, 2025, passed the new redistricting map and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law on August 29, 2025.

“Pritzker seemed delighted to host the truant Texas Democrat ‘heroes,’ aiding and abetting an illegal two-week tantrum,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

Christine Svenson of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, LLC is assisting Judicial Watch in this case.

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