ILBA INFORMATIONAL UPDATE NOVEMBER 5, 2020

The Illinois Licensed Beverage Association (ILBA) decided to join ILBA Member FoxFire in Geneva as a named party in its second appellate action seeking to secure judicial authority to continue indoor service. Today legal challenges brought by attorney Tom DeVore in Sangamon County have been dismissed by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grishow.
As to the ILBA case in general:
This case is not a political statement, but about making the Governor and State agencies follow proper legal procedure. The law is clear, if the State is going to try to shut down bars and restaurants, the local health department is to be the one to do it, not the Governor. The law requires the State follow strict due process procedures which are subject to a final ruling by a local judge. Our Governor has circumvented this long established process, exercised his “emergency” powers for nearly 250 days now, and done so in a way that does not give bars and restaurants the hearing they are entitled – he is attempting to be the executive, legislative, and judicial branch. Our bars and restaurants are the lifeblood of many local economies, and an important link in the State chain. Bars and restaurants are entitled to demand the State prove that they are a legitimate risk to the health and safety of the community, which, we are confident they cannot do with any reliable data.As to the Appeal:
FoxFire represents the only restaurant/tavern in Illinois to successfully challenge and obtain an injunction against the Governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and local health departments concerning the Governor’s newest indoor bar and restaurant shutdown. The Governor has singled out the bar and restaurant industry, literally leaving them out in the cold. This case is of paramount importance because it represents the first success, and because it will have direct effect on all other restaurants in the State. As a dam starts to break with a single crack, so does stopping the Governor’s overreach. There is nothing to stop the Governor from trying to take similar actions every new 30-day period other than seeing this case through to its end. Foxfire’s case is intertwined with the fate of all other bars and restaurants in our State who want the legal ability to continue to operate, safely, during these difficult times.