Illinois, other states are taking up antitrust enforcement as "political interests" take priority at DOJ, Raoul says
Since President Trump returned to office, the State of Illinois has been at the forefront of legal battles against his administration — often scoring big courtroom wins.
But in the legal venue of antitrust enforcement, Illinois and other states are not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
Last month, Live Nation reached a deal with the Department of Justice to pay $280 million to states that sued the company over its practices. A total of 40 states, including Illinois, accused Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, of undermining competition and hurting consumers with its dominance in the event ticket business.
However, a coalition of more than 30 states rejected the federal settlement of the Biden-era lawsuit and vowed to move forward with litigation, with New York Attorney General Letitia James describing the suit as an effort to "restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry."
Last week, a jury sided with those states that rejected the settlement and pushed ahead with the lawsuit, finding Live Nation is an illegal monopoly.
Just two days later, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley of California granted an injunction halting a megamerger in the world of local television — again siding with a group of states that sued to block Nexstar, the parent company of WGN-TV Channel 9 and WGN Radio, from acquiring rival Tegna.
As reported by the New York Times, Nexstar and Tegna agreed to a $6.2 billion merger that won approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. But a group of states that again included Illinois, as well as DirecTV, took issue with the merger and filed suit.
Judge Nunley agreed with the states that sued, finding that the merger would reduce competition between local stations and thus reduce the quality of local news, while also increasing Nexstar's bargaining leverage for retransmission fees from cable and satellite companies.
Late Tuesday, Nexstar officially appealed Judge Nunley's decision.
So why have states such as Illinois taken up the mantle of antitrust enforcement, an area that has traditionally been handled by Washington? Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul noted that states getting involved with antitrust enforcement is nothing new at all, but it has been happening more lately.
"Moreso lately, because political interests are taking priority over the expertise at DOJ on protecting consumers, the states have stepped forward," said Raoul. "Live Nation, Ticketmaster is one example of that."
With so much going on in the country and the world, some might be apathetic toward issues such as monopolistic practices. But Raoul emphasized that monopolistic practices and unfair competition have a cost for consumers.
"We've talked about how life is becoming less affordable for Americans throughout the country," Raoul said. "Elimination of competition leads to greater affordability problems. It leads to the loss of jobs. It also leads to, if you think about the health care market and other industries, it leads to worse services for the consumer."
Raoul added that organizing states to take legal action in antitrust cases is a "bright spot in today's divisive atmosphere.
"If you take Live Nation and Ticketmaster into account, we were able to keep together a bipartisan coalition and maintain bipartisan work on this. And in today's atmosphere, that is impressive, where there's lining up on opposite sides of the aisle on many issues," said Raoul. "On antitrust work in many cases, as well as other consumer protection work, we've been able to collaborate on a bipartisan basis — even when the federal government retreats."
Raoul said the U.S. Department of Justice under the second Trump administration has cooperated and collaborated with states, and there is "quality staff" in the department that deserve credit for doing so.
"But you know, with this recent case with Live Nation, for instance, even the staff was overridden by political interests," said Raoul.
Raoul said he thinks a new administration in 2029 could lead to a "different situation," but states will keep up the fight for consumers regardless.
"We continue to have hope, and that we as state s can work in a bipartisan manner to make sure we keep prices affordable, preserve jobs, and preserve the quality of goods and services for American citizens," Raoul said.