Attorney General Kwame Raoul warns Texas politicians that police can't just come to Illinois to arrest Democrats
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a stern warning to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas Republicans who said they will send law enforcement to arrest Democrats who left the state over the GOP redistricting plan.
More than 50 Texas state house Democrats have left the state to deny the Republican-controlled legislature a quorum for a special sessions in which they will redraw congressional districts in order to deliver five more Republican representatives to President Trump. The special session, which did not happen as scheduled Monday because of the Democrats' absences, was supposed to provide disaster relief for the hundreds of victims of deadly Texas floods earlier this year.
A significant number of those Democrats have come to Illinois, where their efforts have been supported by Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, along with other lawmakers.
Abbott has vowed to take steps to remove the Texas Democrats from office when they return, and Texas House Speaker Dustin Borrows said he signed civil arrest warrants for the absent lawmakers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also called the Democrats cowardly, and said they should be found, arrested and brought back to Texas' capital of Austin immediately.
But Raoul was quick to shut down Paxton's and Burrows' threats.
"In Illinois, the rule of law matters, and law enforcement must have a legitimate legal basis to arrest someone," Raoul wrote in a statement Tuesday morning. "Texas law enforcement officers have no authority to hunt down and make arrests of Texas legislators in Illinois based on a civil arrest warrant issued by the Texas House. The Texas House may have managed to issue civil arrest warrants without having a quorum, but those civil warrants carry no weight in Illinois."
The Texas Democrats appeared at another news conference Tuesday morning alongside Pritzker, Stratton and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, where they characterized this fight not as a Texas fight, but a fight for all Americans.
"Right now, we are facing the voting rights fight of our lifetime," said Stratton, who is also running for Senate.
"This is a new Democratic party," Martin said. "We are bringing a knife to a knife fight, and we are going to fight fire with fire."
"They've decided the only way to save themselves is to cheat. To change the rules in the middle of the game," Pritzker said. "And what do MAGA Republicans do when Trump ignores his oath of office and theirs, and when they're taking it upon themselves to thwart the will of the American people? Well, they say, when Donald Trump calls them, they say, 'Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Happy to lick your boot, sir.'"
Teas lawmakers echoed Pritzker's sentiment.
"Trump called, and they fell down and said, 'What do you want us to do?'" said Texas state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio), "which says they're weak."
Amid back-and-forth insults and jabs between the two sides in Texas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has issued a call to ask the FBI "to investigate potential criminal acts, including bribery, and to hold legislators accountable who have fled the state in a shameful attempt to stall the legislative process."
Meanwhile back in Illinois, there are new questions over whether the billionaire Gov. Pritzker is paying for the lawmakers' stay.
On Sunday, Pritzker said, "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure they are welcome here and they have the ability to stay as long as they want to."
On Tuesday, the heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune said he is not currently paying the Texas lawmakers' bills for their visit to remain a player in this national story.
"I know that you're all interested in whether I'm writing checks," Pritzker said. "I have not written a check or supported them financially, though I am not reticent to do that."
Meanwhile, one day after saying he wished Gov. Pritzker showed South and West siders the same love he's showing Texas, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson amended his comments.
"I am grateful that the governor is demonstrating leadership in this moment," Pritzker said.
Gov. Pritzker, who is using this moment to test the waters for a 2028 presidential run, expands his exposure with a visit to "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," on CBS Tuesday night.
The Texas Democrats who traveled to Illinois said they are planning to hold out for the entire special session, which is scheduled to last two weeks.
