Illinois judge rejects Texas effort to track down quorum-breaking Democrats

An Illinois judge has shut down an attempt by Texas officials to involve Illinois law enforcement in tracking down more than 30 Texas House Democrats who have been staying in the state to avoid a legislative quorum.

The ruling, issued by Adams County Circuit Court, determined that Illinois courts lack the authority to intervene in what it called “foreign legislators’” conduct during a Texas special legislative session. The judge wrote that the court “does not have the inherent power to initiate, consider and determine whether the actions of foreign legislators while in a special legislative session were contumacious and done for the purpose of willfully evading civil legislative Quorum Warrants issued by the State of Texas House of Representatives.”

The decision came in response to a petition filed last week by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas House of Representatives, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Their filing sought to have Illinois police enforce civil arrest warrants issued by the Texas House against Democratic members who left the state to prevent a vote on a Republican congressional redistricting plan.

In addition to finding no legal basis for Illinois jurisdiction, the order emphasized that the matter is “geographically limited” to Texas and declined to weigh in on “personal jurisdiction, venue or the merits” of the Texas petition.

This marks the first court response outside Texas to Paxton’s multi-state legal strategy. A similar lawsuit is pending in California targeting Democrats who fled there.

The Texas House has been unable to reach quorum since the Democrats’ departure on August 3, despite growing pressure from state GOP leadership. On Tuesday, Burrows, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Gov. Greg Abbott warned that if quorum is not met by Friday, the Legislature will adjourn its current special session and immediately convene a new one.

“What happens next is entirely up to Greg Abbott,” said Texas House Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu (D-Houston), speaking from Illinois. Wu suggested Friday “could be a reset moment” to prioritize flood relief instead of redistricting.

Wu is also facing separate legal challenges in Texas. Two petitions before the Texas Supreme Court — now consolidated — seek to declare his seat vacant over his absence during the quorum break.

For now, the Illinois ruling effectively blocks any effort to compel law enforcement there to return the Democrats to Texas, underscoring the limits of interstate cooperation in what remains a highly charged political standoff.