The Northern District of Illinois Has Had It With Trump’s Shit

The Northern District of Illinois is the Federal District Court that encompasses Chicago. I clerked for a judge there and then practiced extensively before the judges in the Northern District, and although I didn’t always agree with how the judges ruled (no attorney does), I never questioned their integrity or commitment to the law. This week has only borne out my admiration for the Federal bench in Chicago, as it has repeatedly held the line against an increasingly lawless administration and its fascist shock troops.

The ruling that’s getting the most headlines (justifiably) is the temporary restraining order that Judge April Perry entered on Thursday, forbidding the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago until she can have a full hearing on the merits. Her comments from the bench were pretty eyebrow raising for anyone familiar with the workings of the Northern District.

According to Chicago Sun Times legal reporter John Seidel (who was in court for the hearing), Judge Perry stated that her decision came down to a “credibility determination.” “I simply cannot credit [the Trump administration’s] declarations to the extent they contradict state and local law enforcement. … DHS’ perception of events are simply unreliable.”

A Federal Court impugning the government’s credibility would have been simply unthinkable 10 years ago, when I worked for a judge in the Northern District. The Assistant United States Attorneys were truly respected by the judges, because they had earned it. They backed up every assertion they made in court with credible evidence, never overstated their cases, and generally acted in an exemplary manner when it came to upholding their ethical responsibilities as officers of the Court.

The Feds litigating now are, simply put, shitting on that legacy. They’re burning their credibility with filings like this one, a declaration stating that the Northern District of Illinois had requested the National Guard be deployed at the courthouse. That wound up being completely false, with Chief Judge Virginia Kendall releasing a statement to that effect.

Let me tell you–I’ve appeared before Judge Kendall, and you do NOT want to get on her bad side. Further, news travels fast among the judges of the Northern District, and if you start making up easily refutable facts–about the Court’s own actions, no less–you’ve burned your credibility for good among the judges there.

The Second Trump Administration’s Justice Department has eroded decades of goodwill in just nine months–it’s truly illustrative of how Trump corrupts everything he touches. All throughout his career he’s been a “pump-and-dump” shyster, looking for short-term advantage regardless of how much damage he causes in the long term. And he’s certainly done that with the United States Attorney’s Office.

While the TRO against deploying the National Guard grabbed most of the headlines, Judge Sara Ellis also held the line against lawless fascism by entering a TRO forbidding ICE from tear gassing or using pepper spray against journalists and peaceful protestors. Judge Ellis’s order also requires ICE agents to wear badges or other identification so that the public can know who they are. That should create some form of accountability for the lawlessness we’ve seen.

As with Judge Perry, Judge Ellis’s comments from the bench also show that she knows that ICE is acting like the fascist jackbooted thugs they are. Quoting from the Sun Times:

“Whatever lawlessness is occurring is not occurring by peaceful protesters” and journalists, Ellis said after reading her decision aloud. Some actions by federal agents “clearly violate the constitution,” the judge said. “Individuals are allowed to protest. They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

Another Northern District of Illinois judge, Judge Jeffrey Cummings, also ruled against the Trump Administration on Tuesday, ruling that ICE had violated a consent decree that limited their ability to arrest people without warrants. Judge Cummings ordered the affected detainees to be released, that the Government pay attorney’s fees, and extended the consent decree until February.

Yet another Northern District of Illinois judge, LaShonda Hunt, just ruled against ICE in a case brought against them by the Village of Broadview, asking that the Court force ICE to take down an illegal fence they put up in response to protestors. Judge Hunt ordered the fence taken down by Friday.

Finally, a Chicago Grand Jury also pushed back on the Trump Administration’s attempt at authoritarian consolidation by refusing to indict a couple who were arrested while protesting at the Broadview ICE facility. Notably, the two were used as “evidence” that the National Guard was needed at Broadview, but the Government couldn’t even get an indictment. It’s an old chestnut that a competent prosecutor could “indict a ham sandwich,” as the prosecution gets to present their case with no defense attorney contesting the claims, and only has to establish “probable cause” that a crime had been committed. Here, the protestors’ attorney expressed shock at the result and told reporters that in 54 years as an attorney, he’d never seen a Grand Jury fail to return an indictment against a client. Another example of how the Trump Administration is burning the United States Attorney’s Office’s credibility for short term political aims.

Of course ICE is still running around like the criminal thugs they are, violently detaining a WGN producer yesterday. And all of these court rulings, of course, are subject to reversal by a Supreme Court that seems all-in on making Trump an unaccountable dictator. But I’ll take whatever comfort that’s available in these darkening days: it’s heartening to see judges pushing back on the lawless violence that Trump and the fascist shock troops in ICE have unleashed on Chicago.