Illinois becomes 3rd state to remove Donald Trump from state ballot

By Sara Forden and Miranda Davis
 

An Illinois judge barred Donald Trump from appearing on the Republican presidential primary ballot, marking the third state to impose such a ban on the former president for his role in the insurrection at the US Capitol on Jan 6.
 

Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter paused her decision Wednesday and gave Trump until Friday to appeal. The US Supreme Court is already reviewing an appeal by Trump of a similar ruling in Colorado. Porter based her ruling on a provision in the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment known as the insurrection clause. The measure bars people from returning to office if they took an oath to support the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection.

“This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. 

Efforts to remove Trump from state ballots have been spearheaded by two activist groups funded largely by liberal donors, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, and Free Speech for People. They raised millions of dollars from individual donors and liberal philanthropists, including George Soros and Craig Newmark, helping power an effort that will decisively shape how the 2024 election unfolds.

Colorado was the first state to ban Trump from the ballot in December and Maine followed. The Colorado Supreme Court on Dec. 19 declared Trump ineligible to reclaim the White House — the first time a court has ever invoked the insurrection clause to disqualify an ex-president.

The Chicago-based judge said she found “compelling” the Colorado Supreme Court’s rationale for concluding that even as a former president, Trump was covered by the insurrection clause.

The unprecedented question is being considered by the nation’s high court, which heard arguments in the Colorado case earlier this month. In that case, which will likely set the rules for other states, Trump has argued he didn’t take part in an insurrection by trying to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.

At oral arguments in Washington, the justices appeared poised to side with Trump. Liberal and conservative justices alike questioned whether the Colorado Supreme Court had power to exclude Trump on the grounds that he engaged in an insurrection.

Separately on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court said it will consider Trump’s bid for immunity from criminal prosecution, taking up a historic case that will determine whether the former president stands trial for 2020 election interference.