A Democratic Cook County judge ruled on Wednesday to remove former President Donald Trump from the Illinois primary ballot, citing his alleged participation in the January 6th Capitol “insurrection.”
In her ruling, Judge Tracie Porter of the State Circuit Court ordered the Illinois State Board of Elections to “remove Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the General Primary Election on March 19, 2024, or cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed.” Porter, who was appointed to a traffic court position in 2021 and was elected as a full circuit court judge in 2022, cited the text of the 14th Amendment to justify the ruling, arguing that Trump had engaged in an insurrection against the United States government.
However, Porter also immediately paused her own ruling from taking effect, giving Trump until Friday to file an appeal. Anticipating higher courts weighing in on the ruling, the judge wrote that she is aware that her decision “could not be the ultimate outcome.” Porter’s ruling overturned a previous one by the State Board of Elections, which opted to keep Trump on the ballot last month.
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The ruling in Illinois mirrors efforts in other states to disqualify Trump from holding office, most of which cite the 14th Amendment. While cases launched in Florida, Michigan, California, and other states have not been successful, courts in Maine and Colorado ruled to remove Trump’s name from the ballot.
Both of these decisions have been paused pending a review of the Colorado case by the US Supreme Court. Oral arguments began on February 8th, but the Court has yet to reach a decision.
Despite the reasoning cited by the lower courts, former President Trump has not been formally charged with insurrection against the US government.
Following Porter’s ruling, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung shrugged it off as another political attack by the former president’s political enemies.
“The Soros-funded Democrat front-groups continue to attempt to interfere in the election and deny President Trump his rightful place on the ballot,” Cheung said in a statement. “Today, an activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the state’s board of elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions. This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal. In the meantime, President Trump remains on the Illinois ballot, is dominating the polls, and will Make America Great Again!”
The Illinois presidential primary is scheduled for March 19th.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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