Illinois court prevents Trump from contesting primaries in the state

Judge Tracie Porter, of the Cook County State Circuit Court, in Illinois, ruled on Wednesday (Feb. 28, 2024) that former US President Donald Trump will not be able to run in the Republican Party primaries in the state. Voting is already underway, but will conclude on March 19. Here is the full decision (PDF – 2 MB, in English).

The judge, however, decided to suspend the order until Friday (1st March), anticipating an appeal that must be presented by the republican’s defense against the sentence. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said he will appeal the decision. “quickly” and described the order as unconstitutional, according to information from New York Times It’s from Axios.

In this year’s US elections, Trump was declared ineligible in the primaries in the states of Colorado and Maine. He appealed the decisions and one of the cases ended up in the US Supreme Court.

The US Supreme Court began analyzing the Colorado Court’s decision on February 8. A verdict has not yet been issued. Due to the Supreme Court’s assessment of the case, Trump’s ineligibility in Maine was temporarily suspended until the decision on Colorado is made.

In Illinois, the State Election Board decided on January 30 to maintain the former president’s candidacy and chose to let the Court make the final decision on the issue.

In the order of Wednesday (Feb 28), the judge was based on the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. Section 3 of the standard establishes that no one who has “be involved in an insurrection or rebellion” against the US government can hold civil or military positions in federal or state administrations.

State authorities claim that Trump falls under the question for allegedly inciting the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Republican was indicted in the case in August 2023. He pleads not guilty.