Ill. Federal Judge Refuses to Block Governor’s COVID-19 Executive Orders

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has refused to block executive orders issued by the governor in an effort to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus, ruling that “the extraordinary” public health threat posed by the virus overrides any infringement of citizens’ constitutional rights.

In an Aug. 1 order, Judge Andrea Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said the orders have a “real and substantial relationship to preventing the spread of COVID-19” and that the plaintiffs “have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of any of their federal claims based …