Blagojevich vs Madigan: Memorandum of Law in Support of defendant Michael J. Madigans motion to dismiss

              IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Governor of the
State of Illinois, in his official capacity,
Plaintiff,
vs.
MICHAEL J. MADIGAN, Speaker of the
Illinois House of Representatives, in his
official capacity,
Defendant.
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No. 2007 MR 473
Honorable Leo Zappa
MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF
DEFENDANT MICHAEL J. MADIGAN’S MOTION TO DISMISS
Defendant Michael J. Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives (the
“Speaker”), by his undersigned attorney, Special Assistant Attorney General David W. Ellis,
moves for dismissal of this action under Section 2-619.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
providing for combined motions for dismissal under Sections 2-615 and 2-619 of the Code.
In support thereof, the Speaker states as follows:
INTRODUCTION
In an unprecedented misuse of executive authority, the Governor has called the
General Assembly into repeated, overlapping special sessions in the summer of 2007, often
on only a few hours’ notice or less, and deliberately choosing inconvenient times for such
sessions, all for the apparent purpose of doing nothing more than punishing lawmakers who
refused to pass his preferred legislation. The Governor took such actions despite the fact that
the General Assembly was already in session on a weekly basis; despite the fact that by
calling special sessions, the Governor forced the State’s taxpayers to foot nearly $1 million in