Illinois Loses Free Speech Case and Refuses to Pay Up

The Chicago Tribune has an editorial on the state of Illinois' loss in court:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich fashions himself as a risk-taker. This tendency gets him a lot of attention, although it comes with a cost.

There was his drive to buy prescription drugs from overseas and sell them to the poor and elderly, which the Illinois auditor general said wasted money and violated federal law. There was the massive purchase of flu vaccine that never got to Illinois.


Then there was the governor's push to outlaw the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. He urged legislators to pass such a law despite repeated warnings that, the way it was written, it would be declared unconstitutional.

The video-game industry argued persuasively that the vast majority of buyers of these videos are adults, the games are clearly rated for violent or sexual content and retailers were pretty effective at minimizing sales to minors through a self-regulation program.

But the governor persevered. The law was passed last year. Blagojevich signed it. He and some sponsors got some press attention. And, just as expected, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly tossed it on 1st Amendment grounds. "If controlling access to allegedly `dangerous' speech is important in promoting the psychological development of children, in our society that role is properly accorded to parents and families, not the state," he wrote.

In August, Kennelly ordered the state to pay $510,000 in legal fees and court costs incurred by the video game industry. The state didn't appeal that ruling--but it didn't pay, either. The state has taken no steps to pay.

Illinois has engaged in a lot of "shoulder-shrugging" and "finger-pointing," Kennelly said. He's given the governor until Monday to describe "with specificity" how Illinois is going to make good on this bill. The tab keeps rising too. Interest on the unpaid debt has topped $8,800 and continues to rise. "The time for waffling has passed," Kennelly said.

The governor is proud of his record on health care. He shouldn't be proud that the federal court is complaining that Illinois is a deadbeat. Pay the legal fees, governor.

The Nanny State is expensive.It's kind of scary to think some politicians want to regulate consumer choices.