McHenry County v. Raoul

Dist. Ct. properly dismissed for failure to state viable cause of action plaintiffs (two Illinois Counties seeking to house immigration detainees) action, alleging that 2021 Illinois statute prohibiting State agencies and political subdivisions from contracting with federal government to house immigration detainees was preempted by certain federal statutes, and that it violated doctrine of intergovernmental immunity. Ct. of Appeals found that instant statute was not invalid as matter of either field or conflict preemption, where: (1) no case law supported plaintiffs’ claim that federal governmental had occupied field of detaining and housing noncitizens; (2) State is free to remove its facilities from list of options; and (3) federal government could not require State’s cooperation with respect to housing noncitizens so as to view instant statute as obstacle to federal law. Also, for purposes of intergovernmental immunity doctrine, instant statute does not impose direct regulation on federal government or serve to discriminate against federal government.