Lukaszczyk v. Cook County

Dist. Ct. did not err denying requests for issuance of preliminary injunction in three separate cases, alleging that imposition of certain COVID-19 vaccination mandates on plaintiffs-certain employees of State of Illinois, Cook County Health and Hospital System, City of Chicago and Chicago and Naperville Fire Departments, violated various constitutional rights and state laws, where plaintiffs’ claims were unlikely to succeed on merits. Certain claims of plaintiff, who were employees of Chicago and Naperville Fire Departments were rendered moot, after Governor Pritzker issued 2022 order that removed said plaintiffs from vaccine mandate. Also plaintiffs’ claim that instant state and local COVID-19 regulations violated their substantive due process rights because said regulations interfered with their rights to bodily autonomy and privacy could not proceed, where plaintiffs failed to show that challenged mandates abridged fundamental right. As such, Dist. Ct. could find under rational basis standard that there was no substantive due process violation, where record showed that vaccine was effective to combat COVID-19, and that defendants relied on reasonably conceivable scientific evidence when promulgating contested mandate. Also, defendant-Governor was entitled to 11th Amendment immunity with respect to plaintiffs’ procedural due process claim, where plaintiffs named Governor as defendant in his official capacity, and where said plaintiffs had alleged violation of state law. Plaintiffs’ procedural due process claims also failed because plaintiffs had failed to identify what procedural protections they should have been afforded. With respect to plaintiffs’ claim that COVID-19 vaccine mandates violated their right to free exercise of religion and rights under Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, plaintiffs could not proceed on said claims because plaintiffs never applied for religious exemption that was allowed under said mandates.