This evening will bring an event likely not seen in Illinois in more than a century – an evening session of the Illinois Supreme Court.

Last Friday, the Court announced that People v. Richardson, one of the three cases docketed to be argued on the morning of March 17, would be rescheduled for a special evening session.

The Chief Justice invited new Governor Bruce V. Rauner and the entire Illinois Legislature to attend the session. The argument “affords a window into how our constitutional system operates and the balance among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches,” the Chief Justice said. In a letter to the Governor, legislative leaders and the members of the General Assembly, the Chief Justice explained that attorneys from the offices of the Attorney General and the State Appellate Defender would be participating in the argument. “Thus,” the Chief Justice wrote, the political leaders “will have the opportunity not only to see the Court at work, but also to observe these valuable public employees performing their vital functions on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois.”

The Chief Justice’s invitation comes while the Court has under submission an appeal from the Circuit Court order striking down SB-1, the Illinois public pension reform bill enacted by the General Assembly and signed into law by then-Governor Pat Quinn in 2013.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Dan Hodgett (no changes).