CHICAGO — The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to an accelerated hearing schedule for the state’s appeal of a downstate judge’s ruling that struck down a state ban on certain high-powered semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The high court will hear oral arguments on the matter during its May term, according to an unsigned order issued Tuesday.
The state requested an expedited schedule after Macon County Judge Rodney Forbes ruled Friday that the ban, passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in response to the mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade, violates the equal protection and special legislation clauses of the Illinois Constitution.
