A journalist is suing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker after being barred from the coronavirus press briefings for reporting his wife violated the state's stay-at-home order when she traveled to a second home in Wisconsin, the Associated Press reported.
Amy Jacobson, a journalist for AM 560 The Answer, broke the story that Pritzker's wife had visited the family's equestrian estate in Wisconsin during Illinois’s stay-at-home order. This report comes weeks after the station reported that the Pritzker family had traveled to another home in Florida.
The suit, which was filed by the Liberty Justice Center, requests the court act immediately in allowing Jacobson to attend the briefings again.
"Gov. Pritzker has been in the hot seat over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s visible from his reactions to Amy Jacobson’s questions that her reporting made him uncomfortable. But what the governor appears to not understand is that Americans have a right to hold their elected officials accountable, and one of the ways they do this is through a vibrant, free press," said Liberty Justice Center president and co-founder, Patrick Hughes.
Hughes continued, "It’s not up to Gov. Pritzker to pick and choose which reporters can cover him based on how much he agrees with their coverage or their points of view. And keeping reporters out of the room because he disagrees with their line of questioning or point of view is a gross violation of the First Amendment."
Jacobson, a journalist for more than 25 years, has been attending the briefings since April.
"The reason we sent Amy to these press briefings is because she is a dogged reporter with a reputation for holding public officials accountable. Over the last two months Amy has done her job well, asking the tough questions that are on the minds of so many of our listeners," said AM 560 regional VP and general manager, Jeff Reisman.
Reisman added: "We’re disappointed that the governor would retaliate against her and take the unprecedented step of blocking her from his press briefings. We had hoped litigation would not be necessary, but it’s imperative for Amy to get back into the room and keep doing her job."
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