On May 23, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly denied reconsideration in Gonzales v Madigan, n.d., 1:16cv-7915. The request had been pending since September 20, 2019. The case was filed in 2016 by an Illinois Democratic primary candidate, Jason Gonzales, against his primary opponent, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Gonzales had charged that Madigan had found a “sham” candidate with a Hispanic surname to enter their primary, so as to split the vote of Democratic primary voters who might want to vote for anyone with a Hispanic name. The district is majority-Hispanic.

The lawsuit was based on a Seventh Circuit opinion from 1973, Smith v Cherry, 489 F.2d 1098, which said that recruiting a sham candidate can be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The Gonzales case is now so old, it will be interesting to see if Gonzales appeals.