Prairie State Wire

Thomas DeVore won the GOP primary for Illinois Attorney General after his lawsuit successfully overturned the Governor’s mask mandate in schools. 

He thanked all those who believed in him and commended his campaign team.

"I’d like to congratulate all the hardworking volunteers of our campaign, for without them, we could have never been successful," DeVore posted on Facebook. "I’d also like the thank each and every citizen who cast a ballot supporting our campaign. Your confidence in us is very humbling."  

DeVore has long been a critic of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID mandates. He filed a lawsuit on behalf of restaurants impacted by Pritzker's policies in 2020. He also filed a lawsuit against the state over schools' authority to enforce mask requirements and teacher vaccination rules. 

"Over the past two years, I have encouraged the people to get involved and work hard to take back control of their government," he said. "Last night the people stood up and overwhelmingly supported grassroots candidates across the state, outside of the political elite, to begin to restore the fabric of our democracy that lives within the hearts and minds of the people."

DeVore will face incumbent Kwame Raoul in the November general election after defeating Steve Kim and David Shestokas in the Republican primary.

"The collective wisdom of the people is what it's going to take to restore faith in our public institutions," DeVore added. "I am beyond humbled to have your nomination as the people’s attorney.  Now is our time, and I look forward to working with everyone, regardless of their political affiliation, to restore freedom and liberty to our great state. Together we can all make a difference!!"  

He decided to jump into the Attorney General race after he successfully sued to overturn the governor’s mask mandate in schools. DeVore said that when he saw people stand up for themselves after his lawsuit, he felt that he could do more. He wants to ensure that executive mandates like the one he fought to overturn never happen again. 

After DeVore won the mask mandate lawsuit, Pritzker referred to DeVore as a “grifter,” according to the South Central Reporter.

DeVore criticized the Evanston High School District’s decision to mandate masks indoors for its 3,700 students this past school year. DeVore said that the school district has absolutely no authority to impose this mandate because state law allows only local health officials to impose such quarantine measures, not school officials. 

During the campaign, DeVore said in a press release that he is “proud to stand with the men and women of law enforcement” and that he is honored to have received the unprecedented unanimous endorsement in the Republican primary election from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.“ Also in the press release, DeVore vowed to “prioritize the rule of law and fight to ensure they have the necessary tools to keep their communities safe.” DeVore assured law enforcement officers that their careers will not be threatened “for standing up for their God-given rights of freedom and liberty.”