Caro v. Blagojevich – Fighting Unauthorized Expansion of Health Care

Appellate Court of Illinois

After Gov. Blagojevich failed to get legislative approval for expanded health care programs, he used his line item veto power to strike approximately $463 million in expenditures the Legislature approved in the 2008 budget. He then announced he would, through "executive authority," use the $463 million to fund the programs he wanted but the Legislature did not approve.

The governor also attempted to implement parts of his plan through what is called the "rules process" in Illinois. He put forth rules allowing his Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services to start signing up families for the expanded FamilyCare program. These rules went through the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan group of lawmakers whose role is to ensure agencies do not overstep their authority. JCAR rejected the governor's attempts to expand FamilyCare due to a lack of legislative authority.

NFIB is gravely concerned that, if allowed to go forward, a governor who has failed to pass his or her initiatives in the General Assembly will simply adopt "rules" and legislate from the executive office.

Status: VICTORY! On Sept. 28, 2008, the Court upheld the preliminary injunction.