⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears Illinois Policy Institute versus Jane Flanagan. Illinois's Worker Freedom of Speech Act protects employees who decline mandatory employer meetings about political or religious matters from adverse action. Before the law took effect, the Institute held mandatory meetings about public policy. The Technology and Manufacturing Association says some members held mandatory meetings about religion, unionization, and issues affecting their businesses. The groups claim the law chilled that speech and sued the state labor director under the First Amendment. The district court did not reach that claim. It dismissed the suit on sovereign-immunity grounds, finding that the director lacked the enforcement role required by Ex parte Young. That doctrine can allow prospective federal relief against a state official who enforces an allegedly unlawful measure. The appeal asks whether the director has enough enforcement authority and whether the plaintiffs have standing.

Illinois Policy Institute v. Jane Flanagan (No. 25-2937) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 18, 2026.