Burrows and Paxton filed their lawsuit in Illinois westernmost county, which recorded a 47 percent vote for Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election. This was some distance from DuPage County, the Chicago suburb and Democratic stronghold where The Texas Tribune reports the Democratic lawmakers are staying.

The judge says he doesn't have the power to decide whether the Democrats were violating civil warrants issued by the Texas House.

An Illinois judge on Wednesday declined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) request to hold Texas Democrats who fled there in contempt. Paxton reached across state lines to seek a ruling that would effectively force the blue state to comply with efforts to arrest the lawmakers and return them to Texas to end their