Illinois AG People's Lawyer, Not King's

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]On July 4th, 1776, American sovereignty was established. Before that [music] date, English common law applied in the colonies. The common law office of attorney general was among the traditions carried forward. When the Illinois Supreme Court looked to the common law to define the powers of the attorney general, it was therefore looking to the powers held by the attorney general of the King of England.

[00:00:19]On the very day America declared its independence from the King, the connection continues to have 21st century meaning. In 1776, England, the King was the sovereign and the attorney general was the King's lawyer, the legal officer of the sovereign power. The attorney general of Illinois is, by this direct legal [music] lineage, people's lawyer in precisely the same sense that the English attorney general was the King's lawyer.

[00:00:41]>> [music] >> The office that once served a sovereign crown now is destined to serve a sovereign people, to represent the people of the state, [music] not the governor, not the Department of Public Health, not the State Board of Elections, not any state agency. The people.

[00:00:54]>> For further explanation of the duties of an elected State Attorney General, subscribe to Constitutional Sound Bites on YouTube and take the free 12-part video course, Constitutional Foundations. capacity.