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Since the 1950s, Illinois has either required or voluntarily asked its candidates for office to sign a loyalty pledge promising not to advocate to "overthrow of the government of the United States."
"…that I do not directly or indirectly teach or advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this State or any unlawful charge in the form of the governments thereof by force or any unlawful means," the form reads.
In the leadup to the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump signed the pledge. Four years later, as prepared for his reelection campaign, he signed the agreement once again.
But as WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times first reported over the weekend, the former president — who's been indicted in Washington, DC, and Georgia over his ties to a push to overturn the results of the 2020 election — in 2024, Trump neglected to sign the page when submitting his candidacy forms.
In 1951, Illinois made it mandatory for candidates to sign the oath when running for office, however, a federal court ruled two decades later the requirement was unconstitutional.
As Trump defies taking the oath, some of his challengers and even his probable competition in the general election have already gone and signed it, such as GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden.
Biden's campaign jumped at the opportunity to highlight Trump's choice.
"For the entirety of our nation's history, presidents have put their hand on the Bible and sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States — and Donald Trump can't bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won't attempt a coup to overthrow our government," Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, told outlets over the weekend.
The same day Trump filed his packet of information declaring to run for president in Illinois, a group of voters in the state filed an objection, arguing he is ineligible to be on the ballot due to the 14th Amendment.
The argument echoes a recent ruling by Colorado's Supreme Court, which disqualified Trump from being on the state's 2024 primary ballot. Weeks after the court's ruling, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump's appeal to reverse the decision.
