| October 12, 2021 The September 7th GRC Update on the litigation brought by the Illinois Pawnbrokers Association, the NPA, and other Plaintiffs shared the news that the judge granted our motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) from enforcing the new “Predatory Loan Prevention Act” against pawnbrokers and pawn transactions. The judge also denied the IDFPR’s motion for judgment on the pleadings at that time. Counsel for the IPA, NPA and other Plaintiffs informed us on Friday, October 8th, that the Illinois AG did not file a timely appeal of either of the judge’s rulings. Therefore, the preliminary injunction stays in place until further notice. The IPA, NPA and other Plaintiffs can proceed to prepare for trial on the merits of the Complaint we filed in May, which could take quite a while. This means that Illinois pawnbrokers will NOT be subject to enforcement actions by the IDFPR or to rule-making proceedings they may have planned to commence. This is wonderful news for Illinois pawnbrokers – and, for all pawnbrokers. However, this litigation does not affect the two federal rate-cap bills introduced in the U.S. Senate or any we expect to see filed in the House. It does mean • We need every NPA member to stay laser-focused on grassroots efforts directed at both Houses of Congress and to ramp up those efforts in individual states as the legislatures prepare for their next sessions or the completion of current ones. And, • NOW is the time to get outside your comfort zone and communicate to your lawmakers that pawn transactions are important to American consumers and why non-recourse pawns are different than other products often referred to as “predatory.” The NPA’s new trifold brochure, The Truth about Pawn Shops, is available in color printed form that Mark and Garrett Bolles of Burrell Printing is donating or by downloading the printable pdf version from the NPA’s website. Gather additional information from the NPA toolkit and go educate legislators about pawn. |
| This GRC Update is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice to NPA members. Members should consult their own lawyers for legal advice. Copyright © National Pawnbrokers Association 2021. All rights reserved. |
