The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that individual states do not have authority to disqualify candidates for federal office based on the “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment.

The unanimous ruling by the nation’s high court overturned a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, but it also had implications in Illinois and other states that accused Trump of taking part in an insurrection during the events surrounding the assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

“We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office,” the court said in an unsigned opinion. “But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 (of the 14th Amendment) with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency.”

That clause bars anyone from holding federal or state office if they previously took an oath to defend the Constitution and then later participated in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or gave aid and comfort to its enemies.

Enacted in the aftermath of the Civil War, it was intended to prevent former Confederates who had served in government before the war from returning to positions of power, but it has rarely been used in the nearly 150 years since the end of Reconstruction.

On Jan. 6, 2021, throngs of protesters – many of them arguably summoned to action by Trump and his allies – stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 elections in which Trump was defeated for re-election by Democrat Joe Biden.

When Trump filed to run again in 2024, challenges were filed in several states. In Illinois, a group of voters filed an objection to his candidacy in the March 19 Republican primary, arguing he was disqualified.

The Illinois State Board of Elections dismissed the objection, partially on the grounds it did not have authority to decide constitutional questions. But last week, a Cook County circuit judge reversed that decision and ordered Trump removed from the Illinois primary ballot – though she put her decision on hold pending further appeals in state courts as well as the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said he believed Trump remaining on the ballot would be a net positive for Democrats in his state.

“We’re going to win here in Illinois and beat Donald Trump and I think it will help Democrats that he’s on the ballot,” Pritzker said.

State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) offered a favorable comment regarding Monday’s ruling.

“The fundamental foundation of our state and nation’s democratic system is the right of the people to choose their elected officials,” she said. “I am pleased to see our nation’s Supreme Court recognize and respect this fact.”

Following last week’s ruling by the Cook County judge, Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean, a Republican, assured local voters that the March 19 primary ballot would not be changed.

“I want to reassure the public that no changes are being made to the March 19 primary ballots,” McLean said. “Republican primary ballots will still have Donald Trump as a candidate. Voters who have already voted early or by mail do not need to be concerned.”

Early voting is available now at the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo.

(Most information for this article came courtesy of Capitol News Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government.)