Former Illinois state rep sues opponent who defeated her, claims he defamed her with flyers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A unique lawsuit may be headed to court involving a former Illinois state representative and her political opponent.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Monday night, former state Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback is now suing over claims her opponent made about her in campaign flyers.
Any campaign season, flyers always flood our mailboxes – and they are often full of questionable claims. But Wang Stoneback said many about her were lies.
"I was portrayed as a something; as a person who I absolutely was not," Wang Stoneback said.
The flyers portrayed Wang Stoneback as being soft on gun violence prevention. They were distributed by and on behalf of her opponent, state Rep. Kevin Olickal (D-Chicago), who went on to beat her in the Democratic primary last year.
"It was my number one legislative priority is reducing gun violence," Wang Stoneback said.
It is also a cause Wang Stoneback noted she has championed since the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut over a decade ago.
So Wang Stoneback is suing Olickal, Freidns of Kevin Olickal, and the Gun Violence Prevention PAC - which backed him - on the grounds that they were "knowingly publishing false statements." She highlighted pertinent flyers in her 49-page complaint.
"I was defamed," Wang Stoneback said.
Wang Stoneback said she wants to prevent it from happening to any other candidates.
"Except in politics, and in public figures, you can lie – you just can't lie a real lot," said election lawyer Burt Odelson.
That is because it is free speech, protected by the Constitution, Odelson said.
"You can pretty much say whatever you want in a campaign," said associate criminal justice professor Michael Lawlor.
Lawlor said that means candidates need to have a thick skin.
"We're not talking about misleading statements," Lawlor said. "We're talking about statements of fact that are actually totally not true – and you knew it was false when you said it, and you did it out of malice."
Wang Stoneback could not discuss specifics of her lawsuit. Her attorney said even sharing the flyers used as examples in the complaint could exacerbate the harm already caused.
Rep. Olickal did not return requests for comment.
"I certainly think voters should beware of everything that shows up in their mailbox," Wang Stoneback said.
Perhaps the bigger concerns are voters' abilities to weed through misleading claims.
"It's going to be a big challenge – not just for voters, but for our democracy – in trying to wade through all of this disinformation; this misinformation; this misleading information," Lawlor said, "and I'm not sure that there's a perfect solution for it."
Before leaving office, Wang Stoneback proposed a Truth in Politics law – which would hold candidates accountable for false statements outside of a defamation lawsuit. The bill was never called for any vote.
