State Rep. Scott Drury filed a lawsuit Monday against his Republican opponent Mark Neerhof and talk radio host Dan Proft, accusing them of working together to release campaign ads containing “defamatory” statements that presented Drury “in a false light,” according to the suit.
Drury, a Highwood Democrat, says the defendants — Proft, the Proft-headed Liberty Principles PAC, Neerhof and Neerhof’s election committee – created ads “containing false information” about Drury’s position on education funding, the suit said.
Neerhof, a Lake Forest obstetrician, is hoping to unseat Drury as the Illinois House 58th District representative.
Drury’s complaint alleges that Proft and Liberty Principles PAC produced a TV ad and written materials earlier this month that claim Drury is in support of state Senate Bill 16, which would cut state funding to school districts in more affluent areas.
Drury, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said he opposes the bill.
The suit said the ads also suggested Drury’s alleged support for the bill was due to “a quid pro quo for receiving campaign contributions from unnamed ‘party bosses.'”
The lawsuit said there also had been an “undisclosed connection between” Neerhof and the Proft-backed PAC, which it alleged was a violation of state campaign finance laws.
Comcast Corporation is listed as a defendant on 10 of those counts after it continued “to air the false material” after Drury requested the ad be pulled, according to the lawsuit.
Mick Paskiewicz, Neerhof’s campaign manager, denied there was any coordination between Neerhof’s campaign and Liberty Principles PAC.
“Scott Drury’s natural response to any challenge is to file a lawsuit. … Our campaign will carry on with our positive message that has gained traction throughout the district, and we do not and will not tell outside groups what to do and not to do,” Paskiewicz said in a statement.
Paskiewicz also said Neerhof has never claimed that Drury supported Senate Bill 16.
Proft said on Tuesday that Drury has supported cutting school funding and said his committee has funded similar ads targeting other Democrats in Illinois. He dismissed Drury’s claims of wrongdoing under the state’s campaign finance law.
“(The lawsuit) strictly resembles Drury’s legislative career,” Proft said. “It’s frivolous. It’s laughable.”
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A Comcast representative could not be reached for comment.
In the complaint, Drury alleges that Proft and his PAC — in coordination with the Neerhof campaign – “disseminated false information about (Drury) in hopes of tricking the public into voting for (Neerhof).”
“When it’s just so blatantly false, we felt it was important to say you can’t do that,” Drury said. “If you’re going to make false allegations, you have to stand up and face the music.”
As for Comcast, Drury’s lawsuit argued the company acted with “actual malice” for airing the “false material” and that it ignored his requests to remove the ad.
“Within hours of filing the lawsuit, Comcast pulled the ad, which I think says a lot,” Drury said.
The suit asks the court to stop the defendants from airing ads “containing false information” about Drury and seeks at least $500,000 in damages for each of the 18 counts alleged in the filing, according to the legal complaint.
Proft, president of Liberty Principles PAC and a talk show host on WLS-AM 890, also unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010 as a GOP candidate.
A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled Thursday morning at the Cook County Circuit Court.