A North Shore state representative seeking reelection is suing his opponent in the Nov. 4 election as well as a local political commentator for allegedly broadcasting and mailing defamatory claims to prospective voters.
State Rep. Scott Drury (D-Highwood) filed the suit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court against Mark Neerhof, a doctor from Evanston running as his Republican challenger, and Neerhof’s campaign, Neerhof for Illinois.
Drury is also suing Dan Proft, a political commentator and morning show host for WLS-890. Liberty Principles PAC, for which Proft serves as Chairman and Treasurer, was also named as a defendant.
Drury alleges that around Oct. 1, Proft, Liberty Principles PAC, Neerhof and his campaign produced and distributed campaign mail and cable ads that falsely portrayed Drury as “a proponent of local school funding cuts — which he is not,” the suit stated.
Drury was also portrayed as unethical and a political “sheep” who does the bidding for others, the suit stated.
Proft, reached by phone Monday night, said Drury’s suit is “frivolous.”
“The idea that Scott Drury thinks that a disagreement over policy in a political campaign is something to be litigated shows how insulated he is from the need for public discourse in this state,” Proft said.
Mick Paskiewicz, Neerhof’s campaign manager, said that Drury’s first reaction to the ads was to file a lawsuit, referring to the incumbent state representative as “embattled.”
“Our campaign will carry on with our positive messge that has gained traction throughout the district,” Paskiewicz said. “We will not tell outside groups what to do and what not to do.”
Comcast Cable was also named as a defendant for agreeing to air the attack ads.
“Comcast stuck its head in the sand and neither conducted due diligence to determine the veracity of the claims made in the Cable Advertisement nor questioned how it could be true that the same attacks could truthfully be made on various candidates for state representative, instead choosing profit over truth,” the suit stated.
A representative from Comcast could not be reached Monday night.
The 18-count suit alleges defamation per se and false light. It seeks more than $9 million in damages.
