Printer names 2 behind ‘Crooked Joe’ flyers

Cites consultants, mentions McHenry Dem party chair

Facing a choice between going to jail or revealing who was behind the “Crooked Joe” campaign flyers that his company printed, a Chicago businessman revealed in court Friday that two Democratic political consultants funded the mudslinging mailers that targeted a Republican primary candidate in McHenry County.

Then the president of Breaker Press Co. mentioned a third name that he said he “had reason to believe” was involved with the smear campaign, eliciting gasps in the courtroom: Democratic County Board Chairman Jack Franks.

The two others identified as arranging for the flyers were political consultant Michael Noonan, a former aide for state House Speaker Michael Madigan and campaign manager for state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Sean Tenner, who has worked for Barack Obama and Lisa Madigan campaigns.

Franks, Noonan and Tenner could not immediately be reached for comment.

The series of full-color flyers, sent by bulk mail in this year’s Republican primary election for county clerk, portrayed candidate Joe Tirio as “Crooked Joe,” saying he hired his cronies and operated a slush fund as county recorder and was part of a “fringe element of dangerous extremists” who weren’t “Donald Trump Republicans” but “David Duke” Republicans.

One flyer accused Tirio of “destroying the GOP with Chicago style sleaze” — an interesting claim given that now it appears that the flyers were arranged by Chicago political operatives with deep ties to the Democratic Party.

The mailers were said to paid for by the “Illinois Integrity Fund,” but no other evidence of such an organization could be found.

Tirio went to court seeking to unmask the people behind the smear campaign, but lawyers for his primary opponent Janice Dalton and Breaker Press, which printed the flyers, fought in court against revealing the names. On the stand Friday, Dalton said she didn’t know who was behind the flyers — though she used similar language in campaign robo-calls — and was dismissed from the suit.

But as for Breaker Press President Richard Lewandowski, McHenry County Associate Judge Kevin Costello warned him Friday that he would be held in contempt of court and ordered to jail next week if he did not comply with the court order, which his lawyers at first defied.

They had argued in part that the speech was protected by the First Amendment and that the mailers didn’t libel Tirio because their claims against him were too vague. They also asked for time to appeal the judge’s order.

Lewandowski continued to resist providing the names, apologizing to the judge but saying that as a businessman, he felt conflicted. After much backand-forth between lawyers and the judge, Lewandowski eventually said that Noonan and Tenner orchestrated the mailing.

Then, as Lewandowski stood before Costello, Tirio’s attorney Phil Prossnitz asked him whether anyone else was involved in orchestrating the mailing. After some hesitation, Lewandowski said, “I have reason to believe Jack Franks was involved.”

But Lewandowski acknowledged he never met with or spoke to Franks about the flyers.

Franks and Noonan are longtime associates, and Noonan and The Roosevelt Group consulting firm, where he is partner, have helped run Franks’ political campaigns.

Campaign spending records show that in April and May 2018, the Supporters of Jack D. Franks political organization paid KNI Communications, Tenner’s consulting firm, $19,500 for services described as data support, fundraising expenses and digital, social media and email advertising.

Tirio, who denied the claims made against him in the flyers, won the primary, and went on to win the general election in November.

Tirio sought the names of those behind the flyers as a possible precursor to filing a defamation lawsuit against them.

“Lawsuit’s going forward,” Prossnitz said, walking out of court to catch an airplane. “We got the two names.”

Tirio said after Friday’s hearing that he was “very relieved we have gotten through this hurdle and pleased it identified some parties, and my attorneys and I will be putting our heads together to figure out what the next steps should be.”