The political newcomer who failed to unseat House Speaker Michael Madigan in the March primary filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging a litany of misdeeds by the powerful Democrat, his political organizations, other candidates in the race and an unrelated state agency.
Jason Gonzales insisted he wasn't "being a sore loser." At the center of his complaint are the signs, mailers and commercials that Madigan's political organization plastered throughout the Southwest Side House district, advertising that painted Gonzales as a career criminal and "convicted felon."
Gonzales has acknowledged running afoul of the law during his teenage years in cases involving forgery and illegally using a credit card. He was pardoned in 2015 by then-Gov. Pat Quinn. Gonzales contends the pardon means he's no longer a convicted felon, and that Madigan defamed him by publicizing his criminal history.
Madigan shrugged off the lawsuit. Gonzales "cannot be trusted and his lawsuit is without merit," Madigan said in a statement distributed by his political organization.
"According to Gonzales' own court filing today, his criminal activity 'resulted in several arrests, criminal charges, and felony and misdemeanor convictions,'" Madigan said in the statement. "Voters of my district soundly renominated me based on my strong record of service, giving me more than 65 percent of the vote, and they emphatically rejected Jason Gonzales because they knew he couldn't be trusted."
Gonzales' sudden arrival on the political scene ahead of the March Democratic primary stoked speculation that he had been put up by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who is warring with Madigan. Gonzales' campaign also got financial backing from a number of donors who've supported Rauner in the past.
At the time, Gonzales denied being a Rauner plant, a stance he reiterated Monday.
"This is my own doing. I've been wanting to run against Speaker Madigan for six years, before Gov. Rauner was even in office," Gonzales said.
Despite describing himself as a "progressive Democrat," Gonzales enlisted a Republican former Cook County commissioner as his attorney in the case. Anthony Peraica is best known for storming the county clerk's office with a crowd of supporters that pounded on windows during a technology-driven, vote-counting meltdown as he lost a 2006 bid for county board president.
Also named in the lawsuit is the Prisoner Review Board, which released information about Gonzales' criminal record to the media. Additionally, Gonzales is suing the two other individuals whose names appeared on the ballot in the primary for the 22nd House District, which Madigan has held since 1971.
Gonzales contends that the individuals joined the ballot in order to dilute the vote and ensure a victory for Madigan. Gonzales won just 27 percent of the vote, and the other two candidates won less than 8 percent combined.
Peraica decried what he contends is a "long-standing practice in the County of Cook, state of Illinois, of putting phony, sham candidates on the ballot."
Gonzales said the lawsuit "isn't about me crying because I lost."
"It's about justice for every candidate who has come before and will go ahead. This stuff has got to stop. These fraudulent, illegal tactics have got to stop."
(c)2016 the Chicago Tribune
