By Illinois Review
IR’s Editor-in-Chief Mark Vargas and General Counsel Scott Kaspar were compelled to testify for a second time last Friday before the Illinois State Board of Elections related to a frivolous case that has spanned nearly a year meant to intimidate the owners of the state’s largest conservative, America First news publication.
The alleged crime? Exposing the misdeeds of IL GOP elitists and allies of former IL GOP Chairman Don Tracy.
On August 1, 2023, Illinois Review broke news that Orland Park mayor Keith Pekau and his village trustees were using taxpayer-funded village resources to run his failed congressional campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). Days after, William Healy, an Orland Park village trustee, filed a complaint against Illinois Review’s General Counsel, Scott Kaspar. Healy, a CPA, remains under investigation by the Federal Election Commission for allegedly comingling state and federal campaign contributions relating to Mayor Pekau’s failed congressional bid.
At a preliminary hearing last October, the Illinois State Board of Elections hearing officer found that Kaspar and Vargas had done no wrong, finding that Illinois Review was an independent and long-standing news organization not under the purview of the Board’s election authority.
Despite the hearing officer’s decision, allies of senior IL GOP leaders ignored the report that found no wrongdoing, and instead, requested that the case go to the next round regardless of the preliminary ruling. And on Friday, almost a year later, Vargas and Kaspar testified for a second time.
Lawfare has been a powerful tool of the establishment to maintain control by burying opposition with legal fees, time-consuming discovery, and a myriad of never-ending legal proceedings.
There is no lawfare more famous and pervasive than the lawsuits launched by Biden Administration allies in the Department of Justice and the state of New York against former President Donald Trump, now the Republican presidential nominee for president.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-IL) recently admitted the impact lawfare has had on Trump, stating, “He’s got court and the man practically has the legal version of ‘ankle bracelet’ around him and he can’t leave the Five Boroughs because he always has to be in court.”
Trump often has remarked that he is the recipient of lawfare because he fights to protect the liberties and freedoms of the American people. “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you – and I’m just standing in their way.”
And so is the case with Illinois Review, as this publication continues the work to expose the corrupt reasons why Illinois conservatives consistently lose.
