By Illinois Review
On Friday morning, former Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General Thomas DeVore filed a lawsuit against Illinois House Republican Minority Leader Tony McCombie for violating his First Amendment rights after he made “critical comments” of the GOP leader’s vote to support expanding transgender patient rights.
The suit, which was filed in the Third Judicial Circuit, and shared exclusively with Illinois Review, states that McCombie blocked the former attorney general nominee from viewing her official Facebook page, which is a public forum and “deleted, or otherwise suppressed” his comments.
The suit mentions that other Illinois citizens have been blocked from her official page – and their critical comments have been deleted as well.
McCombie is under fire from Republicans and even her own constituents for joining with Democrats and supporting a bill in 2023 that expanded patient rights for transgender and non-binary individuals.
But the controversy continues – leading up too, and after voting in favor of the bill, McCombie received an influx of campaign donations from a progressive hospital association that’s been advocating for improved care for transgender and non-binary patients.
Donation records with the state board of election indicate that McCombie accepted $47,500 in campaign donations from the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, which advocates on behalf of hospitals, patients and communities to “develop sound healthcare public policy solutions that will broaden healthcare access, make healthcare more affordable and improve the quality of care to all Illinoisans.
The association also focuses on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives – including improving patient care for transgender and non-binary individuals.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that official Facebook pages of public office holders are protected by the First Amendment – and unless the comments are obscene, or present a danger – they cannot be censored, deleted or blocked.
In one post on McCombie’s official page, one Illinois citizen wrote,
“Weird that you’re deleting comments that rebuttal you or call our certain positions.”
Late on Thursday, this publication also reported that McCombie earns an annual salary of $145,000 – collecting an additional $52,000 as leader on top of her $93,000 salary as a legislator – making her one of the highest paid politicians in the state.
On Wednesday, McCombie was sworn in for another term as the representative of the 89th District for the 104th General Assembly, where she continues her role as Minority Leader of the House Republican Caucus.
