Editor's note: This article has been updated and revised to include a statement from a Cicero town spokesman responding to allegations leveled in a motion brought by plaintiff Jason Gonzales' attorney, Anthony Peraica.
A Chicago federal judge has refused to allow attorneys for a failed primary challenger to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan the chance to obtain a copy of a 2014 inspector general’s report detailing the ways Madigan wields clout and influence in Illinois, saying the contents of the report would be of no value to the ex-candidate’s lawsuit accusing Madigan of pulling strings and using underhanded tactics to undercut his candidacy.
On June 14, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly granted motions from Julie Porter, the state’s Special Legislative Inspector General, to quash subpoenas issued by attorneys for Jason Gonzales, to secure a selection of documents, including a copy of the so-called Homer Report.
Anthony Peraica
That report had been published by former LIG Thomas Homer, purportedly addressing allegations concerning Madigan’s influence over hiring decisions at Metra, the Chicago regional commuter rail agency.
“Even if one assumes, for purposes of discussion, that this material contains information tending to show that Madigan used influence derived from his official position to influence Metra's personnel decisions, that would not tend to make it more likely … that he also used influence derived from his office in connection with the primary election,” Kennelly wrote.
“And even if it did, the proposition that because Madigan used influence gained from his official position vis-à-vis Metra, it is more likely that he also did so in connection with the primary election likely would involve an inference prohibited under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).”
The ruling comes about two weeks after attorneys for Madigan weighed in on the issue, asking the judge to keep the report – which has never been publicly released – under wraps.
“… The only similarity between plaintiff’s complaint and the documents he seeks from the (Special Legislative Inspector General) is that they involve allegations of impropriety made against Mr. Madigan,” Madigan’s lawyer Adam Vaught, of the firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, of Chicago, wrote in the May 31 motion.
Gonzales had sought the report as part of his continuing legal action against Madigan, his campaign organizations and allies of the powerful House Speaker over Gonzales’ alleged mistreatment at their hands in the 2016 Democratic Primary election.
Gonzales had filed suit in 2016 against Madigan and his political allies, about five months after Madigan easily defeated him in that spring’s primary election. In that complaint, Gonzales alleged Madigan and his associates had violated his rights under the First, 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and had violated state laws on defamation, criminal history disclosure and had discriminated against him as a Hispanic.
Gonzales’ complaint specifically alleged Madigan and his campaign organizations had planted sham Hispanic candidates on the ballot to prevent Hispanic voters from aligning behind Gonzales, and had used Madigan’s influence within state government to improperly obtain information about Gonzales’ past, feeding the information to a friendly journalist, who publicized it.
According to the court documents, Gonzales had been pardoned in 2015 by then-Gov. Pat Quinn for illegally using credit cards when he was a teenager. However, Gonzales alleged officials at the Prisoner Review Board had improperly provided records about his past offenses to the Daily Herald.
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly had dismissed both Gonzales’ initial complaint and an amended version.
However, Gonzales asked the court to reconsider those decisions, and in September 2017, Kennelly agreed, saying Gonzales had persuaded him he had overlooked Gonzales’ allegations that Madigan deployed “political favors, control of campaign funds and precinct captains to discredit Gonzales.”
Shortly after the lawsuit was reinstated, Gonzales’ attorney, Anthony Peraica, subpoenaed the documents from Porter, asserting the documents, and particularly the Homer Report, would be important to help demonstrate how Madigan wields influence in Illinois government and politics.
While the report has never been publicly viewed, reporters for the Chicago Tribune claimed to have received a copy of the Homer Report, and they characterized the report as “a rare glimpse into Madigan’s thoughts on getting people government jobs and raises” and said the report “sheds a little light on Madigan’s tight-knit 13th Ward operation.”
Madigan’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization was also named as a defendant in Gonzales’ suit.
Porter had responded with motions to block the subpoenas, asserting the document requests were merely a “fishing expedition” and the documents would have no “probative value” to Gonzales’ case, specifically.
Judge Kennelly ultimately sided with Porter and Madigan on the question.
Also on June 14, Peraica asked the court to order U.S. Marshals to deliver a subpoena to Cicero Town President Larry Dominick and another Cicero employee, identified as Ruth Ortega, claiming his process server, William Rivera, was arrested, detained on “false charges” and mistreated for nearly 24 hours by Cicero police when attempting to serve Dominick.
“Based upon the experience of Mr. Rivera, Plaintiff believes that any other private process servers will suffer similar treatment - or worse - from the Cicero Police Department should they attempt to serve subpoenas on Larry Dominick or Ruth Ortega, or otherwise attempt to serve subpoenas in this action in Cicero,” Peraica wrote in the motion.
In response to the accusations, which he called "political maneuvering," Cicero town spokesman Ray Hanania, who was earlier dismissed as a defendant in Gonzales' lawsuit, issued the following statement on behalf of Cicero police and town attorneys:
"A suspect, William Rivera, later identified as a process server, was harassing several Town Employees on June 5, 2018, including President Dominick’s son. Mr. Rivera claimed Brian Dominick was his father, arguing with him.
"Mr. Rivera then went to the home of a Cicero employee, at 34th and Austin Avenue, who has a car similar to one that President Dominick drives. A neighbor of the employee reported that a man (allegedly Mr. Rivera) was seen walking away with a package that was on the front steps and that was delivered there by the U.S. post office. The witness (female) called police after confronting the suspect, believed to be Mr. Rivera, who identified himself as wanting to deliver a package to Mr. Dominick. Mr. Rivera was apprehended and has been charged with one count of theft.
"Mr. Rivera acknowledged to police during an interview that he saw the package on the employee’s front step and took it, placing it in his car after which he was confronted by a neighbor of the property who wanted to know what he was doing. The witness said she was led to believe that he was a police officer.
"The item allegedly stolen was a black and red Samsonite luggage duffel bag that the police recovered from Mr. Rivera’s home from his wife, Susy Rivera.
This is a typical Tony Peraica."