TinleySparks, Inc. v. Village of Tinley Park

181 F. Supp. 3d 548, 2015 WL 2265451, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61088
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 11, 2015
DocketNo. 14 C 853
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 181 F. Supp. 3d 548 (TinleySparks, Inc. v. Village of Tinley Park) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TinleySparks, Inc. v. Village of Tinley Park, 181 F. Supp. 3d 548, 2015 WL 2265451, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61088 (N.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Elaine- E. Bueklo, United States District Judge

This case is about a political struggle in the Village of Tinley Park, Illinois (“Tinley Park” or “Village”) between its longtime mayor and his allies, on the one hand, and two Village residents who ran for local office in April 2013 and lost.

The two losing candidates and their political organization have filed suit against the Village, the mayor, and seventeen of his supporters under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Defendants misappropriated public funds (Count I), suppressed political speech-(Counts II through V), and tortuously interfered with their prospective economic advantages (Count VI).

Defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of standing and failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The individual Defendants also argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity. I grant Defendants’ motion only in part for the reasons stated below.

I.

At the motion to dismiss stage, I must accept Plaintiffs’ factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in their favor. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

A.

TinleySparks, Inc. (“TinleySparks”) is a non-profit corporation formed in 2010 to promote civic and political causes in Tinley Park. See Dkt. No. 80 (“Am.Compl”) at ¶ 7. Stephen E. Eberhardt (“Eberhardt”), a local attorney who ran for mayor in April 2013, is the President of -TinleySparks. Id. at ¶8. Karen Weigand (“Weigand”), who ran for a seat on the Village’s Board of Trustees in April 2013, is the Vice President of TinleySparks. Id. at ¶.9,

Edward J. Zabrocki, Jr. (“Zabrocki”) has been the Mayor of Tinley Park since 1981. He also leads a political organization that was known as “Team Tinley 2013” during the April 2013 election cycle. Id. at ¶ 11. The Village Clerk, Patrick Rea, and four of the six Village Trustees— David Seaman, Gregory Hannon, Brian Maher, and Terrance “T.J.” Grady—ran as Team Tinley candidates in April 2013 and won reelection. Id. at ¶¶ 12-16. The other two Village Trustees—Thomas Stanton and Patricia Leoni—were appointed or selected to run for office by Zabrocki, but are not alleged to have been Team Tinley candidates in April 2013. Id. at ¶¶ 17-18.

Team Tinley’s supporters include two political committees, “Citizens for Ed Za-brocki” and “Citizens to Elect Tinley Park [553]*553Village Officials,” both of which receive contributions from businesses seeking Village contracts or other financial rewards. Id. at ¶¶ 11, 32. Until March 2013, Ronald and Judy Bruning (“the Brunings”) served as the Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer, respectively, of the two political committees supporting Team Tinley. . Id. at ¶¶ 19-20. The Brunings own a floral business in Tinley Park, but also work for the Village. Id. at ¶20. Ronald Bruning is the Village’s Zoning Administrator while Judy Bruning works as Zabrocki’s personal assistant. Id. at ¶¶ 19^-20. Martin Ward, who chairs the Village’s economic development commission, replaced Ronald Bruning as Chairperson of “Citizens to Elect Tinley Park Village Officials” in March 2013. Id. at ¶¶ 26, 32(d).

B.

The complaint describes a series of incidents before and after the April 2013 election in which Zabrocki and his political allies allegedly used taxpayer funds to promote Team Tinley candidates (Count I) and suppressed political speech at various public events (Counts II and III) and in online forums (Counts IV and V).

1.

In Count I, Eberhardt and Weigand allege that the Village, Zabrocki, the Village Clerk, the six Village Trustees, and Judy Bruning misappropriated public funds in violation of the Due Process Clause by (1) using taxpayer money to- conduct a political rally for Trustee Gregory Hannon in January 2012 when he announced his candidacy for the Illinois Senate in the Tinley Park Village Hall;- (2) using their official, taxpayer-funded portraits in Team Tinley campaign materials before the April 2013 election; (3) using taxpayer money to commission a Village report, which “Citizens to Elect Tinley Park Village Officials” later used to attack Eberhardt and Weigand, on the cost of complying with Plaintiffs’ requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act; and (4) allowing Judy Bruning to engage in political activities on Village work time. Id. at ¶¶ 35-52.

2.

Count II lumps together six incidents leading up to the April 2013 election in which Zabrocki and his allies allegedly suppressed opposing political speech: (1) from June 2012 through August 2012, Ellen Clark (“Ms.Clark”), the appointed Chairperson of various public events in downtown Tinley Park, prohibited unnamed “volunteers” from circulating a petition at the Tinley Park Farmers’ Market to have a term limits referendum question placed on the ballot for the November 2012 general election despite the fact that Ms. Clark had personally circulated nominating petitions for Zabrocki and other Team Tinley candidates at the same event, id. at ¶¶24, 55-58; (2) on October 28, 2012, Ms. Clark directed Plaintiffs’ volunteers to stop circulating nominating petitions for Eberhardt and Weigand at the “Halloween Kiddie Boo-Bash,” id. at ¶¶ 59-62; (3) starting in October 2012, Marge Weiner, the appointed head of the Senior Services Commission who runs the Tinley Park Senior Center in a publicly owned building, prohibited Eberhardt and Weigand' from engaging in political activities at Senior Center events even though she had personally circulated a nominating petition on'Zabrocki’s behalf at the Senior Center and' allowed' Zabrocki and Village Trustee Patricia Leonia to campaign at Senior Center events and, id. at ¶¶ 27, 63-73; (4) in early 2013, Thomas “Doc” Mahoney, who served as President of the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce, denied Plaintiffs’ requests to host a “Candidates’ Forum,” but later agreed to host such a forum before the March 2014 primary elec[554]*554tions in which Eberhardt and Weigand were not candidates, id. at ¶¶28, 74-78; (5) in March 2013, after the Village removed a Team Tinley sign from a public park in response to Eberhardt’s complaint, Ronald Bruning, the Village’s Zoning Administrator, instructed private citizens to remove Plaintiffs’ campaign signs from their private property, id. at ¶¶ 79-83; and (6) in April 2013, three days before the election, Village Trustee Brian Maher threatened Norman Elftmann, a local restaurant owner, for displaying a sign supporting Eberhardt in his front yard, id. at ¶¶ 84-85.

3.

Count III focuses on Plaintiffs’ efforts to engage in political speech at the “Discover Tinley Community Awareness Expo” (“Expo”) held on March 23, 2013. The Village hosts the annual Expo at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Id. at ¶ 88. In January 2013, Eberhardt received a solicitation to participate in the upcoming Expo, whose stated goal was to “provide an opportunity for businesses and organizations to showcase the services available to our community.” Id. at ¶ 89. The Expo reservation form expressly stated, however, that “no political groups or campaigning will be permitted at this event.” Id.

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181 F. Supp. 3d 548, 2015 WL 2265451, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tinleysparks-inc-v-village-of-tinley-park-ilnd-2015.