* Back in 2012-13, the Sun-Times and other media outlets went on a crusade against Cicero’s town president and printed pretty much anything that came out of his opponent Juan Ochoa’s mouth. Here’s how the CS-T reported the election results…

Cicero voters Tuesday ignored allegations of corruption, sexual harassment and nepotism in town hall and overwhelmingly re-elected Larry Dominick for a third term as the leader of the hardscrabble western suburb.

* Ochoa filed a lawsuit during the campaign…

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, challenger Juan Ochoa says Larry Dominick, town officials and the Cicero Voters Alliance “have launched an extensive crusade” of harassment and intimidation to stop him from running for office.

Along with stalking claims, the suit alleges the organization has violated the Illinois Election Code, falsely accused Ochoa of using gang members in his campaign and has tried to split the Hispanic vote by putting other Hispanic candidates on the ballot.

“Larry Dominick and the Cicero political committee is a criminal organization, and they are actively suppressing the vote, lying and intimidating voters,” said Ochoa’s attorney, Frank Avila. “We have filed a suit to bring justice and change to Cicero.”

* Well, that lawsuit was eventually ruled to be a politically motivated SLAPP suit, meaning it was designed to curtail free speech rights.

And then today, a Cook County judge awarded the Town of Cicero and Dominick’s Cicero Voters Alliance a total of $30,000 in legal fees. Click here to read the order.

* From a press release…

“I am happy that this purely political move to grab pre-election publicity back in 2012 has been exposed for the fraud that it is,” said President Dominick.

“The only people who were harassing voters were the street gang members identified in the Chicago Crime Commission Street Gang Handbook who worked on Ochoa’s campaign. The vast majority of voters saw through Ochoa’s phony campaign lies. And the voters and public stood by my administration’s proven record of delivering new jobs, new businesses, improving safety, fighting street gangs, and increasing services for everyone including Senior Citizens, youth and families.”

Ochoa’s lawsuit was filed on Dec. 11, 2012 by political activist and lawyer Frank Avila Jr., the son of controversial Water Reclamation District Trustee Frank Avila, Sr. The Ochoa/Avila lawsuit had been dismissed twice by the courts, first on Dec. 5, 2013 and again on July 21, 2014.

* Meanwhile…

A federal appeals court last week ordered that a Hinsdale attorney be sanctioned for misconduct, a move that could potentially return to the Town of Cicero’s coffers $287,500 in legal fees.

A United States Court of Appeals 7th Circuit panel last Monday, January 12, handed down an opinion and, essentially, ordered federal judge Thomas Durkin to sanction attorney Dana Kurtz of suburban Hinsdale for “serious misconduct”.

The court’s decision involves a 2008 case in which Kurtz sued Cicero and Town President Larry Dominick for allegedly firing a city employee, Merced Rojas, over his support of a Dominick political opponent.

Judge Frank Easterbrook, who wrote the appeals panel’s six-page opinion, faulted Durkin for neglecting to sanction Kurtz’s misconduct at the trial where her victory over Cicero was quickly set-aside by judge James Holderman.

That opinion is here.