* Tom DeVore lawsuit filed last year…

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff Thomas G. DeVore, through counsel, complains against Defendant Tony McCombie, as the Illinois State Representative of the 89th District and Illinois Republican House Minority Leader, as follows:

Nature of the Case

1. In this First Amendment case, Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of the manner in which Republican State Representative and Republican Minority House Leader McCombie regulates speech on a Facebook Page she utilizes to discuss government business and to interact with users about government business.

2. Defendant McCombie uses an official Facebook Page to discuss government business and to interact with users about government business. For approximately seven years, she has utilized this Facebook Page to discuss government business and has interacted with users about government business in relation to her roles as a Republican State Representative as well as Republican House Minority Leader.

3. Hundreds of Illinois citizens participate in the comments sections of this Facebook Page, expressing opinions, asking questions, and engaging in debate. Because of the way Leader McCombie uses her Facebook Page, the Page is a public forum under the First Amendment.

4. In an effort to suppress dissent in this forum, McCombie hides or deletes certain comments that criticize her or her policies, thereby making those comments invisible to the other constituents who are engaging in discussion on her Facebook Page and preventing certain citizens from engaging in debate with other members of the community. In at least one instance, Minority Leader McCombie has permanently banned Plaintiff from being able to engage in this forum at all after he has posted comments critical of the McCombie’s political activities, thereby completely prohibiting Plaintiff from being able to petition the Republican House Minority Leader on this public forum. These actions amount to content-based regulation of speech that violates the First Amendment.

Basically, DeVore was claiming that Leader McCombie’s personal/political Facebook page was actually her de facto official page, even though she clearly has a separate official page. The whole thing was doomed from the start.

* Great lawyering there, Tom…

“Failed to state a claim for relief.”

Sheesh.

He should really think about sticking to selling egg rolls.