Andy Martin files lawsuit to block Illinois Republican Party corruption

Andy Martin is running for National Committeeman to clean up the crooked Illinois Republican Party leadership and to end “Combine” control of the organization. Martin says Republicans will have Congressman Ray LaHood to thank if Barack Obama is nominated for president. A copy of the lawsuit is a part of this posting (below).
NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”

Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2008

CORRUPTION FIGHTER ANDY MARTIN SUES RAY LAHOOD, ELOISE GERSON, LEE ROUPAS, BRIAN SHEAHAN, DEB DETMERS, DAN VENTURI AND JASON HEFFLEY FOR RIGGING ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION DELEGATE PROCESS

MARTIN CALLS FOR CONGRESSMAN RAY LAHOOD TO STEP DOWN AS A CANDIDATE FOR NATIONAL COMMITTEEMAN BECAUSE LAHOOD IS A MEMBER OF THE “COMBINE” THAT HAS DESTROYED THE PARTY

(CHICAGO)(May 16, 2008) Illinois Republican reformer Andy Martin will hold a Chicago news conference Friday, May 16th to announce he has filed a lawsuit to stop corruption at the Illinois Republican Party’s 2008 state convention. “The behavior of most Republican Party leaders is disgraceful,” Martin will state. “They are conducting an election for National Committeeman and National Committeewoman, and refusing to release the names of the voters for this office, who are the delegates. Why are delegate lists and members-of-committee lists being held in secret? In a word, LaHood and his coconspirators are trying to fix the convention to elect him.

“How can anyone justify an ‘election’ in which the names of the ‘voters’ are being concealed or a convention in which the names of members of convention committees are secret? If this is not a blatant attempt to rig the vote and elect Combine Candidate Ray LaHood I don’t know what it is.

We have to face the reality that the Republican Party is being mismanaged into the ground.”

Martin is the reform Republican candidate for National Committeeman.

Martin will be seeking an emergency court hearing.

“At some point, Republicans are going to get sick of Combine control of their party. Ray LaHood was one of the cabal of leaders that forced U. S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald out of office—and paved the way for the election of Barack Obama. No wonder LaHood was salivating when Obama visited the U. S. House earlier this week; LaHood’s dirty tricks and backstabbing helped elect Obama by removing the incumbent Republican. If Obama is elected president, we will have LaHood and his hoods to thank.

“Peter Fitzgerald was pilloried because he fought corruption. What does that tell you? The evidence to support these claims is in testimony in the Tony Rezko trial, where ‘Republican leaders’ were mired neck deep in corruption. The Combine is real and the Rezko trial testimony blew the lid off the Republican Party's past and present ‘leadership.’

“Most Illinois Republicans are honest, hardworking, law-abiding citizens. How did we end up with a party state committee and party leadership and party employees who are sickos and crooks? How? Who wins? We know who loses: Main Street, mainstream Republicans.

“I am doing my best to fight corruption and to return control of the Republican Party to the people,” Martin says.

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: National Committeeman candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, SE corner of Huron and
Wabash (near St. James Cathedral), Chicago

WHEN: Friday, May 16, 2008 11:00 A.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin sues to block crooked Republican
state convention

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329

WEBSITE: http://www.andymartincampaigndiary.blogspot.com
http://andymartincampaigndiary.wordpress.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com

ood is catching leas form his association withrigged votig, doctored delegates abnd the usual corrutionof McKnna. Vrian Sheahan is also an orchestratorof this shamlweful travesty. he is unfot toserve DuPage County as apublic offici8al. He shopudleither step down form his partypositionor step downfrom hisopublic office.

------------------------------------------
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Comments? E-mail: AndyforIllinois@aol.com. Media contact: (312) 440-4124. Web site: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com. Also: AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR DUPAGE COUNTY, ILLINOIS

CASE NO. 2008CH1859 IN CHANCERY

ANDY MARTIN,

Plaintiff,

v.

RAY LAHOOD,
BRIAN SHEAHAN,
LEE ROUPAS,
ELOISE GERSON.
DEB DETMERS,
DAN VENTURI,
JASON HEFFLEY,

Defendants.

COMPLAINT

Preliminary Statement

This lawsuit is triggered by the efforts of the Republican Party of Illinois’ leadership and management to conduct a corrupt and rigged state party convention, so as to prolong “Combine” control of the National Committeeman’s seat by forcing the election of Ray LaHood on victimized Republicans.
Plaintiff is opposing LaHood and seeks access to state party convention delegate information in DuPage County and other counties, as well as a judicial confirmation of his own candidacy for the national Committeeman’s post. This lawsuit arises under the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Election Code, § 10 ILCS 5/7-9.
1. Jurisdiction and venue
a. This court has general common law jurisdiction to hear and determine the matters presented.
b. Venue is proper in DuPage County. Defendant Brian Sheahan is a resident of DuPage County, public official of DuPage County and official of the Illinois Republican Party.
2. Factual allegations
a. The parties
A. Plaintiff is a consumer advocate and public interest lawyer, although not a member of the Illinois Bar, who has exposed and fought corruption in Illinois politics for over forty years. Most recently, Plaintiff was a candidate for U. S. Senator, in an election where associates of the defendants rigged the proceedings and corrupted the party apparatus to elect a “lie down” opponent for an incumbent Democratic senator.
B. Defendant Ray LaHood is the “Combine” candidate to succeed to the position of National Committeeman, and he is the beneficiary of the corrupt machinations of the other defendants, all of whom seek to elect LaHood and defeat Plaintiff. In the past, LaHood has sought to derail anti-corruption agents.
C. Brian Sheahan is a member of the DuPage County Board and General Counsel to the Illinois Republican Party. Defendant Sheahan is a fully competent and aware attorney, and is therefore fully cognizant of the illegality and fraudulent nature of his behavior in conspiring with the co-defendants and their associates.
D. Defendant Lee Roupas is a county chairman who has claimed in writing to be operating under secret rules and a complete lack of awareness of the state convention delegates in his own county as of May 14th.
E. Defendant Eloise Gerson is a ward committeeman who has appointed her own cronies to as delegate and conducted no notice or other procedures as part of any appointment process. Plaintiff is a resident of Gerson’s ward.
F. Defendant Deb Detmers is chairman of the Credentials Committee at the state convention, and is scheduled to supervise the approval of bogus delegates selected in violation of state law by the defendants and other county chairmen throughout the state.
G. Defendant Dan Venturi is Lake County chairman and has violated state law in failing to appoint state convention delegates pursuant to the Election Code.
H. Defendant Jason Heffley is the Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party and orchestrates the malignant activity of the defendants and persons acting in concert with them.

b. The Facts Giving Rise to This Lawsuit
A. Plaintiff is an announced candidate for National Committeeman of the Illinois Republican Party. The incumbent National Committeeman has been the subject of intense controversy, and his name was mentioned, along with those of other Republican Party “leaders,” in the notorious federal criminal corruption trial of Democrat Tony Rezko. The incumbent is not running for reelection.
B. Illinois politics operates under the control of a “Combine,” run by corrupt--primarily business--elements in both political parties. As documented in numerous federal criminal trials the Combine collects and dispenses favors on a continuing, bipartisan basis. Retired officials such as defendant Ray LaHood seek party status so as to burnish their marketability as lobbyists and influence peddlers in Washington, Chicago and Springfield.
C. Defendant Heffley and his associates have done everything within their power, and far beyond the outer perimeters of their power and Illinois law, to obstruct the civil and political rights of the Plaintiff: they have conducted a “rump” endorsement session to undermine his candidacy for the senate; misappropriated party funds to support their own private candidate against Plaintiff; and refused to allow Plaintiff to participate in party events, all because Plaintiff is committed to public integrity and good government and the defendants are committed to perpetuating the corrupt system which exists in the statewide Republican Party today.
D. The specific facts giving rise to this lawsuit are instructive: defendant Brian Sheahan has claimed that “state law” and “party rules,” prohibit appointment of a state convention delegate from outside their own ward or township, thereby severely limiting the appointing power of party officials and the eligibility of potential convention delegates. The result is to perpetuate a racist Republican Party, which disenfranchises minorities throughout much of the City of Chicago. And, moreover, in some wards there is either no Republican ward committeeman or an inactive and supine committeeman controlled by the Daley Machine, none of which protect the rights of Republicans such as Plaintiff who are engaged in outreach to minorities.
E. Defendant Eloise Gerson appointed a slate of her own “crony delegates” to the state convention without convening any meeting, making any announcement or following any procedures whatsoever to provide for fair and open selection of state convention delegates.
F. Defendant Dan Venturi was supposed to select his state convention delegates at the party’s county convention, but failed to do so.
G. Defendant Sheahan, as the General Counsel of the statewide Republican Party, has orchestrated this secrecy operation in order to advance the Combine's goal of electing defendant Ray LaHood as National Committeemen and defeating Plaintiff. Sheahan is a competent attorney who practices in a law firm with a substantial practice devoted to governmental and municipal law. Sheahan is aware that he is propagating lies to unsuspecting victims such as defendant Lee Roupas, a young law student who is one of the latest victims and stooges of the defendants, by causing Roupas and others acting in concert with him and Gerson to claim that nonexistent “rules” impose residency requirements for state convention delegates.
H. Sheahan has allowed the state party to collect a secret database of convention delegates that is not available to Republican candidates or officials and is—as in the case of the recently rigged February primary--being used to advance and perpetuate the sole interests of the Combine’s candidate, defendant LaHood.
I. All of the foregoing lies, misrepresentations and dirty tricks are orchestrated by and coordinated through defendant Heffley, the Executive Director of the state party. Roupas, for example, claims that “rules” govern his conduct but he has apparently never seen these “rules” and no such rules are posted on the party’s website. No rules were available prior to the expiration of the application period to be a state convention delegate.
J. Because of his lack of experience and sophistication, defendant Roupas is an obvious dupe of more senior and knowledgeable “dirty tricks” operators such as Heffley. The actions of the defendants collectively show contempt for Illinois law, for the Illinois Constitution and for the Election Code in particular.
K. This Court has plenary jurisdiction to apply the Illinois Constitution to the actions and corrupt conduct of the defendants, and to declare the rights and remedies of the parties as hereinbelow set forth.
3. Legal claim
a. The Illinois Constitution, Article III, Section 3 mandates that “All elections shall be free and equal.”
b. The state party convention and state convention delegates are an event and positions created by virtue of state law, § 10 ILCS 5/7-9. Therefore, the Illinois Constitution fully applies to all of the actions and inactions of the defendants in this lawsuit. Defendants have acted, combined and conspired to make a mockery of the Illinois Constitutional guarantee of “free and equal selection” of delegates to the state convention.
c. The right to run for a state-created office is a constitutional right encompassed under the Illinois Constitution.
d. The defendants have a documented history of making a mockery of state law; conducting rigged and crooked primary elections; and seeking to entrench themselves and the “Combine” in control of the levers of power in Illinois politics and government.
e. Unless the Court intervenes to protect Plaintiff’s rights, the state convention and election for National Committeeman will be a joke and defendants will brazenly and blatantly rig the election to entrench LaHood as National Committeeman. Imagine if you will a convention in which the names of most delegates appointed pursuant to state law are a secret, and in which those who wish to participate are told either that delegate slates are closed, or that no one can be appointed from outside their own ward or township, when the very state law creating the state convention and National Committeeman’s position has no residency requirements whatsoever.
4. Demand for judgment
Plaintiff demands a judgment as follows:
a. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that he is a legally qualified and fully-filed candidate for National Committeeman of the Illinois Republican party, and that he is entitled to campaign against defendant LaHood in Decatur on June 6-7, 2008.
b. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that as a legally qualified and fully-filed candidate for national Committeeman of the Illinois Republican Party, he is entitled to immediately receive a list of all state convention delegates as well as all party records and contact information for each delegate.
c. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that under the Illinois Election Code, § 10 ILCS 5/7-9, there are no residency requirements stated under the current version of the Election Code or, in the alternative, if any such requirements exist they are citywide and countywide and do not limit any township or ward committeeman from appointing any city of non-city resident as a delegate to the state convention.
d. Plaintiff seeks such other injunctive and declaratory relief as may be necessary and proper to do complete justice, including his costs of suit.
Dated: May 15, 2008
Respectfully submitted,
ANDY MARTIN
SERVICE OF NOTICES IS RESPECTFULLY
REQUESTED BY FAX OR E-MAIL
30 E. Huron St., Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
Toll-free tel. (866) 706-2639
Toll-free fax (866) 707-2639
E-mail: andymart20@aol.com (text only)