soapbox

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-willie-wilson-senate-ad-complaint-20201016-lt72fdnwove7lltvl3gu7pzmfm-story.html

blogger seems to have changed its formatting methods, which may take me a while to sort out.

Willie Wilson’s third-party campaign challenging U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin acknowledged Friday two ads it aired lacked a federally required candidate disclaimer, which had led the head of a major Illinois Democratic organization to file a federal complaint. Scott Winslow, a spokesman for Wilson’s campaign said the required statements had been taped, but were “inadvertently dropped” from the ad during production. “Those two were corrected by the production company (Thursday) and resubmitted to advertising stations,” he said. At issue is a requirement in federal election law known as the “Stand By Your Ad” disclaimer. Familiar to anyone who watches television during a busy campaign season, it’s the requirement that features a candidate stating their name and that they “approve this message.” info@drwilliewilsonfoundation.org info@fec.gov i need to add the text of my letter to the reporter. robbin stewart Mon, Oct 19, 3:33 PM (10 hours ago) to rpearson, me https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-willie-wilson-senate-ad-complaint-20201016-lt72fdnwove7lltvl3gu7pzmfm-story.html Hi Mr Pearson, I want to bring to your attention a 1960 civil rights case, Talley v California, which held that disclaimer rules like "stand by your ad" are unconstitutional. During the jim crow era, disclaimer rules were used to silence or harass blacks and women who dared to speak out about politics. But the supreme court has repeatedly ruled that ads like these are core polticial speech and fully protected under the first amendment. Although the case you write about is federal, I'll also mention that the Illinois constitution also protects this kind of speech. People v White. I have litigated this issue in Indiana and at the 7th circuit in Stewart v Taylor (s d ind 1997) and Majors v Abell (7th cir 2004). The Janus case last year is a recent example of the court holding the government may not compel speech. Some of the democrats on the FEC are refusing to follow the supreme court's rulings in this line of cases, notably Ellen Weintraub, but the Republicans on the FEC understand the principles involved so this complaint will go nowhere. Back in my day it was usually the Democrats who fought illegal censorship; odd how that has changed. I hope you will continue to cover this issue, adding this new information. Happy to discuss. 302 529 1529 or gtbear@gmail. As far as I know, the tribune reports the news, and is not just a house organ for te democratic party like some newspapers of note. My next step will be to look into who Zahorik is. She should know better. Thanks for your time, Sincerely Robbin Stewart. robbin stewart 2:01 AM (9 minutes ago) to info hello. i am writing to request a copy of the complaint by k zahorik against willie wilson in the illinois senate race. i also want to intervene in this matter. i am unsure of the process for doing so. thanks, robbin stewart,

# posted by gt @ 2:36 PM