Next month, a McHenry County judge will decide whether McHenry County Recorder Joseph Tirio’s is entitled to unmask the anonymous citizens responsible for critical campaign fliers circulated in the lead up to Tirio’s primary election.   The fliers called attention to Tirio’s use of public resources to fund a trip to New Mexico and hire additional employees to staff his Recorder’s Office—the same office he promised to eliminate during his campaign. Mandell Menkes attorney Natalie Harris represents the respondents whom Tirio alleges know the identity of the citizens responsible for the fliers.  Respondents assert that the flier statements constitute political opinion protected by the First Amendment. Furthermore, Respondents maintain that as a public official, Tirio cannot meet the high burden of demonstrating that the citizens behind the fliers acted with actual malice—in other words, with knowledge that the flier statements were false, or harboring serious doubts as to their truth.  Read the article here: Judge to hear case on political attack ads against McHenry County recorder in August