A $110 million defamation lawsuit filed by Gordon E. Maag, who lost the Illinois Supreme Court Justice race and retention to the appellate court, has been been assigned to Associate Judge Stuart Shiffman of the 7th Judicial Circuit, in Sangamon County.
The lawsuit was originally filed Dec. 20 in Madison County--where Maag received a lot of financial support from plaintiff's attorneys. But Madison County Chief Judge Edward Ferguson asked the director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Supreme Court to assign the case to an out-of-county judge.
Maag's suit names the Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity, its chairman Ronald Gidwitz and treasurer Gregory W. Baise, as well as the Illinois Chamber of Commerce as defendants. The complaint states that a campaign flyer distributed in Madison and St. Clair counties in October, identified as, "Wheels of Justice," defamed and injured Maag's reputation.
The flyer stated, "Gordon Maag’s record on crime: embarrassing-and dangerous.”
In the suit, Maag claims that the defendants knew the statements made in the flyer were false.
7th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Robert Eggers assigned the case to Judge Shiffman last week.