Northwest or Northworst – You Decide

Embattled Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser has received a lot of flack for calling the Northwest Herald the “Northworst Herald”. He may have a point. The Edgar County Watchdogs just fact checked the latest article from the local rag and the findings are very different from Ed Komenda.

You can read and decide for yourself below.

Northwest Herald – Facts elude them once again.

McHenry Co. (ECWd) –

Ed Komenda photo from Muckrack

A recent publication by the Northwest Herald reporter Ed Komendaappears to be not only another anti-attorney Hanlon hit piece, but a clear misrepresentation of the facts, to include flat-out false statements.

False Statement:

  • Hanlon and Windmill’s counsel failed to respond to the complaint.  

Hanlon was not the counsel for Windmills at the time a complaint was due, which means Hanlon did not fail to respond as claimed by the reporter.  Windmill’s counsel at the time failed to respond to the complaint.  But by all means, don’t take our word for it.  Read the Affidavit of the actual client in the case.

Misrepresenting the truth:

  • Hanlon did not file anything, “explaining that he was in Minnesota on a Boy Scout canoe trip.”

Correct, Hanlon did not file anything because he was not the attorney on the case at the time said filing was due.  As far as his explaining that he was in Minnesota on a Boy Scout canoe trip, yes, that is where he was when he was contacted to take the case after the prior attorney failed to file anything.  His being on a canoe trip had nothing to do with the case where an attorney failed to file anything.  That snippet was taken from an Appellate file that did not include the context to that specific canoe trip.  His involvement as a Scout Master had nothing to do with any filing in that case.

Some facts that expose Komenda’s false narrative:

  • The summons and complaint in the Wisconsin case were issued on April 26, 2011.
  • The motion for default was filed on June 23, 2011.
  • A default judgment entered on June 23, 2011.

Those three events all took place before Robert Hanlon was involved in the Wisconsin case where Komenda claims he failed to file anything.

Facts: 

You will note that the affidavit attached to the initial filing (post-judgment) involving Hanlon was more than a month after the initial default entered.  Had Komenda, in his nearly eight years to research into this file, looked at the initial filing and actually read the first document filed in the case on behalf of the Defendants, he would have known his story was false.

Adding insult to the erroneous reporting is the fact that after nearly 8 years, had he looked, he would have learned that these two cases had combined judgments entered on a default basis in excess of $7.2M.  After Hanlon appeared on behalf of several defendants, he was able to secure a settlement at $400,000.  Mr. Reschke filed a bankruptcy petition prior to a settlement which Hanlon represented him and the Court discharged all of the indebtedness.  The client had to pay $0.00 vs the $7.2MM on the Default. (See Discharge Order here)

The entire fact pattern on this Wisconsin case is a very far cry from Hanlon dropping the ball.  In essence, the NWH has criticized Hanlon for winning a major victory for the Defendants.

If you go to the Wisconsin Court System website you can verify the dates set forth above.

Of interest, why is a 7.5-year-old case dealing with the fallout of the great recession even news today?  It only appears to be news today because the NWH has an agenda regarding Hanlon.  How Ironic it is that the lack of diligence the NWH focuses upon is reflected in its own lack of diligence in securing basic documents. How long would it have taken to disprove their narrative?  We did so in just over 24 hrs.

In regards to the Federal case cited and the motion for Sanctions, most telling is what he failed to report and include for the public to read for themselves.  Why not post all those records?

Reported: 

  • “In 2016, attorney Alejandro Caffarelli, representing a client named Rene Vargas, asked Judge Michael T. Mason, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, for sanctions against the lawyer on the other side: Hanlon.” 

Not reported:

So rather than telling the world about a lawyer that lied to the court, he makes the story about alleged late filings?

Reviewing the motion for sanctionssupport exhibits, and the transcripts, failed to produce any “modus operandi” as referenced by Komenda.

What a review of all these records will tell you, to include the Response to the Motion for Sanctions, is the real story.  Why in today’s day and age the records were not linked to is beyond me.  All of them with the exception of a claimed 10-page legal brief, were readily available in the public domain and considering we put our hands on them in less than 48 hrs, tells us the NWH had little interest in reporting the whole story, but rather snippets that support an anti-Hanlon agenda.

While we recognize there “may” be some other 10-page legal brief that we could not find on Pacer, we have yet to find it and simply ask that the NWH produce the record so the readers can actually read what it says as it is clear from this Hanlon hit piece, facts are not what they presented.

This is not the first time we have exposed the NWH in their bogus agenda-driven reporting. I think the most comical was when we exposed the false allegations they made about the Algonquin Township Road District Highway Commissioner in this article.

We have been informed that the clients involved in the Wisconsin case are preparing letters to the Editor regarding their misrepresentations of the facts in their case and will seek a retraction and correction.  We are trying to get copies of those letters and will update if and when we get copies.

.
Our work is funded entirely thru donations and we
ask that you consider donating at the below link. 


Comments

Northwest or Northworst – You Decide — 12 Comments

  1. One could wonder if the article was written by Ed Komenda or by the LIAR.

    The ‘hit’ piece on Hanlon sure looks like something put out by the Illinois Integrity Fund!!!

    One could also be led to believe that the ‘old guard’ GOP of the County is colluding with the LIAR as indicated by the LIAR stating he consulted with Tryon and Koehler in naming a replacement for Hammerand.

  2. Sadly the NWH story is weak and the writer Ed should check his sources better.

    Sadly the NWH in the case of Alg Twh is mostly accurate, Hanlon’s actions and advice has cost tax payers way more than need be with his playing games.

    Gasser should fire him, and Lutzow should fire the townships lawyer Kelly also.

    The Dog’s said: “Had Komenda, in his nearly eight years to research into this file, looked at the initial filing and actually read the first document filed in the case on behalf of the Defendants, he would have known his story was false.”

    Ed Komenda hasn’t been with the NWH for eight years, a tad of fake news by the Dog’s, Yamon!

  3. Oh good Lord Nob.

    Try again.

    Komenda has to work at the paper for eight years in order to research legal matters eight years old?

    That cannot be what you meant.

    In related news… Wonder Lake, Algonquin Township and all the county nonsense should be waking everyone up to the fact there are no safe Party affiliations for The People.

    Both parties are populated with adherents only and ever about self aggrandizing and self enrichment.

    Franks is not particularly smart nor is he at all original and yet he’s completely appeared to steam roll the county board.

    Miller destroyed any best practices of local government “for the people” and the man cleaning up this mess is roundly and widely criticized.

    Wonder Lake has been a cesspool of a lake and townie inbred politics since forever and this latest move to buy seats is a surprise?

    There are only the rare individuals who serve The People and, far more overwhelmingly, those who serve themselves at the public trough.

    Until the electorate wakes up to their power as Citizens we are stuck with a very few free individuals, many dictator wanna be’s and a sea of servile wretches(read every post by a non issue non fact bearing public trough enjoying self described “liberal” to know this last category).

    Komenda doesn’t matter and never has unless you want to take on self deluded ignorant editorializing as “journalistic integrity and truth”.

    The serious minded don’t.

  4. Caption under the pic should read:

    ‘Here’s Ed, a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars. Skateboards to work and enjoys purchase free Starbucks WiFi’.

  5. Article today on Joe Tirio’s take on the Black Money (Franks) situation.

  6. Re: “Franks is not particularly smart nor is he at all original and yet he’s completely appeared to steam roll the county board. ”

    I agree with the first two parts but the last part relative to ‘steam rolling’ should (imo) be changed to “bullied” the county board into submission with the support of several people who run under the elephant label. (Note particularly the contribution by the LIAR to Gottemoller and all the favorable comments made by Althoff over the years.)

    The LIAR worked in one of most corrupt units of government in the world – Springfield.

    The LIAR learned what works from the master bully – Madigan.

    Thr use of Local 150 blow up rats to get a board member fired from his job and another Board member to not run for office again are but two examples.

    Of course the foray of the LIAR into influencing campaigns has not been as effective as he would like because we have a few people remaining in politics who will actually fight back and stand up to the lying bully.

    The NWH appears to be nothing but a local version of a supermarket rag controlled by a few local politicians.

  7. The response to the motion for sanctions is priceless!

    “Accordingly, Defense counsel agrees with Plaintiffs counsel on the limited point that there is such a special place for attorneys that use sanctions as a litigation tactic.”

    “So Plaintiff alleges,in essence, its bad that attorney Hanlon was not going to waste his time with resolving a dispute that involves discovery that was never issued in the first place.”

    “Outrageously enough, the Plaintiff alleged that Attorney Hanlon had an “imposter” appear in open court the day Mr. Poper withdrew, claiming that a man in his 30’s appeared posing as Mr. Poper.

    See Plaintiff’s motion Exhibit F pg 7-8.

    However, no such young man appeared.

    Rather, Mr. Poper’s partner, Steve Hauck, (another man in his 70’s) appeared and presented the motion on behalf of Mr. Poper.

    Mr. Cafferalli’s allegation of an imposter being present in the courtroom is such an incredulous lie that it is unfathomable.

    Although Mr. Cafferalli makes this allegation he failed to attach the transcript of the hearing which he could have done if he didn’t think that lie of his would be exposed.”

  8. NWH influence approaching nil.

    Why?

    Because of all the fakenews and lies!

  9. I forgot another priceless statement in the response:

    “If that constitutes harassment, then the practice of law has utterly changed and is to be practiced by weak and infirm people of small minds that lack fortitude to represent their clients.”

    Boy does that say a lot more than Komenda reports.

    Is Komenda a weak infirm small minded person that he missed this quote?

  10. Priest is telling it like it really is.

    FAKE NEWS NWH.

    Gasser got it right with that sign.

    This County is going to hell real fast.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *