Illinois Court Sends Political Defamation Case to Jury Over Actual Malice
Illinois court ruled a political defamation case can proceed to jury on actual malice.
Why it matters: This decision affects legal standards for defamation in political campaigns, crucial for litigators in media and political law. It emphasizes the difficulty in proving 'actual malice,' a key element in public figure defamation cases.
- On July 13, 2026, the Illinois Appellate Court allowed the defamation case Grasso v. Mottl to proceed to a jury.
- Gary Grasso sued rival Zachary Mottl’s campaign for three defamatory mailers alleging $36,000 in real estate tax fraud.
- The allegations stem from a report by America Rising about improper dual county homestead exemptions.
- The court found defendants couldn’t sufficiently explain how they made their accusations, meriting jury review of actual malice.
On July 13, 2026, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the defamation lawsuit filed by Burr Ridge mayor Gary Grasso against Zachary Mottl’s campaign team could proceed to jury trial on issues of actual malice. The case arises from three political mailers published during the campaign that accused Grasso of defrauding the government out of $36,000 through improper real estate tax exemptions.
The contested mailers were based on a report from America Rising, a third-party political research firm, alleging that Grasso received homestead exemptions for residences in both DuPage and Cook counties, an act considered fraudulent.
The court emphasized that the defendants failed to explain how they arrived at their accusations. This inability to justify their claims left a question about whether they knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded the truth—criteria that define actual malice in defamation cases involving public figures.
Illinois Appellate Justice Matthew Bertani noted that the key issue isn't the objective facts, but the defendant's state of mind at the moment of publication, which a jury must determine.
This ruling highlights legal complexities in political speech litigation where proving actual malice remains challenging but essential. It underscores that insufficient justification for defamatory statements can allow such cases to survive summary judgments and be decided by juries.
By the numbers:
- $36,000 — alleged amount of real estate tax exemptions fraud
- July 13, 2026 — date of Illinois Appellate Court ruling