Former Cook County commissioner Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman, who is seeking a return to the 17th District seat as a Republican, has filed a petition in the Domestic Violence Division of Cook County Circuit Court asking for a two-year stalking no-contact order against Glenn Kraemer, a Republican activist and former political supporter.
In a First Amended Verified Petition filed Oct. 1 of Gorman v. Kraemer (case No. 26 OP 50649), Gorman alleges a pattern of threatening encounters, unwanted surveillance and intimidating conduct involving herself and members of her family.
The petition contains allegations that have not been adjudicated, and several claims are asserted “upon information and belief.”
The dispute arises as Gorman campaigns to regain the 17th District County Board seat that she resigned from in 2015.
The conflict with Kraemer focuses on his anti-Gorman Facebook postings and his open opposition to her by working at polling places against Gorman over a series of attempted elections.
Kraemer said, “Gorman is attempting to silence me, since she is terrified of me working the polls and social media against her. The attempt to keep me 500 feet away from the polls is a clear move to silence my free speech.”
Gorman did not respond to a call for comment on the petition.
Attorney Anthony Peraica, who was recently retained to represent Kraemer, said, “The slanderous false lawsuit filed by Elizabeth Gorman is packed with lies, innuendo and hearsay. Miss Gorman is trying to muzzle a citizen who is simply exercising his constitutional right to free speech in a political season where she is once again trying to get on the governmental payroll because she cannot succeed in the private sector.”
Public records show that Gormans financial and political affairs periodically have drawn scrutiny, including several bankruptcy proceedings.
Peraica, who served on the Cook County Board with Gorman, said, “The voters of Cook County should be aware that I have watched her perform and misbehave on the county board voting with the Democrats every chance she had for eight years. She lacks the ethics, morals and character to serve in any public office. That is best exemplified by a court ruling in the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals here in Chicago where the judge called both Liz Gorman and her husband a pack of lying weasels who cannot be believed in anything they say.”
Peraica said the frivolous lawsuit against Kramer is going to be fought with vigor and determination “until the truth is exposed and Miss Gorman is shown to be once again, nothing but a lying weasel.”
The matter is scheduled for further proceedings before Judge Diana Lopez on Nov. 19 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
