Metro-east state rep settles lawsuit over blocked Facebook comments
Illinois State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, has settled a lawsuit alleging he violated the First Amendment free speech rights of four constituents by blocking their “critical” comments on his Facebook page.
The lawsuit was filed last year in Madison County by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore on behalf of Jared Poettker of New Baden, Donald Moore of Troy, Sharon Williams of Belleville and Roger Respondek of Clinton.
The settlement agreement calls for Meier to reinstate Poettker’s access to his Facebook page and to reinstate comments from Moore, Williams and Respondek.
The plaintiffs were not seeking any monetary damages. The agreement describes Meier’s Facebook page as a “hybrid” with official and political information on it.
Meier and the plaintiffs signed the agreement Wednesday.
On Friday, Meier announced on Facebook that he has started a new page for “official state activities.” The new page is called State Representative Charlie Meier.
“As my constituents know, I have been focusing all my energy on my health following my recent cancer diagnosis while doing my best to represent the people of the 109th district,” Meier said in a statement Friday. “I decided it was in the best interests of myself and my constituents to settle this politically motivated lawsuit so we can all move on.”
Meier announced last month that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
DeVore, who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, in 2022, said the settlement with Meier “speaks for itself.”
“He knew what he did was unconstitutional,” DeVore said Friday. “There was really no question about it.”
The lawsuit didn’t include the specific comments that were critical of Meier, but DeVore said in an interview last year that one of the issues involves campaign donations by the Illinois Education Association, which is a union for teachers.
