Mayoral Foe Sues Tinley Park

A local attorney who challenged Ed Zabrocki in the last mayoral election has filed a lawsuit claiming he and his supporters were blocked from participating in the "Discover Tinley" expo.

Steve Eberhardt, who lost his spring 2013 bid for the mayor's seat, filed a claim in federal court on Feb. 6 listing the village, Zabrocki, various elected officials and staff as defendants. He claims his First Amendment rights were violated.

"The mayor uses his official position to try and thwart the free speech of everybody that's not one of his supporters," Eberhardt told the Chicago Tribune. "Part and parcel of that is to use the assets and the benefits of being the mayor for his own personal and political advantage."

Eberhardt, who blogs as Tinley Sparks, said he was told he could not have a booth at the convention center where the expo his held because political groups aren't allowed space at the expo. But Eberhardt counters that the mayor and village trustees touted their "Team Tinley" group at the expo and campaigned at the event.