Oberweis Dairy, DCCC trade legal punches
Oberweis Dairy has sued the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for "knowingly and willfully presenting false and harmful information to the public" about the business.
And in response, the DCCC has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, arguing the dairy lawsuit illegally benefits Republican Jim Oberweis’ campaign for Congress.
The dairy’s complaint charges that the DCCC, in paid ads supporting Democrat Bill Foster’s run against Oberweis in Saturday's special election in the 14th Congressional District, put the dairy in a "false light" by claiming the dairy hired illegal immigrants as workers.
The ads reference newspaper stories from 2005 about an Illinois Labor Department complaint filed by a Chicago-based immigrant-rights group. The group claimed two illegal Mexican immigrants were paid less than half the minimum wage to clean Oberweis Dairy stores in Cook County.
In 2005, Oberweis responded to the allegations by saying that the workers in question were employees of a local cleaning company hired to clean the stores after hours. Dairy President Joe Oberweis said Friday the dairy was never served with a labor complaint and is not sure one was ever filed.
"Plaintiff did not, and has not, hired or retained illegal immigrants as employees," reads the 2008 complaint. Oberweis Dairy has asked for an injunction, compensatory damages exceeding $50,000 and punitive damages as determined by the court.
In response, the DCCC has charged that the lawsuit promotes Oberweis’ campaign in violation of federal election laws. Their complaint with the FEC notes that the dairy lawsuit specifically mentions Jim Oberweis’ run for Congress, and calls the suit "sham litigation" that "represents illegal corporate expenditures."
"We are filing this complaint to hold Jim Oberweis accountable for illegally using Oberweis Dairy resources to mislead voters about the fact that illegal immigrants were found working at Oberweis Dairy stores," said DCCC spokesman Jennifer Crider.
