State's top court reinstates Sandholm's 2008 defamation suit

A defamation lawsuit filed by former Dixon varsity boys basketball coach and athletic director Steve Sandholm was reinstated Friday morning by the Illinois Supreme Court.

It had twice been dismissed by lower courts.

The case now returns to Lee County.

Sandholm had filed the lawsuit against Richard and Ardis Kuecker, Glen Hughes, Michael Venier, Tim Oliver, Dan Burke, David Deets, Mary Mahan-Deatherage, Robert Shoemaker and Neile Petersen. He also sued NRG Media, the parent company of local radio station WIXN, and Al Knickrehm, the station’s general manager.

The Dixon School Board had removed Sandholm as coach in April 2008, after some players’ parents organized a campaign to get him fired. In their comments made online and on the radio, the parents said Sandholm had verbally abused his players.

Sandholm filed his legal complaint in June of that year.

Sandholm’s suit was dismissed in Lee County in July 2009, and again by an appellate court in October 2010. Both courts ruled that the defendants were protected by the Illinois Citizen Participation Act, which protects citizens from being sued for participating in government as long as their statements are made with a genuine goal of procuring a favorable government action.

In its opinion, the high court said that it is apparent that the goal of Sandholm's suit is not intended to "interfere with and burden defendants' free speech and petition rights, but to seek damages for personal harm to his reputation from defendants' alleged defamatory and tortious acts."

Read the Illinois Supreme Court Opinion

Pick up Sauk Valley Weekend for more on this story.