Last year’s flyer flap between a Campton Hills attorney and the St. Charles District 303 teachers union now is a lawsuit.

Last year, the St. Charles Education Association filed a complaint against attorney Larry Bettag with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, claiming he circulated a flyer containing “deliberate misinformation” before the April 1, 2025, school board election.

According to the ARDC complaint, the flyer listed four candidates whom it falsely stated had been endorsed by the District 303 educators, when only one of them was.

The union routinely referred to itself as “D-303 educators” in its campaign literature. The flyer in question stated in large type, “St. Charles D303 educators endorse,” above photos of the four candidates.

Ultimately, the four candidates who were formally backed by the union won seats on the school board.

Bettag’s March 27 defamation claim against the teachers union and its president, Jennifer Adam, asserts the public announcement of their ARDC complaint harmed his legal reputation in the community.

Adam stated no comment in a text message. Neither Bettag nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment.

Bettag is a mortgage originator, branch manager and vice president with Cherry Creek mortgage – now owned by Guild Mortgage – and is of counsel with the Geneva law firm Williams McMahon and Walsh, according to the filing.

The lawsuit’s two counts, one against the union and one against Adam, each seek more than $50,000.

Bettag participates in a political action committee People of Kane County Inc., which operates the website, Kane County Speaks, according to the lawsuit.

“Bettag has not run for political office, does not make public political speeches or hold himself out as a public figure,” according to the lawsuit, which also states Bettag did not “create,” “authorize the creation of,” “pay for,” “distribute” or “contribute in any way” to the flyer’s creation, nor did he “perform any legal work with respect to the creation” of the flyer.

Instead, Bettag’s filing asserts that it was Kane County Speaks that created the flyer.

The flyer stated the candidates were “endorsed by District 303 Educators,” according to the lawsuit. “That is because the four candidates were endorsed by several educators who were employed at that time by District 303.”

According to the flyer, it was “Paid for by People of Kane County,” a political action committee.

Bettag’s wife, Michelle Brickert, using her maiden name, is listed in state records as the chair and treasurer of People of Kane County PAC.

Larry Bettag is listed as the contact person on file with the Illinois State Board of Elections for the PAC People of Kane County, as is his email at the law firm, lbettag@gwmwlaw.com, and phone number.

The St. Charles address for the PAC is the same as that of Guild Mortgage, where Bettag works and is listed as its branch manager.

The PAC’s statement of organization from early 2025 says that it has no party affiliation.

The lawsuit also states that the complaint filed with the ARDC, and a news release announcing the complaint, contained false information about him. Those documents “were knowingly false and published for the purpose of creating a press release to tarnish Bettag’s reputation in the legal community,” according to the lawsuit.

As a result, “Bettag suffered significant reputational harm, emotional distress, sleeplessness and anxiety,” according to the lawsuit.

A search of the ARDC online records of complaints and responses did not include the union’s complaint about Bettag. The ARDC website, iardc.org, also shows Bettag has no record of discipline or pending proceedings and his license to practice law is active.

Steven Splitt, the ARDC’s senior appellate counsel and public information officer, stated in an email that the agency “can never confirm or deny that an attorney is under investigation by our office.”

“A person who files a grievance with the ARDC is free to talk about that grievance, but the ARDC is not,” according to Splitt’s email.

If the ARDC’s Inquiry Board determines it can prove a violation of an attorney’s professional conduct, a formal disciplinary complaint would be a public document, according to Splitt’s email.

Court records show a hearing in Bettag’s suit has been set for June 16.