President of Chicago-based printing company tied to controversial McHenry County campaign flyers faces federal tax charge

The president of the Chicago-based printing company that produced a series of allegedly defamatory flyers ahead of the March 2018 primary was charged Monday in federal court with income tax fraud.

Breaker Press president Richard Lewandowski, of Palos Heights, was named Monday in a federal charging document alleging that he “willfully failed” to file his income tax return by the April 15, 2019, deadline. The misdemeanor offense typically is punishable by no more than one year in prison.

Lewandowski also serves as a Worth Township trustee in Cook County. According to the township’s website, Lewandowski “is a firm believer in transparency and accountability in government” and vowed to “protect taxpayer dollars.”

He could not immediately be reached for comment and had not yet hired an attorney as of Tuesday

Lewandowski’s business became involved in a contentious defamation case in 2018. His Chicago-based union mail-order house printed a series of mailers against McHenry County Clerk and Recorder Joe Tirio before the March 2018 primary election. Many prominent Illinois Democrats occupy the company’s client list, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

The flyers in question depicted Tirio as a cartoon burglar and accused the Republican politician of keeping a taxpayer-funded “slush fund.” Those same campaign ads are at the center of an ongoing civil lawsuit in McHenry County.

Before that lawsuit was filed, however, Tirio and his attorney, Philip Prossnitz, sought to identify the anonymous funder responsible for the flyers. The person or people who paid for the flyers has only publicly identified themselves as the “Illinois Integrity Fund.” The group filed no paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections reporting the spending.

Facing jail time on a contempt charge in McHenry County court in Dec. 2018, Lewandowski named as the people behind the Illinois Integrity Fund Michael Noonan, former McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks’ previous campaign director; Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; and Sean Tenner, a former aide of Barack Obama and owner of KNI Communications.

Although he had no direct conversations with Franks, Lewandowski said he “had reason to believe” the former Democratic chairman was involved.

Kane County Judge Kevin Busch determined in February that anyone associated with the Illinois Integrity Fund waived their First Amendment right to anonymity based on campaign disclosure requirements for expenditures exceeding $5,000.