Update: Kalnicky Stands by Flier on Manley Arrest

Update/posted at 1 p.m. Oct. 23:

Bob Kalnicky emailed the following response to the story on Mayor Tom Giarrante's complaints about one of his campaign fliers:

On May 9, 2012, a Joliet Herald News article titled “Candidate for state representative arrested” contained the following paragraphs:

Chief Mike Trafton said Manley’s 21-year-old daughter, who also lives at the residence, came into the police station early Tuesday with “facial injuries and bruising,” claiming her mother had attacked her.

“The victim said she had come home from a bonfire and told her mom she had lost her phone. An argument ensued and (Manley) then began to hit her in the face with closed fists, kick her about the body and swing (and strike) at her with a set of keys,” Trafton said.

(Click here to read the article)

If the mayor has an issue with Joliet chief of police’s statement, then that would be an issue between the mayor and his chief of police, and the Kalnicky campaign has no comment on that situation.

Original story/posted at 11:30 p.m. Oct. 22:

An angry Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante blasted state representative candidate Bob Kalnicky Monday night, accusing him of mailing campaign literature filled with "false statements and misquoting the city's police chief."

The mayor's complaint centers on Kalnicky's campaign flier delivered Saturday that quotes Joliet Police Chief Mike Trafton as "reporting" information about the May arrest of Natalie Manley, Kalnicky's Democratic opponent for the 98th District House seat.

Manley had been arrested on a domestic battery charge stemming from an altercation she had with her adult daughter, but the charges have since been dropped by the special prosecutor appointed to review the case.

Trafton did talk to the media at the time of Manley's arrest, but only provided the details of both women's statements to police. He did not assess blame other than the fact that Manley had been charged.

“Any attempt to suggest that the chief of police was making a statement of fact about the allegations in the case are false,” Giarrante said in his news release, which was emailed to the media at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

“Mr. Kalnicky is trying to give credibility to his attacks by misrepresenting the statements of a sworn officer of the law and he should clear the record. Creating fictitious police statements for political gain is far outside the bounds of honest political discourse.”

Giarrante issued the statement on letterhead from re-election committee, not from the city.

This is not the first allegation of misrepresentation of facts in the race for this seat. Last week, Republican leadership blasted the Democrats for "lying" in campaign literature issued in some of the more heated elections around the state.

In particular, Republican House Leader Tom Cross cited a mailer sent out on Manley's behalf that reads, “Warning: Bob Kalnicky may cause sudden loss of Social Security and Medicare.”

“Explain to me how Bob Kalnicky, a candidate for state rep who gets elected, can cause a sudden loss of Social Security and Medicare,” Cross said during the press conference, according to a story published on Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM's online site. “He can’t do it!”

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