AFDI submitted our "Defeat Jihad and Support Israel" campaign to Chicago Transit last month. Needless to say, they have been dragging their heels -- not answering, procrastinating and essentially not running our ads.
Who do these faceless, nameless gutless wonders think they are imposing sharia on our free society? These knaves are working for the Muslim Brotherhood and they don't even know it.
We submitted a multi-ad campaign. After several weeks of non-response our unrivaled legal team, the dynamic duo David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise fired off this billet doux. Chicago responded immediately, and the Chicago TA WILL be running our ads (scroll for the series that will hit Chicago bus tails in the next couple of weeks).
Dear Ms. Seimetz and Messrs. Goldsmith and Wolinsky:
My law firm represents Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and the American Freedom Defense Initiative. On September 29, 2012, Ms. Geller contacted Mr. Wolinsky of Titan360, the advertising agent for the Chicago Transit Authority, to place an advertisement on "bus tails" of the CTA's buses.
Mr. Wolinsky, as the account executive of Titan360 in charge of this account, has on several occasions indicated that Mr. Goldsmith would review the ad buy and respond directly to my clients. Mr. Goldsmith has not responded to my clients ad buy and Mr. Wolinsky has failed to approve the ad or explain why it has not been approved.
As you know, the advertising space on CTA buses is a designated public forum. Planned Parenthood Ass’n/Chicago Area v. Chicago Transit Auth., 767 F.2d 1225 (7th Cir. 1985) (concluding that the advertising space on a bus system became a public forum where the transit authority permitted advertising on “a wide variety of commercial, public-service, public-issue, and political ads”); see also Entm't Software Ass'n v. Chi. Transit Auth., 696 F. Supp. 2d 934 (N.D. Ill. 2010) (finding that CTA advertisement space retains its public forum designation). Indeed, not long ago CTA once again opened up its advertisement space to an overtly political message which many understood to be anti-Israel (http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/end-military-aid-to-israel-message-reaches-thousands-of-chicago-commuters.html).
CTA's failure, through its advertising agent, to approve our clients' advertisement is a violation of our clients' right to free speech. This cannot and will not be tolerated.
As you no doubt know, we have successfully litigated this issue on behalf of our clients against the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation in Detroit (SMART), against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of NY (MTA), and just recently against Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority of DC (WMATA).
If I do not receive a definitive and affirmative response to my clients' ad buy by close of business tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012), this firm will initiate federal litigation and we will, as we have in the past, seek temporary and preliminary injunctive relief, and upon the successful conclusion of the litigation, we will seek, and we will recover, as we have in the past, attorney's fees and costs. The choice is yours.
David Yerushalmi*
American Freedom Law Center℠
Washington, D.C., Michigan, New York, California & Arizona
