Libertarian Candidate Currently In Contempt Of Court Spotlighted

WAUKEGAN, IL — The national media attention received this week by the campaign of Grayson "Kash" Jackson is not necessarily the type the Lake County Libertarian was looking for. A segment on the television show "The Opposition with Jordan Klepper" included the Illinois gubernatorial candidate in a segment called "Fringewatch: 2018" featuring longshot candidates from around the country.

Jackson, a Louisiana native and Antoich resident who changed his name last year from Benjamin Adam Winderweedle, has made father's rights a major issue of his campaign. But he also faces sanction by a Lake County if he fails to come up with child support payments to satisfy judgement against him. "The Opposition" is Comedy Central parody of conspiracy-minded right-wing media programs hosted Klepper, a former correspondent on "The Daily Show."

"Nothing says, 'I can take care of a whole state,' like not paying for your kids' dentist appointment," said Klepper who also mocked Jackson's name change, the size of his belt buckle and reports he disciplined his children by making them do push-ups and stack bricks in the snow.

The segment cited reporting by the Daily Herald, which has written extensively about allegations by his ex-wife in court records, a judge's May 24 order that he pay more than $12,000 in child support and later finding him to be in contempt of court on May 31.

Jackson faces jail if he doesn't come up with a payment of about $3,000 before Aug. 6. While several past Illinois governors have been jailed or imprisoned, none have yet been elected to office while detained.

Judge Joseph Salvi last month questioned why the presently unemployed candidate was unable to get a job to pay for the care of his children if he has the "capacity to run for governor of Illinois," according to the Daily Herald.

Jackson said he asked the judge how anyone could be expected to hold down a job when they're dragged into court two to three times a month.

The 39-year-old is retired from the Navy and collected about $60,000 from pension and disability payments in 2015 and 2016, according to court documents cited by the Daily Herald.

"It's illogical, it doesn't make sense," the judge reportedly told him. "You net $4,500 from the government before even going to work."

In an interview, Jackson said some of the Comedy Central segment made him laugh.

"I thought the 'half-man, half-belt buckle' remark was actually pretty funny. The rest of his comedy was really dry, and – like much of what we see – a lot of mainstream media is they want to tell one side of the story and not the entirety of the story. So I was none too surprised whatsoever, to be attacked by a very progressive, or left-leaning, comedian, it didn't surprise me in the least and it didn't hurt my feelings whatsoever," he told Patch.

"I think it's really tragic and sad that we're painting so many parents with a broad stroke without understanding the complexities of the system and what it's doing to parents like myself. We're not deadbeat. Many of us are just dead broke as the result of a system that has run us through the ringer. No parent should ever have to fight as hard as I've had to fight and many other parents have to fight, just to have a meaningful relationship with their children," he said.

Jackson said he was ordered to pay 28 percent of his income in child support in November 2015, but even though his income dropped by about 20 percent after his retirement from the Navy, the judge refused to reduce his monthly payment. He said he is also paying child support for an older son in North Carolina from a divorce that ended amicably in Arkansas.

After judgments against him in Lake County and wage garnishment, Jackson said he has been unable to maintain payments. For all three children combined, he said he has been ordered to pay a total about $2,500 of his $4,500 monthly income in child support, child care and other payments.

A former Lake County volunteer reserve sheriff's deputy, Jackson said he was told by a current employee of the sheriff's office that his name had been included on a confidential list of "problematic litigants" that was shared between judges in the county. He also noted that his judge's brother, former state representative Al Salvi, had personally urged him to drop out of the race via social media posts. The candidate said he was surprised the judge did not recuse himself.

"Most people are afraid to speak out, because they know when they do, that if you go public and you talk about this thing, they come after you with the full weight and authority and because they enjoy judicial immunity you can't even FOIA," he said, noting that offices of judges and clerks are immune from state public records laws.

Jackson said it was important to shed light on the problems in the family court system.

"They bypass all constitutional protections. There's no right to an attorney, no right to a trial by jury, your Seventh Amendment rights are revoked. Multiple constitutional protections are subverted so that they can hold you in 'contempt,' and what it is is a method of coercion to leave you there," he said. "Until you tap into every resource you have available to you to find the money to pay the purge to pay for your freedom."

The Libertarian candidate cited studies showing steep family court judgments against veterans was a leading cause of homelessness among those who have served. He argued there is an inherent conflict of interest among judges due to states receiving federal subsidies in exchange for child support payments.

"They have no problem taking someone who served their country for 20 years, is willing to do half the work to raise their children, and they deny them that opportunity and they increase litigation," he said. "And they bankrupt people unnecessarily, and a lot of it has to do with the federal subsidies that they receive out of social security."

Illinois Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate Kash Jackson featured on "The Opposition with Jordan Klepper" from May 30:

From Kash Jackson's campaign website:

Grayson "Kash" Jackson was born Benjamin Adam Winderweedle on October 4, 1978 in Shreveport, Louisiana. After serving in the U.S. Navy with distinction for 20 years, he retired in 2016 with the rank of Petty Officer, 1st Class, and many personal and unit awards. He has three children: Kolby, Kaedon, and Kaelee. Kash is a longtime supporter of local communities wherever he has been stationed, and participated as a volunteer at local schools, church youth groups, Habitat for Humanity, and as a Reserve Sheriffs Deputy in Lake County, Illinois.

The difficulties that Kash endured in family court led him to found the organization Restoring Freedom, through which he has become a leading advocate for judicial and family court reform. His activism expanded his understanding of Constitutional rights infringement in our state. In late 2016, Kash’s activism and passion for the principles of the U.S. Constitution led him to the Oceti Sakowin peace camp in North Dakota, where he was active with the Veterans for Standing Rock.

Kash is committed to reforming Illinois government so that it works for the people again, instead of trampling on their dreams and personal freedoms. He believes that Illinois is ready to unite behind a candidate who will work to change Springfield for the better. He will focus on stabilizing the state budget, fighting corruption, and restoring power to local individuals, families and communities to make the decisions that affect them locally.