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A former Tinley Park political operative was found not guilty Friday of electronic harassment and transmitting obscene text messages after a trial that included testimony from state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita, D-Blue Island, and Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort.
Timothy Pawula, a former political ally of Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz, was charged in October 2024 with the misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and an up to $1,500 fine.
But Cook County Associate Judge Mohammad Abedelal Ahmad said Friday she had doubts about the state’s investigation into Pawula’s conduct, remaining unsure whether a phone seized and searched by Illinois State Police was Pawula’s personal phone or belonged to the political consulting firm he worked for at the time, Big Tent Coalition.
Police found Pawula was responsible for obscene text messages sent to as many as 20 people, including Rita, on April 4, 2023, based on the phone’s records. One message, as presented during the trial, addresses voters of Tinley Park with claims that Ahleah Salefski, a candidate for village clerk at the time, lusted for both votes and sexual relations with Rita.
“The court has reasonable doubts as to whether the defendant was in exclusive, sole possession of that phone,” Abedelal said, saying he was unable to find Pawula guilty with those doubts in mind.
Pawula expressed gratitude for the ruling, saying he “never wanted to be front and center” as a political operative and was surprised when he was arrested.
“I’ve always thought that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the only reason I ever got involved (in politics) was to balance the scales toward purple,” Pawula said. He said he’s been “blackballed” since being hit with the criminal charges.
Pawula’s attorney, Phillip Lee, said the verdict is consistent with the law and the First Amendment.
“I know my client’s eager to put this matter behind him and to move on with his life,” Lee said.
Rita reacted to the news of Pawula’s vindication with a statement calling the former operative’s conduct “perverse and disturbing.”
“The evidence shown by the Attorney General’s Office at trial raises serious questions about the behavior of elected officials who helped execute this campaign of harassment and intimidation to win an election,” Rita stated.
Glotz responded by raising questions about Rita’s behaviors as an elected official.
The messages prosecutors claimed were obscene and harassing included a photoshopped image of a message Salefski posted on social media in 2017 that references “lusting after someone you know you probably shouldn’t.” Superimposed over the text were images of Rita’s and Salefski’s faces, with Salefski’s picture photoshopped to reference a sexual act.
Prosecutors argued the content of the messages was false and qualified as obscene under state statute, using “language or terms which are obscene, lewd or immoral with the intent to offend.”
Pawula was working for the Big Tent Coalition, a political action committee founded by Tim Ozinga, R-Mokena, who was state representative in the 37th House District before abruptly resigning in April 2024. Pawula was Ozinga’s chief of staff and treasurer of his election committee.
In an ongoing lawsuit filed in February 2025, Hastings alleges Pawula, Glotz and the Big Tent Coalition conspired to organize a “smear campaign” leading up to the November 2022 election, which included sending out obscene text messages to voters.
At the time the message was sent, Rita was running for reelection as state representative and Salefski was running for village clerk in Tinley Park. Salefski said during her testimony that Rita’s daughter is one of her best friends, and Rita was supporting her candidacy.
Upon seeing the messages, Salefski said she felt humiliated and worried about how many people had received it.
“I felt like people were going to look at me like I was some sexual deviant,” Salefski said. “I was planning to start coaching for a youth organization and I was worried that all these kids that I was planning to coach as well as their families were seeing these things about me.”
Master Sgt. Cary Morin of the Illinois State Police’s criminal investigations unit testified Salefski reported the text message to police after her husband, Chad Salefski, received it on Election Day. The text allegedly came from an unknown number, which state police tied to Pawula after obtaining a search warrant for documents from Ping, the messaging app used by the sender, and Apple Inc.
Morin said state police also searched Pawula’s phone, where they found evidence of the messages sent to Chad Salefski and Rita along with a screenshot of them sent to a group chat that included Glotz. In one text sent to the group referencing the messages, prosecutors said Pawula described himself as “the dirtiest piggy in the pen.”
Prosecutors said messages in the group chat along with the fact that the Pawula sent the texts to Rita, Chad Salefski and other family and friends of Rita and Salefski showed they were intended to offend the two political candidates.
But defense attorney Frank Andreano said while Pawula’s political tactics may have been unsavory, the text messages targeting Rita and Salefski qualify as protected speech under the First Amendment.
“An insult isn’t an obscenity,” Andreano said.
Andreano said reacting to the speech with subpoenas and search warrants is “frightening and scary” and sends a clear message.
“Oppose us, and if you say something we don’t like, the whole weight and force of the state of Illinois will come down on you,” Andreano said.
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