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ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS
Appellate Court

Hill v. Schmidt, 2012 IL App (5th) 110324

Appellate Court Caption

ANTHONY HILL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SANFORD SCHMIDT and ALTON TELEGRAPH, Defendants-Appellees.

District & No.

Fifth District Docket No. 5-11-0324 May 7, 2012 The dismissal of plaintiff's pro se complaint alleging defamation and reckless endangerment based on a newspaper article concerning plaintiff's prosecution in a murder case was affirmed where the statements made were protected by the fair-report privilege, they did not constitute defamation per se or per quod, and plaintiff failed to allege any special damages.

Filed Held
(Note: This syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.)

Decision Under Review

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Madison County, No. 11-AR-288; the Hon. Thomas W. Chapman, Judge, presiding.

Judgment

Affirmed.

Counsel on Appeal

Anthony Hill, of Robinson, appellant pro se. Thomas Scott Stewart, of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., of St. Louis, Missouri, and John A. Bussian, of Bussian Law Firm, of Raleigh, North Carolina, for appellees.

Panel

JUSTICE WELCH delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Goldenhersh and Stewart concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

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Illinois Law