A federal class action in Chicago accuses Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown of soliciting advertising for a court Web site and using the money, along with millions of dollars in court filing fees, as a slush fund to buy cars, pay for campaign events, hire vaguely defined "consultants" and outfit a personal "protective detail."

The complaint, filed by attorney David Novoselsky on behalf of Wisconsin resident Eric S. Perkins, claims that Brown, with the sanction of Cook County, sells ad space on the court Web site to attorneys, insurance companies and others and uses the site to promote herself and her political career.

The ads give the appearance that certain attorneys and services are "officially sanctioned" by the court, and the revenue is used in whatever way Brown sees fit, the lawsuit claims.

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