With allegations of sexual harassment rocking the office of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), Ken Idstein thinks Madigan's time should be up in that office.
"Speaker Mike Madigan should resign,” Idstein, a Republican from Grayslake running in the GOP primary for the seat held by Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) in the 62nd District, told the Lake County Gazette. “It's that simple.”
Idstein’s harsh assessment comes after former Madigan political operative Alaina Hampton stepped forward to allege harassment by longtime Madigan staffer Kevin Quinn. Hampton further alleged that her complaint was ignored by Madigan and other high-powered members of his organization.
House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago)
Idstein said he would now like to see Yingling take a stand against what he sees as Madigan’s dereliction of duty.
“Will we get a simple answer from our Rep. Yingling?” he asked. “Will Yingling demand his resignation, will he pledge not to vote for him as speaker? Or will he continue to support someone who allows this kind of behavior to persist?”
Several media outlets have reported that Yingling also has political ties to Alderman Marty Quinn, the brother of the man named in Hampton’s complaint. According to Idstein, during his six years in office, Yingling has voted for Madigan as House speaker every session and has taken sizable campaign contributions from his committee.
"Rep. Yingling claims to be independent, he claims to be for reform, yet he remains silent in the face of allegations of sexual assault against Speaker Madigan's political organization," Idstein added.
The ruckus in Madigan’s office comes as legislative leaders in Springfield grapple with the fallout of the office of the legislative inspector general having gone unfilled for roughly three years. The inspector general is responsible for investigating all ethics complaints, including allegations of sexual harassment.
During the time the position went unfilled, at least 27 complaints alleging harassment were filed, including one against Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), who has since been found to have engaged in behavior “unbecoming a legislator” in his dealings with local activist Denise Rotheimer.
When it comes to Yingling, Idstein added "Democratic state Rep. Scott Drury (Highwood) demanded Madigan resign and specifically called out Sam Yingling by name for his silence. I, too, call on Rep. Yingling, current legislators and legislative leaders to do the right thing and demand Madigan resign and pledge not to vote for him as speaker."
Alerts Sign-up