Ken Idstein maintains the sexual harassment scandal rocking the office of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) proves what he’s been saying all along about the need for systematic change in Springfield.
“I would fully support term limits for leaders and would push for that,” Idstein, a Grayslake Republican running for the seat held by Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) in the 62nd District, told the Lake County Gazette. “A stretch of 35 years is too long for anyone to be in power.”
Former Madigan political staffer Alaina Hampton recently came forward to allege harassment by longtime Madigan operative Kevin Quinn, her direct supervisor and the brother of Marty Quinn, a Chicago alderman.
Hampton further alleged that her complaint was ignored by Madigan and other members of his organization.
“The culture in Springfield needs to be safer for everyone,” Idstein said. “Harassment and racism are included in that. We need to keep in mind that it’s unacceptable for someone to bring these types of complaints and they just linger. They need to be dealt with right away.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, Hampton alleged her issues with Kevin Quinn date back to 2016, when he started sending her inappropriate text messages and asking her out on dates.
She said in February 2017, she formally filed a complaint with Marty Quinn. By April of that year, Hampton had walked away from her job after coming to believe her persistent complaints were largely being ignored.
She said she felt there was a cover-up because she sent a letter to Madigan’s home in late 2017, but again no action was taken against Kevin Quinn until a day after she went public with her story.
Hampton has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and she and her attorneys plan to file suit against the Illinois Democratic Party and Friends of Mike Madigan.
Meanwhile, Idstein thinks Yingling and other legislators should join him in now calling for Madigan’s resignation.
“I 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,” he said in an earlier press release.
The ruckus in Madigan’s office comes as legislative leaders in Springfield grapple with the fallout from having the office of the legislative inspector general going unfilled for roughly three years. The inspector general is responsible for investigating 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.
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