West Central Reporter

Jonas Petty says the sexual harassment scandal rocking the office of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) is representative of the poisonous culture the speaker has allowed to fester during his time in Springfield.

“I think this is indicative of the type of culture Mike Madigan has created,” Petty, the Pittsfield Republican running in GOP primary in the 100th House District, told the West Central Reporter. “He’s led by example, and for him being in power as long as he has means he doesn’t think he has to worry about anything. His wheeling and dealing, anything-goes attitude is evident.”

Former Madigan political staffer Alaina Hampton recently stepped forward to allege harassment by Madigan operative Kevin Quinn, her direct supervisor and the brother of Marty Quinn, a Chicago alderman and fellow Madigan ally.

Jonas Petty

Hampton further alleged that her complaint was ignored by Madigan and other members of his organization.

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 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 feels 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 also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and she and her attorneys now plan to file suit against the Illinois Democratic Party and Friends of Mike Madigan.

“To be truthful, I think this gives the Dems a kind of cover they might need to finally get rid of Madigan,” Petty, who is running against Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) in the GOP primary, said. “They can blame it on all this instead of all the years of his bad policies which have been horrible for the state.”

The ruckus in Madigan’s office comes as legislative leaders in Springfield grapple with the fallout of letting the office of the legislative inspector general go 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.

“It’s clear there needs to be changes made in Springfield and that it all needs to start with Mike Madigan," Petty said. “The time for him to go is now.”