Amid harassment allegation, Illinois senator loses leadership spot and a scramble to fill investigator’s job

Confused by the discrepancy, McConnaughay contacted the legislative commission’s executive director, Randy Erford. McConnaughay said it was explained to her that there’s a distinction between what is considered a complaint versus a case. McConnaughay said she was told that complaints like Rotheimer’s ended up in a binder but were not listed as cases in reports to the commission because the legislative inspector general is required to open a case. That’s the job that’s long gone unfilled.

“It’s all caught up on a technicality,” said McConnaughay, who said she was told there were 27 complaints filed between 2015 and now. Erford did not respond to requests for comment.

The senator said she planned to push for an outside attorney to be appointed as a special investigator to handle the backlog of cases, as well as legislation to overhaul the complaint process.

“The General Assembly is clearly incapable of policing itself,” McConnaughay said.

Link, the Waukegan Democrat who chairs the legislative ethics commission, would not confirm the number of pending complaints.

“But they’re not cases because until the inspector general, which we hope we have somebody very quickly, investigates, then it either becomes a case or it’s dismissed, one of the two,” Link said.

Link said he’s called a Nov. 9 ethics commission meeting and expects that a nominee to fill the role will be voted on.

Madigan, testifying Tuesday in Chicago in support of his bill to require sexual harassment training for legislative employees and lobbyists, said the vacancy at the inspector general’s office was “regrettable” but had not prevented the ethics commission from functioning.

In 2017, Erford had three complaints that he “took directly” to Link, the commission chairman, Madigan said. In 2016, there were eight complaints, and in 2015 there were 15 complaints, Madigan said.

“So the commission has been functioning,” Madigan said. “Any complaint is brought to the attention of the chairman.”

But there’s an important distinction between the inspector general and the ethics commission.

Sexual harassment is not currently included as a specific violation of the state’s ethics act, so the Legislative Ethics Commission has no power to hold a hearing on a sexual harassment complaint or punish someone who’s been accused of sexual harassment, according to Heather Wier Vaught, Madigan’s top lawyer and a former ethics officer for the House Democratic Caucus.

The inspector general (that’s the job that’s vacant), however, does have the ability to investigate a sexual harassment complaint. Once an investigation is complete, though, the Ethics Commission can’t do much with it other than release it to the public. And accusers are typically uncomfortable with going public with their accusations out of fear of retribution.

The legislation proposed by Madigan would add a prohibition against sexual harassment to the state’s ethics act, making it possible for the ethics commission to punish those who’ve been found in violation, Wier Vaught said.

Article Appeared @http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-illinois-capitol-sexual-harassment-changes-20171101-story.html

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