Ammie Kessem, a police officer running in the GOP primary for the seat held by Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) in the 19th District, has been talking about the issue of ethics violations and how they are dealt with at the state level.
"Today I call for (House Speaker) Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) to resign in light of the allegations of sexual harassment which sat unaddressed on his watch,” Kessem wrote in a recent Facebook post. “I ask Martwick to demand Madigan resign and pledge not to vote for him for Speaker.”
Kessem cited a case where a Madigan aide, Shaw Decremer, has been accused of “abuse of power” and another case where Denise Rotheimer filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago).
After Rotheimer’s complaint sat for over a year, questions arose as to why the role of investigator general had gone unfilled for several years.
Kessem also mentioned more recent problems.
“Last week, we saw a young woman and Democratic Party staffer, Alaina Hampton, who was an employee for House Speaker Mike Madigan’s political operation, come forward alleging Madigan ignored her complaints of sexual harassment against one of his top political aides, Kevin Quinn,” Kessem wrote. “Alaina forwarded these complaints to Madigan three months ago and he only now decided to fire Quinn upon hearing rumors of Alaina taking her story to the media.”
Kessem challenged the time that it takes for leaders to address these sorts of allegations.
“This behavior is unacceptable,” Kessem wrote. “It's time that Mike Madigan is held accountable for these failures. … I'm calling on Mike Madigan to step down from his position as speaker of the House.”
Kessem also challenged Martwick to join her in calling for Madigan’s resignation.
“Democrat State Rep. Scott Drury (Highwood) and Democrat candidate for governor Dan Biss have called for Madigan's resignation,” Kessem wrote. “Yet, Martwick remains silent. If Rob Martwick really does stand up for women, he will stand with us in solidarity. Or will Martwick stand with Mike Madigan and allow this reprehensible behavior to continue in Springfield?”
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