Madigan Chief Of Staff Forced Out Following Harassment Claims

CHICAGO — The most senior aide to Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan and one of the top officials in the state Democratic Party was asked to resign from his official posts Wednesday following a press conference where a longtime staffer described a pattern of bullying and repeated sexual and sexist harassment. His departure marks the third senior official in the Madigan operation to be cut loose amid allegations of misconduct.

“At my direction, Tim Mapes has resigned as my Chief of Staff and Clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives," Madigan said in a statement released several hours after the press conference. He announced the immediate hiring of Jessica Basham as his new chief of staff. "Further, Mr. Mapes has resigned as the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Illinois and all other roles with my political committees."

Minutes clerk and account technician Sherri Garrett had earlier recounted multiple examples of improper comments by Mapes, 63, the longtime top deputy to the Democratic leader. In addition to remarks he made himself, Madigan's chief of staff also disregarded complaints from other women at the Capitol.

"We have a serious and pervasive problem in our state government, and I could no longer remain silent about my own treatment. My hope is that by coming forward I can create space for others to do the same," Garrett said. She said she remained loyal to Madigan but felt she needed to come forward for the sake of other women in Springfield.

In one case, she said in December 2014 Mapes told her not to show a "pink bra" to a judge on inauguration day, "because he knows how the girls on the second floor like to leave little to the imagination." She said Mapes "just walked off" when she asked him why he would say such a thing and what it had to do with anything.

In a September 2015 incident, a woman reported to Garrett that she was being sexually harassed by a Democratic state rep. Mapes allegedly asked if Garrett was only reporting incident because she was "upset the representative isn't paying attention" to her.

Mapes also allegedly showed disdain for the #TimesUp movement and made light of required sexual harassment training. Garrett said staff in Madigan's office behave with impunity and as if it is a "locker room." There were more examples of misbehavior, she said.

"These are just a sample of the many stories I could tell from my many years of work in the speaker's office."

Garrrett's allegations the latest to hit a senior Democratic official in Springfield since the revelation last fall that the Illinois General Assembly had gone without a legislative inspector general for years.

Following allegations of improper text message exchanges between Sen. Ira Silverstein and victim rights advocate Denise Rotheimer, Evanston lawyer Julie Porter was named temporary inspector general.

Porters first report, released in January, found Silverstein had violated the state ethics law with conduct "unbecoming of a legislator," but had not technically committed sexual harassment. Silverstein resigned from his position as head of the Senate Democratic caucus and was defeated in the March 20 primary.

The next month, a former Democratic campaign staffer publicly accused Madigan aide Kevin Quinn, the brother of the aldermen for the speaker's 13th Ward, of a string of unwanted, sexually charged text messages.

Madigan's office said in February that Quinn was cut loose from all party political committees as a result of an investigation that found he had made "unwanted advances" and "engaged in inappropriate conduct." Quinn also pleaded guilty in January to a charge of disorderly conduct following a January arrest on suspicion of domestic battery.

Quinn, who supervised the staffer, sent a series of aggressively flirtatious messages. Some examples: "You are smoking hot," "Do you have a boyfriend?" "I am the best dude you will meet," "So you do not find me attractive?" according to exhibits to a federal lawsuit filed in March naming the Democratic Party of Illinois, the 13th Ward Democratic Organization and the Friends of Michael J. Madigan and the Democratic Majority political committees.

A few days after Quinn was let go, senior Democratic political operative and lobbyist Shaw Decremer was fired from all of Madigan's political committees in response to a complaint about "inappropriate behavior." State lawmakers and staff had contacted Madigan to complain about alleged abuses of power by Decremer, who has a reputation for intimidating political opponents.

And last week, the former House deputy majority leader was accused of inappropriate comments and threats by a medical marijuana advocate. Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) resigned his leadership positions pending an investigation into the allegations. Lang had been responsible for leaving the legislative inspector general position unfilled while complaints of sexual harassment against legislators went uninvestigated.

Madigan said his office and the Democratic Party's ethics office had not been aware of Garrett's complaints against Mapes before Wednesday's press conference. He said his office had already taken action to handle an 2013 complaint against former state rep Ken Dunkin, which Garrett said Mapes appeared to want to ignore.

"It is clear that the culture needs to change and we need to ensure all issues are dealt with quickly and appropriately," Madigan said, announcing Mapes' ouster and promising to appoint someone with "extensive experience conducting investigations" to review all of the House's operations. “I have stated my commitment to eliminating harassment of any kind in the Capitol, as well as all political committees, and my desire to ensure we create a culture where individuals feel secure in making a complaint."

Prior the news of Mapes' compelled resignation, the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker called for him to be suspended without pay during an "immediate and thorough independent investigation." If the investigation finds the allegations to be accurate, Mapes should be fired from the speaker's office and Democratic Party roles.

"It’s clear our state government needs to take concrete steps to make women feel safe when coming forward with stories of sexual harassment and without fear of retaliation," said Pritzker's campaign.

The campaign staffer whose accusations led to Quinn's departure responded to Garrett's allegations Wednesday: "I am in awe of Ms. Garrett's bravery. I know how difficult it must have been for her to come forward and speak her truth," she said, according to WLS. "In doing so, she has forced real change. Still, this isn't just about one or two men's jobs. To other victims considering coming forward – now is the time. Momentum is on our side."

Garrett also released a statement in response to news of Mapes' resignation:

“I am relieved that Mr. Mapes has resigned. I know victims of harassment throughout our state government and political sphere share that relief. I am hopeful that more individuals will now feel safe coming forward, knowing that their words can make a difference and force change. [Mapes'] resignation is an important symbolic and substantive change, however, the conditions that led to my harassment and the mistreatment of so many others have not changed," she said. "I remain steadfast that we need effective and independent mechanisms to ensure accountability to fix the culture of sexism and abuse that I have endured.”

Due to Mapes' 40 years in state government, his age and his salary of more than $200,000, WBEZ reported he is due an annual pension of more than $125,000 from the state employee retirement system.

Related:

• Mike Madigan Fires Longtime Staffer Over 'Unwanted Advances'
• 2nd Senior Madigan Aide Out Over Alleged 'Inappropriate Behavior'
• Rep. Lou Lang Resigns Leadership Roles Amid Misconduct Probe
• Inspector General Finds Senior Democrat Violated State Ethics Law With 'Flirtatious' Behavior