Politics & Government
Tammy Duckworth Settles Workplace Lawsuit for $26,000
The settlement removes a potential political vulnerability as she faces Sen. Mark Kirk in this fall's U.S. Senate race.
A lawsuit that involved accusations of workplace retaliation against U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-8th District) while she ran the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs was settled Friday for $26,000 and no finding of wrongdoing, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The lawsuit was filed by two employees of Anna Veterans' Home who claimed Duckworth retaliated against them in 2007 for speaking out against their supervisor, the report stated. Originally, the plaintiffs were asking for at least $50,000 in compensation, the report added.
Because she was a state employee at the time, Duckworth was represented in the case by Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, which settled the lawsuit at "nuisance value" to save the state money, the Tribune reports. The state will pay the $26,000, as well as cover lawyer fees and court costs for the plaintiffs.
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"Today’s resolution is appropriate for what was always a frivolous workplace case that dragged on over eight years and was dismissed in whole or in part multiple times, and Tammy appreciates the hard work and professionalism of the lawyers in the Attorney General’s office," Matt McGrath, Duckworth's deputy campaign manager, said in a press release.
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Duckworth is running against incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk for the state's junior seat, and the settlement removes a political vulnerability for her in a race that already has been contentious.
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