Reboot Illinois
The former Illinois State Treasurer’s Office employee whose harassment lawsuit in January sank Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s gubernatorial campaign has expanded his suit to include the Mitt Romney for President campaign as a defendant.
The suit now claims that in addition to having state employees work on Rutherford’s bid for governor, the treasurer also pressured state workers to work on Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, of which Rutherford was Illinois chairman.
The accuser, Ed Michalowski, also has broadened his lawsuit to include allegations that Rutherford hired interns based solely on political clout.
Chicago Sun-Times reporter Natasha Korecki explains:
Allegations in a federal lawsuit that crippled the gubernatorial campaign of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford intensified on Thursday as an ex-worker broadened his claims to include the Mitt Romney for President campaign.
The sexual harassment and political intimidation lawsuit filed by Ed Michalowski, also contends that Rutherford maintained a “clout list” of interns, which allegedly included the names of politicians sponsoring the internship.
“We have no comment right now,” said Rutherford spokeswoman Mary Frances Bragiel.
The Romney allegations are that Rutherford, as Illinois chair of the Republican presidential candidate’s 2012 failed campaign, obligated state employees to work on the campaign or be retaliated against.
With regard to allegations involving the hiring of interns based on political clout, the lawsuit states:
“Defendant Rutherford hired only candidates whose connections would be useful to the Rutherford Campaign, regardless of the strength of their qualifications or whether other non‐politically connected candidates had superior credentials.”
A federal judge had dismissed the case last week, telling lawyers they had a week to refile.
Here is the full court filing:
Lawsuit against Dan Rutherford
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune editorial board takes a look at the phenomenon of “fetcher bills” in Springfield and how they pertain to the push for expanded gambling in the state.
Bottom line, just by introducing legislation, lawmakers are making money.
From the Chicago Tribune editorial board:
For more than a decade, lawmakers in Springfield have tussled over legislation that would expand casinos in the state, including variations that allowed Chicago to have a big casino, permitted slot machines at racetracks and favored various suburbs and downstate burgs with the gift of roulette wheels. The rise and fall of gambling bills in Springfield is an annual, increasingly tedious ritual.
Maybe that’s precisely what lawmakers want. Why? There’s an awful lot of money to be made by perpetuating gridlock. Dozens of lobbyists, lawyers and consultants earn paychecks by trying to push or suppress gambling legislation in Springfield. If there were no gambling bill in the offing … there might be no payday.
There’s a name for these dead-end pieces of legislation: fetcher bills. The bills fetch campaign donations — and then usually fade away.
Lots of money goes into promoting and defeating fetcher bills. The primary legislative sponsors of gambling bills have received generous campaign contributions from casino operators and from other organizations trying to influence the fate of the bills. If gambling expansion finally got resolved — showering the state with new casinos, new slots at tracks, more competition for existing casinos, whatever — that money might dry up.
How much money? A 2012 Common Cause Illinois study found that the industry averaged nearly $1 million a year in campaign donations to lawmakers between 2002 and 2010. Those contributions dropped to about half that much in 2011 and dropped again in 2012 due to limits the state placed on all campaign donations. Individuals, corporations, unions and political action committees are capped on how much they can donate to candidates each election cycle or calendar year.
But no question: Illinois’ stalemate on gaming expansion remains a lucrative business.
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Brendan Bond is a staff writer at Reboot Illinois. He is a graduate of Loyola University, where he majored in journalism. Brendan takes a look each day at the Land of Lincoln Lowdown and it’s often pretty low. He examines the property tax rates that drive Illinoisans insane. You can findReboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.