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Lobbyist Tells House Panel That Senate Leader Harassed Her

A crime-victims advocate told an Illinois House committee Tuesday that a powerful state senator sexually harassed her last year as they were working together on legislation, causing her so much mental anguish that she dropped 20 pounds and lost her hair.

With Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie seated just to her left, Denise Rotheimer testified in Chicago before the Personnel and Pensions Committee hearing about legislation to require annual sexual harassment training for lawmakers, staff members and lobbyists working in the Capitol.

Madigan is the lead House sponsor of the legislation, known as SB402. The training would highlight what constitutes harassment and what victims can do about it.

Rotheimer told the committee that State Sen. Ira Silverstein, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the Senate Majority Caucus, sent her unwanted social media messages, called her late at night, described her as "intoxicating" and told her, "I like having meetings with you, because you're pretty to look at."

Rotheimer testified that Silverstein played "mind games" and "had so much power over me" while he sponsored legislation she championed that would have provided free legal representation to crime victims maneuvering through sometimes byzantine courts. It led to such emotional distress, she said, that she considered admitting herself to a hospital.

Silverstein, who is married, told The Associated Press he could not remember whether he did the things Rotheimer alleged but also suggested that she might have been unhappy because the legislation has not yet passed.

"I apologize if I made her uncomfortable," he said.

"There were no mind games, no power struggle," Silverstein said. "I was working the bill. That was my job, to work the bill. She might not like how the bill was proceeding. Maybe that's the issue here."

Rotheimer said she complained to the Office of the Executive Inspector General, leading to a referral to Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the office was made aware of the complaint in late November 2016.

"Senior staff (members) met with Sen. Silverstein to let him know such allegations are taken seriously and that this would be reported" to the Legislative Ethics Commission and its executive director.

"It is our understanding there is an open investigation," Patterson said.

The position of legislative inspector general has been vacant for several years. Madigan said during the hearing that complaints in the interim have been handled by the ethics officer on his staff and the legislative ethics commission.

Rotheimer formed a group called Mothers on a Mission to Stop Violence after her 11-year-old daughter was raped in 2001 by a man who plied the child with alcohol.

Jasmine's Law, passed in 2010, designated alcohol and illicit drugs as aggravating factors that could extend sentences for sexual predators who used them to intoxicate victims. Rotheimer’s daughter has spoken publicly about the assault.

Rotheimer, an Ingleside resident, is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent State Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, in the 68th Illinois House District.

The committee endorsed the legislation to require annual training on acceptable behavior. The bill emerged last week after an open letter demanding an end to harassment and intimidation under the Capitol dome garnered more than 200 signatures amid increased attention on allegations of sexual harassment and assault against powerful people such as Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

After the hearing, Madigan released a statement calling sexual harassment unacceptable in any workplace. “This is particularly true in our Capitol, a building that belongs to every woman and man in Illinois," he said. "Legislative changes are a critical step, but far from a final step. Ultimately, eliminating sexual harassment will require cultures to change."

State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, says she supports the idea and is glad the program is coming to light.

"I know it is happening, because it happened to me when I was in the National Guard," she said. "It's happened to me when I was in the Reserve. It happened to me when I was in the United States Army." 

A vote on the bill is expected next week during the fall veto session. Madigan also announced he is assembling a task force to be chaired Currie, another Chicago Democrat, to "recommend further changes to combat workplace harassment both in our government and in the private sector."