101 Comments - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:40 am: And your thoughts, Rich? Let’s name names. Way too much of this in Springfield and fixing it starts with powerful media voices standing up. - Dome Gnome - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:41 am: This is why I never go anywhere (in Springfield) alone. Some democracy, huh? - Downstate - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:45 am: Tar & Feathers! If this is accurate, why would we tolerate this for a second? - SaulGoodman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:46 am: Huge props to Kady for speaking out on this publicly. I can’t even remember all the stories that my female lobbyist, staff, and legislator friends have shared with me about this kind of stuff. Female lobbyists asked about and for sex. Women being grabbed at bars, or even in the Capitol. Women asking me to attend a meeting with a legislator with them, so that legislator won’t creepily hit on them during a lobbying meeting. This has to change. - Iggy - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:48 am: this happens way too much. and sadly it doesn’t get better with some women who wear it as a badge of honor that they have been able to move up the ladder by sleeping with the right people. It would be fantastic to take down the creeps that have perpetuated this disgusting sexist behavior, but aint gonna happen any time soon. - Sideline Watcher - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:49 am: Here we go… - 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:49 am: ===Let’s name names=== Said the anonymous commenter. Lol. - VanillaMan - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:50 am: When guys win elections, they often feel frisky as though they have a hit record on the radio. They start to think everyone wants their thoughts, their help, their support and their approval. Power corrupts gentlemen. And ladies as well. We can’t legislate behavior and expect emforcement to be made by the group of guys that experience these feelings. We need men to act like men, and tell these bloviating grabbers to knock off their runting. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:51 am: ===Said the anonymous commenter. Lol.=== Exactly the mentality that’s kept this toxic environment sustained for decades. Wake up. - 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:57 am: ===Wake up.=== I’m wide awake. If you have names to name, feel free. Don’t ask Rich to do your dirty work for you. Speak up, tell your story. Keeping your mouth shut and hoping others will come forward is the mentality that keeps this toxic environment sustained for decades. If I had info, believe me I’d share it. While I know this happens all the time, I’ve never seen it and couldn’t name anyone even if I wanted to. Speak up or shut up, but don’t put this on anyone else. - Ok - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:58 am: Kady is a rockstar. Go her. - Salonica's Backroom - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:59 am: Stepping up on and speaking out on this shows a tremendous amount of courage. I hope that leaders like Kady inspire more women - AND MEN - call this harassment out, and solidify it as wholly unacceptable. - Downstate - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:00 am: 47th, You are likely in a position where coming forward won’t impact your career trajectory. Everyone is not so lucky. - Juvenal - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:00 am: Rich - I would like to make sure that McFadden, every lobbyist, every legislator, every reporter and particularly every lawmaker is aware that if you are sexually harassed by a legislator, you are entitled under Illinois law to file a complaint with your employer, and they have a legal obligation to investigate it. The law doesn’t just cover your co-workers, it also covers all individuals your job requires you to interact with. That includes harassment that occcurs at work-related social functions. I think it behooves the leaders of the four caucuses to make sure their members are aware of the full scope of the law and its consequences. - Ron Burgundy - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:00 am: Seconding 47th, if you have names to name, name them, but don’t expect Rich to publish bare allegations here for you while exposing him to defamation issues. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:01 am: ===Speak up or shut up, but don’t put this on anyone else.=== Powerful men have let this fester for decades. And it’s absolutely the responsibility of insiders like Rich to call it out. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:02 am: ===And it’s absolutely the responsibility of insiders like Rich to call it out. === I have. - Juvenal - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:03 am: Meant to say legislative aide, liaison and secretary. - 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:04 am: ===Everyone is not so lucky.=== Agreed. To be clear, while I know this goes on, I have no direct knowledge of any incidents. If I did, you’d have heard it by now. But I don’t think Rich wants us dropping names on his blog. If somebody wants to tell Rich a story he can follow up on or otherwise try to corroborate, e-mail him or put it on your on blog or FB page. I hope all these creeps are exposed, but I don’t want Rich to shut down comments over concerns about slander. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:04 am: ===I have.=== Examples? - Anon221 - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:05 am: How about a joint session of the GA required to attend a sexual harassment training? Broadcast it. Have a “roll call” for attendance, and show that on the vote board. Peer pressure may not be totally effective, but those that are the harassers may be placed in a bit of an uncomfortable hot seat for the duration of the training. Those that sexually harass count on what McFadden said, “There’s just kind of nothing you can really do.” Unless you have been sexually harassed, that awful, sinking feeling of helplessness and powerlessness may be totally unknown to you. This is a possible pivot point. How it is used may make a world of difference. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:07 am: In private, in person, face to face. Or I’ve talked to leadership about it. It’s pretty tough to write a story when nobody wants to cooperate on or even completely off the record. - Amalia - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:10 am: it’s not just legislators, although in positions of very public power, they need to be called out if they are doing that and are still in office. astoundingly, in campaigns, from people whom I would consider to be friends in addition to colleagues. also violence to try and make me leave a position. it feels designed to keep one in a certain place, not of power. And it is not just the political field. I’ve been very sad to see the Me Too reactions among my longtime friends in a variety of fields. Men, talk to your male friends and help to end this kind of behavior. And women, when you say that it’s not sexual assault when they “just touched” and “you did not get raped” you are helping to keep these criminals literally in business. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:13 am: ===It’s pretty tough to write a story when nobody wants to cooperate on or even completely off the record.=== So, not one story? All these years? Sounds like a problem of will rather than victims’ willingness to have their voices heard. - Loop Lady - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:13 am: I’ve had several lobbyists proposition me when I was Springfield over the years….married lawmakers as well… I just laughed and walked away… - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:14 am: ===Sounds like a problem of will=== Nope. Look at the Kacich story. It happened 30 years ago and the victim wasn’t willing to confirm on the record who it was. - Chicago_Downstater - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:15 am: I get that it’s weird to ask Rich to name names if he doesn’t have any proof to back up the allegations. But as someone that has experienced sexual harassment in a work place by a superior I can tell you that putting pressure on victims to come forward when there are serious and often severe consequences for speaking out isn’t productive either. Until we can build a system that guarantees that the future prospects of the victim won’t be injured by speaking up, then we really can’t go around demanding victims risk getting blackballed or tarred and feathered by coming forward. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:17 am: ===So, not one story?=== https://capitolfax.com/2012/03/19/my-state-fair-story/ - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:17 am: ===It’s pretty tough to write a story when nobody wants to cooperate on or even completely off the record.=== That is because most of us like our jobs, and want to keep them, despite the environment we work in. The Illinois Capitol is still male dominated and although I want to believe the instances have decreased with more women being elected and more women lobbying, these behaviors seemed to be alive and well. - A guy - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:18 am: Each caucus should have an ethics officer with some real authority that regularly meets with and advises legislators (and others) on standards. If lobbyists or anyone else are proactively promoting poor behavior to influence policy makers, they should be called out too. This occurs because it’s tolerated and in some cases even encouraged. Both of those efforts could be ended in a minute if there’s a will to do so. Expose and penalize the pigs. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:23 am: “I have” was about the most polite way I’ve ever heard Rich say “bite me” in decades. Seriously, some of us cannot use our real names here. It’s not the place to demand transparency like that. And anyone posting as “Anonymous” who doesn’t get that is a hypocrite - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:27 am: ===“I have” was about the most polite way I’ve ever heard Rich say “bite me” in decades=== Not at all. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:28 am: ===Or I’ve talked to leadership about it.=== And what did they say? Not enough to simply bring it up. Sorry. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:31 am: ===Rich, you have not done enough to take victims’ claims seriously=== I’m not perfect at all. I should do more. I admit it. But have you ever approached me about a problem with some guy? - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:33 am: ===And what did they say? === They promised they’d talk to the guy and that it wouldn’t happen again. But, again, I don’t hear about everything. - austinman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:37 am: Thank you for bringing this up, I hope we can shed more light on this issue, because I have seen the goofiness at the bars in Springfield. - RIJ - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:38 am: Note: The problem isn’t with “legislators,” it’s with male legislators. This is one of those societal problems that are almost exclusively due to male behavior. - Lost in Chicago - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:39 am: Wonder if any of those people who doubted Rutherford’s accuser are now reconsidering their opinion on that. - NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:40 am: This can never be allowed. You have to call them out as soon as it happens. Victims must stand up for themselves and when other of us who hear about this we have to be firm in not accepting any part of it. - Amalia - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:50 am: as we hear of stories like those in Hollywood re Corey Feldman and Corey Haim, the experience of Terry Crews, and the stories about director Bryan Singer, we know that there are male victims. The lesson should be about any kind of abuse, by anyone. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:52 am: ==This can never be allowed-== Obviously you are not worried about losing you job, or worse, being blackballed from work because you named names…must be nice - Anon - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:57 am: Ethics complaints can be submitted anonymously. Behavior can be reported by witnesses. There’s a lot we all can do. Sometimes we think we might be protecting a friend, a victim, by taking no action and making sure they won’t suffer from retaliation, but we’re also protecting the aggressor. We all can do better. So let’s do better. - Prudent Abe - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:59 am: ==Note: The problem isn’t with “legislators,” it’s with male legislators.== Careful with those assumptions. - Norseman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:01 am: === I’ve had several lobbyists proposition me when I was Springfield over the years….married lawmakers as well… I just laughed and walked away… === Kudos for your response. Sad that you had to respond at all. Too many feel they need to acquiesce in order to be successful. - Responsa - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:01 am: There *can* be a difference when this stuff happens inside a corporation as opposed within a public situation. And by that I mean it is often safer to come forward and safer to expect some redress. I worked in a large corporation that valued and was actively recruiting management level woman as long ago as 30 years ago. As soon as there were women in the corner offices things changed. Both the corporate and regional PR departments were charged with creating a process, taking, and investigating claims of harassment, (initially keeping them out of the view of local management and keeping them anonymous for everyone’s protection while the claims were being carefully investigated) and it appears did a pretty good job of ferreting out the known offenders–and yes, they are almost always known to a broad spectrum of observers. This approach was applauded both by the women employees and most of the men employees. Several people were fired for sexual harassment and no hushing up–it was made known that that was why they were fired. In thinking about this, though, I realize how much more intractable the problem must be in a milieu like “government” which is a loose amalgam of independent contractors, elected officials, palace guards, lobbyists, and both women and men who will knowingly stretch the rules and/or do things for a chance at power or nearness to power. I do not not have the answer. I wish I did. But I don’t think in this day and age another round of sexual harassment training is the answer. Nor do I think in most cases demanding that the victims come forward and expose themselves and possibly their families, is the answer either. Expecting caucuses to honestly investigate themselves? That’s quite hard to fathom, too. - Dan Vock - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:02 am: ===Each caucus should have an ethics officer with some real authority that regularly meets with and advises legislators (and others) on standards. If lobbyists or anyone else are proactively promoting poor behavior to influence policy makers, they should be called out too.=== One of the most interesting things I learned when reporting my story earlier was that the New York Assembly now requires lawmakers and managers on the legislature’s staff to be mandatory reporters of sexual harassment. I don’t know how effective that’s been (it’s relatively new), but it certainly seems to address the bystander effect. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:03 am: ===Careful with those assumptions. === I wouldn’t say that female legislators/lobbyists harassing males/females never happens, but I’ve never heard of it. - Free Set of Steak Knives - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:08 am: === I’ve had several lobbyists proposition me when I was Springfield over the years….married lawmakers as well… I just laughed and walked away… === Was that bragging? That sounded like bragging. That’s not something I would brag about, its sad really. You left the sharks in the swimming pool to find more vulnerable prey. I’m sorry you had to even experience that. And I am glad if you felt unmarred. - Norseman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:13 am: === Was that bragging? That sounded like bragging. === Don’t read anything into her statement other than the words in the comment. She felt confident in herself to be able to effectively deal with an inappropriate situation. Others need that confidence and still more need to do what’s necessary to prevent the inappropriate actions. - dbk - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:13 am: The HW revelations have unleashed a torrent of admissions by women (#metoo, NYT editorial by a prominent actress, BBC long-form interview with Emma Thompson and many others), but the gist of most of these is that “everybody knows what’s going on” (as it is on this thread). I see a lot of “she should have spoken up” (and “Rich should be naming names”), but this is displacing responsibility onto victims and bystanders/witnesses. The real responsibility lies with the most powerful (men, normally; certainly in IL politics that’s true) to stand up and say “Sexual harassment won’t be tolerated in these chambers/the Statehouse/IL government” and then actually show they mean it - strip perpetrators of prize committee assignments, under-fund their re-election campaigns, etc.–there are plenty of means to do this. The onus should not lie with the relatively powerless/victims, but with the powerful, and until they take sexual harassment seriously and decide it must stop, there will be periodic outbursts and revelations, and then it will be back to business as usual until the next series of revelations. - Anon221 - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:14 am: Responsa- “But I don’t think in this day and age another round of sexual harassment training is the answer.” It’s not the only answer by any means, but it should be a part of the mix. And the training should be high quality, not an annual “check the box” type CYA for looks. Having a required training helps put in place the person’s acknowledgement that he/she knows what sexual harassment is, how to recognize it in themselves and in others, and how to properly respond, as well as the reporting procedure to follow. If he/she decides to ignore the training and continue with their harassing, then there is a much stronger legal base to pursue if they are accused of sexual harassment. - Blue dog dem - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:19 am: I guess I am lucky that my daughter didnt have to work near these slime balls. I would have taken matters into my own hands. Stories like this make my blood boil. - Cubs in '16 - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:27 am: ===Seriously, some of us cannot use our real names here.=== Then come up with a nickname like hundreds of other commenters do. It’s confusing to the rest of us when multiple anonymous commenters are involved in a discussion. - walker - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:28 am: “”Expecting caucuses to honestly investigate themselves? That’s quite hard to fathom, too”". Perhaps. But to expect caucus Leaders to stand up and make this an important issue, with strict expectations and guidelines, enforced by them within their own caucus, might be. That is where some real power lies. I’m talking to Madigan, Durkin, Cullerton and Brady directly. Make this part of your job. - Montrose - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:29 am: I, too, have heard stories over the years. Always a male legislator towards a female lobbyist. And the female didn’t want to say anything because of fear of damaging relationships/her career. It is a horrible power dynamic that is abused over and over. And, like Hollywood, it has been going on for so long as the worst kept secret in Springfield that folks have gotten numb to it. I don’t know the answer, but a piece of it is leadership making addressing this issue a priority with tangible consequences if someone engages in sexual harassment. - Responsa - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:30 am: ==Then come up with a nickname like hundreds of other commenters do. == Thank you for stating what should be obvious although apparently it is not obvious to all. - Norseman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:30 am: Cubs, you mean that “Cubs in ‘16″ is not your real name? - FormerStaffer - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:32 am: I started on staff in the early 90s. As part of our “orientation” we were told we needed to be careful of those in positions of power that may not necessarily keep their hands to themselves. Management didn’t name names but peers did. So we did. And it didn’t stop them. Once a member slid over my butt and hips “to move me out of the way” received double elbows to the ribs and a coy “sorry, didn’t see you there” and he steered clear. One night a powerful lobbyist for my committee tried feeding me shots of a very expensive liquor and told me the warmth would fill me with the fire of love has he pulled me onto his lap. I excused myself to go to the bathroom and found someone with enough seniority to walk me out of the party. That was the end of that. Another married lobbyist stopped by my house to pick up sporting tickets. We had been friends - and double dated with his wife. He came in and then tried kissing me when I brought the tickets over. I wrangled away to him asking why he couldn’t he have just one kiss. Its “just a kiss.” Why do we keep silence? 1. People know. 2. As some say, no one will do anything about it. 3. We like our jobs and if we spoke up, we would be come completely ineffective OR never be hired by another group again. - Anonymous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:32 am: If the Weinstein Effect takes hold in Illinois, there will be hell to pay by those who will be called out. Called out - named. #MeToo has mushroomed, and many reputations/legacies will be atomized. Perpetrators are on edge, and night sweats have begun. “Justice grinds slowly…..but inexorably.” - Chicago Cynic - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:42 am: Young women lobbyists getting hit on by legislators…a lot. These legislators are pigs. It’s almost like trolling. They drop their lines in the water and see if anyone rises to the bait. Externally the women try to laugh it off. But as the article says, what are they going to do if they want to keep their jobs and the legislator in question is, hypothetically, a member of leadership within one of the chambers? It’s vile and it needs to stop. I am constantly feeling ashamed of members of my gender. - Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:44 am: ===You left the sharks in the swimming pool to find more vulnerable prey.=== This isn’t as clear-cut for some as it sounds. According to many accounts, former president Bill Clinton propositioned several women who laughed and walked away, and his defenders would say that his extramarital affairs were consensual and not coercive, and if he was turned down, he’d just “shrug it off” himself and turn his attention to a more willing participant, and that being in a position of power and putting feelers out is OK as long as the perp doesn’t take undue advantage. Of course, there are many cases where nearly everyone agrees the behavior went over the line. - Cubs in '16 - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 11:51 am: ===Cubs, you mean that “Cubs in ‘16″ is not your real name?=== My parents aren’t that hardcore nor are they psychic. But after my euphoria last year I am considering having it legally changed. - Montrose - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:00 pm: “This isn’t as clear-cut for some as it sounds. According to many accounts, former president Bill Clinton propositioned several women who laughed and walked away, and his defenders would say that his extramarital affairs were consensual and not coercive, and if he was turned down, he’d just “shrug it off” himself and turn his attention to a more willing participant, and that being in a position of power and putting feelers out is OK as long as the perp doesn’t take undue advantage. Of course, there are many cases where nearly everyone agrees the behavior went over the line.” This isn’t a peer hitting on a peer. It is a someone with power taking advantage of that power dynamic. The proposition crosses the line. Period. He may have just shrugged it off, but the person he was hitting on may have worried about their career and what turning him down could do to impact that. - Anonymiss - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:13 pm: >>Others need that confidence … NorseMan, do you really think what prevents women from coming forward is a lack of confidence? And that victims who don’t stop men from this behavior are weaker because they “feel like they need to acquiesce”? (in your other comment). Women who come forward or push back can face real repercussions - sometimes escalating behavior, depending on the situation. Don’t blame the victim for not doing enough. Help change the conditions so more will have the safety to fight back. - Fed Up - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:20 pm: This is an issue that always stings women twice. First when they are the victims of harassment. And second when they unfairly carry around the label of being the “snitch”. - BothSidesofHisMouth - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:20 pm: I have to agree with some of the women who have previously commented that we are very aware that this sort of stuff is at least unethical if not in some cases illegal.. but we want to be able to have careers in government relations just like so many men do and while we might win a complaint or a lawsuit against the jerk who copped a feel… we will be branded as uptight, prudes and we will suffer professionally both by the ill-will of the legislator and his friends and by potential clients not hiring us because of our reputation for being “sensitive” and having trouble dealing with one or more legislators due to previously complaining - on the record - about them. It is an impossible situation. - Anon - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:22 pm: It’s worth noting that retaliation is illegal. I hope some of our colleagues here might be inspired by an example coming from Iowa. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/15/iowa-senate-republicans-staffer-named-2-2-million-sex-harassment-suit-resigns/669690001/ - SaulGoodman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:26 pm: **It’s worth noting that retaliation is illegal.** Lots of things are illegal. But when the retaliation looks like a legislator not voting for your bills, legality doesn’t matter very much. - Lottie O'Neill - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:30 pm: So much respect for Kady for going on the record. Also, another group of women in Illinois politics came out this morning with an open letter that anyone can co-sign — https://goo.gl/XUg7iT — and an FB group to start conversations around this issue — https://www.facebook.com/groups/462130044181604. - BothSidesofHisMouth - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:35 pm: “- Anon - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:22 pm: It’s worth noting that retaliation is illegal. I hope some of our colleagues here might be inspired by an example coming from Iowa. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/15/iowa-senate-republicans-staffer-named-2-2-million-sex-harassment-suit-resigns/669690001/ - SaulGoodman - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:26 pm: **It’s worth noting that retaliation is illegal.** Lots of things are illegal. But when the retaliation looks like a legislator not voting for your bills, legality doesn’t matter very much.” Yes. Ding, ding, ding. My clients may be sympathetic but they are paying me to win. Either to kill or pass a bill. Good luck ever proving that the single reason a legislator voted for or against a bill was out of spite over a lobbyist. Even the dimmest bulbs here can come up with passable arguments for why they should vote either way on most bills.. - Joe Bidenopolous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:42 pm: Once upon a time as a junior staffer, I was assigned several times to legislators who had made unwelcome advances towards women on staff. It was awkward and I viewed them with disdain, but leadership always told me to be honest if asked why I was their new staffer. Of the five or so who fell into that category, only one ever asked, and he seemed genuinely offended when I told him why. He was a pretty awful person. Thankfully, all of those legislators are gone, not even in the building as lobbyists. But others have taken their place, just as I’m certain there is a cohort of lobbyists, staff, etc. that join them. I hear the stories, but I don’t see it much. These days, I stick to a tried-and-true group of folks who don’t countenance this stuff and have minimal time for nonsense. We’ve kicked others to the curb when they show their boorishness and call them out. More of that needs to be done, by me, by my friends, and by everyone else. Someone in the Hill article raises a good point about the lack of HR and electeds lack of a true “boss.” While true in a sense, it’s another brick in the wall of silence. Chambers/leadership can do more and should do more. Whether it’s more training, allowing the Ethics officer to investigate harassment allegations, etc. Whatever it is, it needs to be done. What women have to deal with in Springfield is ridiculous. - Casual observer - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:46 pm: In Rich’s defense, I recall a post a few years back about a Springfield alderman and his frequent antics in downtown bars. I believe that thread firmly sealed his reputation as a creep. More like that please. - Name Withheld - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:54 pm: Respectfully, BothSidesofHisMouth, if your client is limited to ’sympathetic’ when we are discussing this kind of behavior - then you have a scumbag client. I don’t envy the position that you find yourself in, but there is no other circumstance where this would be condoned. It’s no wonder Uber and Google and Hollywood have these issues when the people in Government look the other way. - Anon. - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 12:57 pm: It’s not just legislators. It’s (married) staff golden boys who target young female interns and tell them that if they speak out no one will believe them bc he is untouchable. And when those in power find out it is largely ignored.This place was designed to protect the men. Women are expected to know better. - Casual observer - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 1:07 pm: Rich, I’m not clear why my comment was not accepted. I simply referred to a previous post of yours that addressed this subject directly, with a specific name. I was lauding you for that post, but whatevs. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 1:16 pm: ===Casual observer === You posted a trigger word or two. I was on the phone. Thx. Released. - Juvenal - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 1:21 pm: @Joe Bidenopolous As I mentioned earlier, if you are a lobbyist and you are sexually harassed by a legislator, you report it to your boss. Your employer has an obligation to investigate your complaint. The fact that lawmakers themselves have no boss is irrelevant. There are some options between remaining silent and holding a press conference. As you mentioned, if you are a legislative staff person, go talk to the chief of staff for that lawmaker’s caucus. - Too Much to Handle - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 1:28 pm: === As I mentioned earlier, if you are a lobbyist and you are sexually harassed by a legislator, you report it to your boss. === What if you are a one-person shop and you are technically your own boss? - Joe Bidenopolous - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 1:33 pm: @Juvenal You understand that not all lobbyists work for any single company, right? Many are independent contractors and/or sole proprietors. Who do they go to? - Round em up - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:01 pm: I’m missing how Rich is now somehow the perpetrator of the Springfield culture? All I can guess is that we have a few trolls looking to pick a fight. Sounds like the work of the IPI or a Raunerite. Maybe you should direct your attention to the behavior of your own supporters. - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:19 pm: ===Sounds like the work of the=== The IP comment history suggests something like this. - Loop Lady - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:20 pm: In grade school, one of my girlfriends was groped by a male PE teacher. One of the girls reported it to the Principals office. We were rounded up and told we had overactive imaginations and could hurt this teachers rep. He was later transferred to an in district school where he was dismissed after another such incident. I learned very young that the victim bears the consequences in this type of situation, not the perp. The only way to stop this type of behavior is putting saltpeter in the Springfield water supply… - Downstate - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:30 pm: Maybe the legislators should have the courage to change the rule on recordings someone without their knowledge. Right now it’s illegal. Would the risk of a conversation being recorded suddenly “wake up” a few of the offenders? Is it worth having the current law on the book, if sexual predators can continue to troll? - I am woman... - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:30 pm: You want names? You want dates? You wants specifics? You want to know those that covered it up? You want to know the other women that knew and were afraid to speak up in fear of losing their own jobs? I can give you all of that 10 times over, but will it change ANYTHING? I recently had an elected official ask me what he could do to stop this behavior. I told him this: Call out other men when you see it, don’t laugh at the jokes, stop the “locker room” talk, report it to whoever can/will take action. Because they’re more likely to believe you, who saw it, than me, who it actually happened to. There are GOOD PEOPLE in this business. We need the good ones to speak up….NOW! - Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:31 pm: === Right now it’s illegal. === Nope. One person consent. - Downstate - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 2:42 pm: Rich, Thanks for the clarification. - FReestyle - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 3:09 pm: The biggest scandal is that the legislative inspector general is powerless. Frankly, I am not sure someone is even serving in that role currently. There is no website and when you call the number, it is some generic recording. We have all heard the rumors (see below), but there really is no one to go to. 1.elected officials getting caught in their state capital office. 2.elected officials voting on legislation pushed by lobbyists that they were having an undisclosed sexual relationship with. 3.Elected official who would only accept oral favors from staff. 4.The list goes on - Donna - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 4:03 pm: #METOO! I have been pinched, poked, groped, and yep, received the hand up my skirt by MARRIED men as high up in the State and City government as they go, I have never been a lobbyist and I am not in my 20s. I have told off more than a few who made me feel like a piece of fresh meat. It is no secret, they grope you in the open, in front of people and they have absolutely no fear of retribution. Hillary and her girls have no idea what sexism feels like for women down here in the trenches. Imagine crying at the thought of a meeting with “the octopus.”Cutting me off when I talk? I wish that were all I’ve had to deal with. I walked off my job because the harassment was too much and my boss felt it was funny. Why don’t women complain? Because we have to work and these guys all know each other. - Shytown - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 4:14 pm: For anyone on this post who is shaming those for not naming names, shame on you. You are part of the problem and fail to recognize why so many women have been driven into the closet on this issue. - wordslinger - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 4:16 pm: The fear of speaking out is obviously real, both by victims and by those who have knowledge of the harassment or abuse. Just think of all the institutions and individuals we’ve seen where that has been the case in recent years: Government, churches, colleges, businesses and more, all the way to the top. - CCP Hostage - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 4:19 pm: #me too. Every week. It’s a very wrong part of life, not just in Springfield, but everywhere. It’s part of the fabric of our culture. Until men start calling out men for bad behavior, nothing changes. We can holler #me too all day long. As other commenters have said, many of us with confidence shrug it off and move on for both expedience sake and for the sake of maintaining a career. And the vultures move on. Most men don’t harass, but most men don’t stop it when they see it, either. God bless the men who do. Encourage others to intervene, please. - crazybleedingheart - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 4:43 pm: IL isn’t a one-party state for recorded live conversation, only for phone calls. - yinn - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 5:02 pm: I appreciate the discussion here today, especially from those expressing the desire to do more about sexual harassment. Here’s why I am committed to doing everything I can. While I was still a teen, one of my first workplace tormentors ended up getting arrested for molesting 8-year-old boys. Another (years later, different job) was discovered to have raped a man with a severe mental disability. These are a couple of the more egregious examples, but the point is that sexual harassment is a refusal to respect behavioral boundaries, and often is the tip of a very nasty iceberg. - Rod - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 5:08 pm: The comment by Montrose at 11:29 from my experience having been a registered lobbyist seems fairly accurate. But I would add to it this, female lobbyists working in the same area often talk to their male colleagues about Rep so and so being a “creep” and hating to see them made a committee chair. When its not because of a policy predisposition but because of the creep factor that an experienced female lobbyists hates to see so and so made chair person there is something going on. It is really a tip off when you hear that from different female lobbyists about the same member of the legislature. Normally no details are provided, but you do get the idea. I give Rich credit for opening this discussion on his blog, it a discussion that was needed. - Will Caskey - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 6:06 pm: Seeing a lot of complaints about Rich and mansplaining to hypothetical victims and reporters about what to do. First off, yeah Rich does what he can. He’s passed me tips about opponents (and clients) and I’ve done the same for him. The number of victims I personally know or know of is far higher. I know of predators who have run at every level of the ballot. I KNOW some of them personally. You all know the score, and if you don’t you haven’t been paying attention. Professional politics is more vindictive and petty than a Real Housewives season. There’s a reason most people who tell me about attacks (and that’s what they are: attacks) insist I never tell anyone about it. If I started publicizing what I know, the end result would probably be I get superficial praise (because I’m a man) and the victim is punished in just a staggering number of ways, including by people who insist they’re great feminist allies. No, I don’t do enough. But simplifying this to a “name names!” catcall is speaking from a position of privilege and immunity from punishment that most victims do. Not. Have. If you want things to be different, ask what you should LOOK for. And do what YOU can. - capitolnonsense - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 7:57 pm: “It’s not just legislators. It’s (married) staff golden boys…” Agreed ^ It’s like a January to May “adult” frat party just without the Greek lettered shirts. It truly is a shock to the system when you first get here. On staff you spend so much time together. You’re mentally and physically exhausted. It’s often just too much to ask of young female interns to also expend energy fighting the culture of the place when they’re just trying to survive their first real grown up job. So too many just go along thinking, well, this is how it must be in state government. I’m sure we lose a lot of talent because some people just won’t stay in such an unprofessional work environment. And if there are #twill specific #metoo stories maybe Rich can gather them for us in one place. He knows everyone. I bet if people started to feel like others were starting to share their stories, women would get the support they deserve for speaking out and some behaviors might slightly change (though that’s questionable). - justacitizen - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 8:10 pm: I’m very late on this discussion but my observation is that this is not a new problem. It has been recently exposed in Hollywood by social media because of the Weinstein fiasco. That is the problem. We only focus on the latest social media trend whether it’s a hurricane , terrorist attack, etc., etc.. I’m guilty as everyone, but we need expose these types of things when they occur rather than reacting to social media noise. - BothSidesOfHisMouth - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 9:22 pm: Well, all I can say is welcome to our world. The clients who are sympathetic (or would be) are the nice ones. Many just don’t care. They know many of these legislators are impossible, illogical, arrogant, etc. that is why they pay lobbyists to deal with them on their behalf. If I can’t take the heat/play with the big dogs/insert other stupid cliches here - they will find someone who can. They aren’t hiring me to be the kid sister they have to look out for. They are hiring me to kill or pass bills. To do so I need the votes of legislators - many of whom think my best use would be sexual in nature and they sometimes are direct enough to say it. There are kid of opportunities to call them out but those would also significantly impair or even end my career. They are elected. They don’t get fired. I do. My clients typically have 30-60 day out clauses in their contracts. What is almost more sad than hearing from my peers who have had similar experiences is hearing how some are so shocked and appalled. Really? Are you guys living under rocks? Some of this goes on on the rail in full view of anyone who cares to pay attention. I am pretty sure we in the Statehouse are not special. This is working as an American woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry. No I don’t want your hand up my skirt but I will brush it off/away and not call you out because the reason we were talking in the first place is that your vote makes or breaks my roll call. - Priscilla - Monday, Oct 23, 17 @ 10:59 pm: When I posted Rich’s report on the women legislators’ letter, I was contacted by a college friend who worked on staff when I was just starting my lobbying career. We figured out that we were both hit on by the same state rep, very conservative married man old enough to be our father. He hit on me repeatedly and each time it was clear he didn’t really remember who I was. I was just a young prospect, interchangeable with any other young woman at the rail. As I posted for the other story, I was taken under the wing of a smart woman boss who realized that as a 24-year-old, I was “fresh meat”. We always went everywhere together, never went to bars with legislators, always went to political fund raisers as a team. Still, it happened to #MeToo. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 7:02 am: ===complaints about Rich=== Meh. It’s all coming from one person who appears to at least be a supporter of the IPI. - no name - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 9:13 am: can i also mention what happens when you are the only woman working in a boys club at a state agency? oh, the stories!!! Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.