* January 2nd…
A freshman Democratic state representative is filing discrimination claims against House Speaker Michael Madigan after she says he sent women lawmakers to coerce her to vote for him as speaker.
Newly-elected Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, said she plans to file discrimination charges against the long-time speaker with the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Illinois Office of Legislative Inspector General.
Even though she’s yet to be sworn in, Stava-Murray says she’d been harassed on three occasions since her election in November, allegedly at the direction of Madigan.
“You can’t harass someone to do something they don’t want to do if they’re sticking up for a federally protected class of people,” meaning victims of harassment, she said Wednesday. […]
Stava-Murray said she sat through hours of calls from veteran Democratic women lawmakers in the days leading up to their gathering and subsequent call to support Madigan for House Speaker, something she says she refuses to do because of his poor handling of sexual assault victim rights under the dome.
“I got calls from legislators continuously telling me that there would be no value if I voted against the speaker, telling me that if I wanted to play the game, I needed to get on the game board that existed,” she said.
The different lawmakers who called her all used uniform language, she said, as if it had been prepared for them, but she wouldn’t disclose their names.
Legislators are elected officials, so their employers are considered to be the voters in their respective districts. That’s why legislators aren’t covered by the Illinois Human Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
* As far as I can tell, nobody in the House has received a committee assignment yet. The new committee structure hasn’t even been unveiled as of yet…
The rookie lawmaker campaigned on a vow to vote against Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) retaining his title. Within days of announcing her decision to a private House Democratic conference, Stava-Murray says she faced “next level retribution” from Madigan’s allies.
Stava-Murray claims Madigan denied her a chance to sit on a committee, though the Speaker’s office has not yet officially finalized committee assignments for the upcoming session. She also complained that Madigan gave other longer serving House members preferential treatment in deciding the House floor seating chart. […]
Stava-Murray said she intends to mask the origin of her ideas so they can survive the legislative process. She detailed how she plans to work behind the scenes to “do the leg work” and craft legislation, then ask other members to introduce her bills under their name because she fears Madigan won’t allow bills with her name on them to pass out of committee.
“In some ways, I’m a pass through entity that makes my colleagues smarter,” she said.
* “Bodily fluids”?…
* And then came this…
Due in part to the environment for women in Springfield, Stava-Murray announced Tuesday that she would be running for U.S. Senate in 2020, a seat currently held by long-time Senator Dick Durbin, who has been rumored to be near the end of his tenure in Washington.
Stava-Murray made the decision to announce a run now in an effort to keep Durbin from winning re-election only to resign and allow the Illinois Democratic Party to appoint someone.
“If there weren’t such a toxic culture in Springfield, in an ideal world would I have spent more than a few years as a state rep? Absolutely,” she said. “I don’t feel like I should have to go to an unsafe workplace for more than two years.”
Stava-Murray is a survivor of workplace harassment and said that the experiences have left her with post-traumatic stress. She’s committed to sponsoring legislation during her two years in Springfield that would give victims of sexual harassment in Springfield rights.
* More…
She said she’s never met the veteran lawmaker but disagrees with his “turn of becoming more centrist.”
“I think that he sort of writes off the progressive branch of the party, of which I identify myself with, as being unwilling to compromise, and certainly there might be some key players who aren’t giving the progressive cause a good look, but in the most part what I see when I talk to my fellow progressives and Democrats in Springfield and other fellow progressive Democrats is a total willingness to work across the aisle.”
Durbin eventually confirmed he was running.
* Last word…
- Ron Burgundy - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:46 am:
Looking forward to her new edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
- So_Ill - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:48 am:
I really can’t wait until she goes away.
And Durbin is a moderate? Hilarious.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2017/senate/ideology
- McGuppin - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:48 am:
Glad to see that State Rep-elect Stava-Murray has accomplished everything she set out to do in Springfield. What a typical millennial.
- Montrose - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:49 am:
If there are threats of retaliation/actual retaliation, then there is something there. If folks are just trying to convince her to vote for Madigan, I think that’s called lobbying. She is going to have to get comfortable with that aspect of the job.
- QuimbysSash - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:51 am:
Adding, Colleen Smith’s tweet is spot on. And it’s almost like A S-M think’s she’s IL Alexandria Ocazio- Cortez…
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:51 am:
==She also complained that Madigan gave other longer serving House members preferential treatment in deciding the House floor seating chart. ==
Isn’t that called seniority?
- Steve - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:52 am:
I’m no Mike Madigan fan but really …. Stava-Murray is being harassed by Mike Madigan? Anyway, she’ll be spending so much time running against Dick Durbin how will she have enough time to be harassed by Mike Madigan?
- Anonymous - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:57 am:
We hardly knew ya
- QuimbysSash - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:58 am:
Legitimately asking, what would she do if a constituent of hers or voter attended a town hall and asked a question she felt was offensive? Not condoning harassment, sexism etc, but is there is a difference between those and hardball. She’ll love DC. /Snark
- El Conquistador - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:58 am:
What a piece of work… she’s already alienated nearly everyone before her first day.
- So_Ill - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 11:58 am:
==I work across the aisle and expect my Senator to do the same- not play the blame game as he has been.==
Funny coming from someone who has never actually had an aisle to work across.
- Fixer - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:01 pm:
To the folks wondering who could possibly replace Scott Drury, here you go.
- Quizzical - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:02 pm:
It’s always good to start a new job by alienating everyone who could help you and then announce your intent to quit because you can’t stand the place. She’ll do a great job for her constituents.
- ChicagoVinny - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:03 pm:
Burning bridges with almost everyone on day one seems like a good strategy to win statewide. /s
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:04 pm:
She wasn’t a former Federal Prosecutor was she?
Boy her electoral career will be fun to watch
And I also would guess she never heard term: back bencher
- The Captain - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:07 pm:
She doesn’t have a politically coherent philosophy. She didn’t get assigned to a committee because no one has, having people lobby a legislator for their vote isn’t harassment, assigning resources based on seniority isn’t discrimination, criticizing someone for being unwilling to reach across the aisle doesn’t make them a centrist, etc. The only constant in all of this is her never-ending need for attention.
Also, before being elected to the US Senate in 1996 Durbin represented a southwestern Illinois congressional district, his political movement over the years hasn’t been toward the center. Sheesh.
- Anonymous - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:08 pm:
Scott Drury - I’m probably the most unlikeable new member in history and who did everything they could to reinforce that perception.
Anna S-M - Hold my beer.
- OneMan - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:09 pm:
You got a Democrat from Naperville elected to the state house, it seems to me applying a bunch of pressure on her to vote for Madigan is kind of tone deaf. She ran on not voting for him)
Hey, you don’t vote for Madigan for speaker, it’s fine.
Why would you have a bunch of people call her to try and change her mind? What does that accomplish, if it is successful it is going to be used against her in 2 years (she broke a big pledge).
I don’t see the ‘win’ here for Democrats here in getting her to change her mind.
- Professor - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:11 pm:
This lady needs professorial help. Seriously, her behavior is incomprehensible. I have been observing the legislature for over 40 years, and have seen some crazy activity, but this is the top.
- Anon - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:13 pm:
Yes, what progressives really want Democrats in Congress to do is [checks notes] team up with Mitch McConnell.
- A guy - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:15 pm:
Who? May I ask? Are the legislators who will pick up her legislation and shepherd it through…after she’s done all the legwork?
The only legwork she’s doing is kicking anyone she comes into contact with.
- Montrose - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:18 pm:
““In some ways, I’m a pass through entity that makes my colleagues smarter,” she said.”
Right. That is exactly how her colleagues will see it.
- Stark - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:18 pm:
The previous comparison to AOC by Quinsby makes no sense. She challenged an unpopular and un-charismatic incumbent who was less liberal than she is. Durbin is immensely popular, charismatic when he needs to be,and Stava-Murray can’t possibly be all that more liberal than he is vis a vis Crowley/AOC.
- Boom - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:20 pm:
She already Tweeted some of her proposed masterpieces. How is that sitting back and letting her colleagues breathe in her awesomeness and become smarter.
- Stumpy's bunker - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:21 pm:
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest a career counselor would immediately and gently guide her away from Illinois and federal politics.
- Chicago_Downstater - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:25 pm:
First, whew. That’s a lot. She seems to be very inconsistent. One second it’s Durbin is too centrist & the next he needs to cross the aisle. Yah, I’ll stick with Durbin thanks.
Second, you folks always shouting “millenials” while shaking your fists at the sky never fail to make me laugh. What happened to make you so bitter? Did one of us fail to retrieve an important file you managed to delete? It’s a new year, new you. Time to let that grudge go grandpa.
- Norseman - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:28 pm:
My first reaction to seeing her notice on Twitter was:
Have some ultra left operatives designed and dispensed “super ego” pills? This is nuts.
Her reply was:
Nope, Springfield was Springfield and I’m choosing to exit a workplace after 2 years where there’s open retribution to me for speaking out on sexual harassment. Elections happen every two years and I can’t afford to not have a paycheck anymore.
My reply was:
You’re essentially saying even before you take the oath of office that you can’t effectively represent your district constituents. So you will quit trying and run for HIGHER office.
The US Senate seat isn’t another step on the Peter Principle political ladder.
Stava-Murray responded with:
I haven’t given up. I’ve chosen to seek an office where I have physical safety and can work on the many issues Illinoisans want legislative progress on. I don’t believe the false choice you present here limits my direction.
I won’t bother with the rest, but her first response out of the box to pushback on her run was quit telling to me. I see in this post that she’s been working on a public justification for running for Senate. Stava-Murray fails to provide a compelling reason to throw out a leader in the Senate Democratic caucus and it’s concomitant benefit to Illinois.
Durbin will not have any problems disposing of this extremely minor challenger. At that point she’ll have to get her paycheck from another source and her district will hopefully be represented by a more serious leader.
- QuimbysSash - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:30 pm:
Stark, I see your point about my comparison to AOC, but that’s not the angle I was going for. More of a: too big for their britches, not going out of their ways to make friends with colleagues and would be allies…
- dbk - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:44 pm:
This is just weird.
(1) If you’re a genuine progressive seeking to enhance your progressive cred, you don’t cite tweets by The American Conservative;
(2) If you do cite tweets by The American Conservative, you go to the trouble of opening the link and listening to the interview with Lindsay Graham;
(3) Graham explicitly characterizes Durbin as “a reasonable guy” and as “a good guy” (which is the generally-accepted view of Durbin in the Senate, which is one major reason why he’s the Minority Whip, duh).
(4) Does she think AOC ran for the U.S. Senate?
(5) If she thinks sexual harassment is a thing in Springfield, wait til she gets to D.C.
(6) Why did she even run for the IL House at all? Why didn’t she go straight to a run for U.S. Senate?
(7) If I were her constituent right now, I’d be pretty upset with her.
(8) “In some ways, I’m a pass through entity that makes my colleagues smarter” - no, there are already smart people in the IL GA (one of whom is MJM, btw). Lack of smarts isn’t the issue.
- Back to the Future - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
She ran on a set of promises to her voters
and she is sticking to the promises she made.
Wish we had more candidates that did what they said they were going to do.
- IKR - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
I am embarrassed for this young person. She fails to realize she personifies the term “snowflake”. She wears her questionable claims of victimization as a badge of honor. She has made herself a Pariah and is woefully unaware. In the end politics is a popularity contest. She is the least popular person in the legislature right now. What man in his right mind would speak to this person? He would be under constant threat of harassment allegations. This person has problems. Why did Naperville choose her to represent them?
- So_Ill - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:47 pm:
==She ran on a set of promises to her voters
and she is sticking to the promises she made.
Wish we had more candidates that did what they said they were going to do.==
Did she tell her voters she was going to immediately start running for another office before she started in the office they elected her to?
- Amalia - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:48 pm:
well the good news is that she’s not running for reelection. the bad news is she’s behaving like a child. it’s totally ridiculous. Can I have my Durbin lawn sign now please?
- Hamlet's Ghost - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:52 pm:
Q: Why did Naperville choose her to represent them
A: Democrats won up and down the ballot in IL House 81 from Governor’s race to the judicial races. JB Pritzker and Sean Casten were very disciplined in telling their supporters to vote the entire ballot.
- IKR - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:55 pm:
How could she get the primary nomination?
- Gohawks123 - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 12:59 pm:
Is there any chance she reads these comments and tries to call us all out? Seems like her thing to do
- illini - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:09 pm:
And just when I thought that my new State Senator Jason Plummer would be the lead story of the new session of the GA we get this. Interesting times.
- Fixer - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:10 pm:
Someone’s not getting a clock this year.
- OneMan - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:34 pm:
Congratulations Fixer you win the Internet today….
- wordslinger - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:43 pm:
Certainly marching to her own drummer. I expect we’ll hear a lot more from her in the coming weeks.
However, there aren’t 24-hour cable channels covering the GA that need to fill all that time, every day, with anything. At some point, I suspect she’ll have to serve up some steak with all that sizzle to remain “newsworthy.”
- Roadrager - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:47 pm:
As a constituent, the only word that comes to mind is “hoodwinked.” I didn’t vote for you to spend two years running for higher office, Anne; I voted for you to help steer this state in a less-destructive direction. You can’t come to me after I hired you, but before your first day on the job, and start demanding a promotion. Show me you can actually do the job I hired you for first.
- Blue Dog Dem - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
Slowly but surely i am understanding the definition of ‘progressive’. Might have the same life expectancy as the tea party.
- A guy - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 2:01 pm:
==she’ll have to serve up some steak with all that sizzle==
Very true Sling. And..if she’s going to file a complaint, they’ll require names of those victimizing women she’s about to serve next to. Well kinda serve next to. Might pay to give her a seat at the very front of the chamber. Not sure I’d want her sizing up my back in every session.
- The Real Captain - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 2:06 pm:
I just hope she doesn’t set her sights on you, Rich, for harassing or allowing her to be harassed on her soon to be stellar 2 year career in the legislature.
- Dupage Bard - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 2:29 pm:
So what has she worked across the aisle on? She hasn’t even been sworn in?
- Fantasma - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 2:55 pm:
I just want to know when a kiss on the head became assault? She’s throwing around a lot of buzz words that make Springfield sound like the 2nd circle of hell but no one has called her out on it (probably too afraid to be her next target). She’s been “harrsssed” by members, how many members have called her? And are they doing so to try to mentor her or actually threatening her? The way she exaggerates a kiss on the head makes me wonder what else she is exaggerating and really makes me question her authenticity.
- Name/Nickname/Anon - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 3:38 pm:
It’s almost like she’s a right wing undercover troll.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 3:40 pm:
Waiting for her take on why her first bill goes down unanimously.
- Techie - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 3:41 pm:
I don’t know much about this representative, but all of the people trashing her really do surprise me. She’s not at all the first to report sexual harassment in Springfield, and yet many here are laughing at her and doubting her claims.
She’s certainly no PR expert, but do you really think she’s just making it all up? And we do know that Madigan exerts his influence far and wide, so it is no surprise to hear that other legislators pressured her to support him. The other question is, why are they all so concerned about one Democrat not voting for him? Why would that be such a big deal?
- low level - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 3:54 pm:
I have no issue w her voting against Madigan. Would like to know who she will vote for. As for colleagues phoning her, they were likely trying to help- especially the female ones. I suspect that will stop soon. Then she will complain that people are avoiding her.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 4:06 pm:
Congratulations on your new job. Maybe you might want to find a mentor to help you through the process. Obviously, if you already know everything, there’s no point in asking a more experienced person for guidance. Good luck. You’re off to a great start.
- Duopoly - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
=It’s almost like she’s a right wing undercover troll.=
Can her Russian passport be revoked?
- Fantasma - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 4:31 pm:
Techie - she said she was assaulted not sexually assaulted, and the alleged assault was a kiss on the head.
- Anon-I-Guess - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 5:07 pm:
She is like a work of performance art
- Taxedoutwest - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 7:18 pm:
Sounds like she would make a perfect guest on Dr. Phil
- wordslinger - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 8:21 pm:
–She’s certainly no PR expert, but do you really think she’s just making it all up?–
Making all what up?
What, specifically, is she talking about?
For crying out loud, she hasn’t spent Day One as a state rep., and she’s already claiming that she’s being driven out by a “toxic culture” in Springfield — one that she ambitiously sought to join just a few weeks ago.
Let’s listen to all claims, but let’s have some standards. Or the charlatans will appropriate the damages done to real victims for their own purposes.
- Dupage Bard - Monday, Jan 7, 19 @ 9:04 pm:
Using quotes from Conservative websites, lots of dog whistle verbiage being thrown around, a full on assault of the party as a whole if I didn’t know better this would sound like a Proft/Ives candidate.
- theCardinal - Tuesday, Jan 8, 19 @ 7:16 am:
Spot on Trapped in Burbs @4:06
Maybe get some counseling/advice to deal with the mean ole world out there… anyone miss Olsen yet ??
- NoGifts - Tuesday, Jan 8, 19 @ 8:35 am:
Can’t find the strength to just thank them, say goodbye and hang up the phone? Who would sit through hours of calls?
- One to the Dome - Tuesday, Jan 8, 19 @ 9:52 am:
Her office will have to install the “Dome off Silenxe” when she speaks to these covert legislators.