* Eric Zorn…
“I sound like a high school boy,” says state Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, in a moment of blinding clarity on the 437th page of what I’m calling “The Silverstein-Rotheimer Papers,” a printout of 17 months’ worth of Facebook messages between Silverstein and victim rights advocate Denise Rotheimer.
Rotheimer released this tome to certain members of the media last week as evidence, she said, of the “torment” she suffered due to Silverstein’s “unconscionable” sexual harassment of her while he was sponsoring a bill that she was backing in Springfield.
Rotheimer’s accusations were magnified by the current focus in the news on predatory behavior, from inappropriate to illegal, which was touched off by widespread allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. And they resulted in Silverstein losing a seat in party leadership that paid him $20,649 a year.
Fair enough, I suppose. “The Silverstein-Rotheimer Papers” show that the veteran North Side lawmaker engaged in an inappropriately personal relationship with a woman who personal and political propriety demanded he keep at arm’s length. It was an ethical failure.
Notably, though, there’s little to no evidence in the 444-page record of Silverstein, 57 and married, threatening, harassing, intimidating or propositioning Rotheimer, 45 and single. Rather, as Silverstein says, he sounds in this to me like a high school boy — goofy, smitten and awkward as he flirts with a woman who, it seems to me, coyly leads him along.
Zorn also provided some excerpts from their conversations which he claims boost his case.
Rotheimer tried to put this into context yesterday, so click here if you missed it. She adamantly denies that the relationship was mutual.
I don’t know anyone who believes that Sen. Silverstein is the perfect poster child for sexual harassment. He’s not on anybody’s top ten list. But I also believe that, at minimum, he behaved unprofessionally with Rotheimer. Also keep in mind that there are no perfect victims in this world.
From comments on yesterday’s post…
Of course there are plenty of men here, doubtless in positions of authority, who read this as flirting. That’s gross, guys. She isn’t flirting, and all the women in subordinate positions to you who respond similarly aren’t flirting with you — they’re trying to get you to stop without you screaming at them or hitting them. The 20-year-old waitress does not find your 50-year-old flirting charming, she finds it creepy. The secretary you’re engaging in “flirtatious banter” with is not amused, she’s trying not to get fired and hating you like fire.
* Meanwhile…
Reached on Tuesday, Rotheimer urged the new legislative inspector general to move quickly to resolve her complaint, which she filed nearly a year ago.
As for Silverstein, she said he has no one to blame but himself.
“I’m not going to apologize for how things are coming out on him,” Rotheimer said. “That’s on him. That’s on the people in Springfield who decided to sweep my complaint under the rug. That’s on them, not me.”
* And Senate President Cullerton has a suggestion…
But Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s office noted the Legislative Ethics Commission should be responsible for notifying victims since the panel has the responsibility to take in complaints and follow through with victims.
“One of the problems we’ve identified is the lack of follow through in notifying victims that their complaints were received, who they can contact and where they can send additional information if they have any,” Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said in a statement. “There needs to be a clear line of notification and communication. It’s an issue that would be best handled by the ethics commission and its executive director.”
* One more…
Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said there is a “disconnect” in Springfield in which people call for an end to the culture of sexual harassment but “there are enough folks walking around who still don’t know what it is they are not supposed to be doing.”
Hutchinson told a story of when she started lobbying and was trying to land her first contract. She was at a luncheon, and the “head person on this bill told me that the only reason I was there was so that we could put my beautiful black breasts on sale,” she said.
“Now, I was just starting out. I hadn’t gone to law school yet. I had absolutely no power to speak out. I had just one client in my pocket I was trying to work. That is an example of a conversation that crosses three things: it was generational, it was racist and it was sexist.
“I didn’t know there was any place that I could have gone to say anything about it at the time,” Hutchinson said.
…Adding… I’ve been telling subscribers about these two folks since Monday morning…
From yesterday…
Ram Villivalam, SEIU Healthcare’s legislative coordinator and former political director to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider’s campaign, tells us he’s challenging embattled state Sen. Ira Silverstein in the Democratic primary. Silverstein last week resigned from his leadership post amid sexual harassment allegations leveled by a victims’ rights activist, which he has denied.
Villivalam told POLITICO on Monday he expects to formally file campaign papers today and he set a goal of raising $25,000 in the first week. “I think we need a new and young generation with more diversity in our government. The 8th district has the highest concentration of Asian Americans in the state of Illinois. As an Asian American, it’s time we elect the first Asian American state senator,” said Villivalam, whose parents immigrated to the United States from India. “I want to be a part of the new generation of leaders that we elect who want to listen to everyday people, who want to change the culture in Springfield.”
Villivalam worked as a legislative coordinator for SEIU Healthcare for three years, including combating right to work efforts by Gov. Bruce Rauner, advancing wage issues for home health care workers and child care assistance programs for working parents. “It’s the organization that’s been on the frontline of fighting Bruce Rauner’s disastrous policies,” Villivalam said.
More on Alison Leipsiger is here.
