* Some quick background…
State Sen. Michael Hastings is suing Frankfort’s Police Department and alleges that unnamed employees of the department or Will County released “a fabricated police report with false claims” of domestic violence against him alleged by his wife, who he said he is divorcing.
A petition for discovery, filed last month, seeks records from Frankfort and Will County regarding who may have accessed the June 20, 2021, police report in which his wife alleged that Hastings was verbally abusive toward her and had, several months earlier, battered her at the Frankfort home they shared.
Southtown…
State Sen. Michael Hastings lost a round in court Thursday when a Will County judge ruled that potential sworn testimony by a Tinley Park police officer and Mayor Michael Glotz were irrelevant to the senator’s divorce case at this time.
Judge Dinah Archambeault quashed subpoenas that sought to depose Glotz and a police officer who took a report from Hastings’ estranged wife on Father’s Day 2021 at the Tinley Park Police Department.
Attorneys for Hastings argued the prospective witnesses might shed light on alleged efforts to damage the senator’s political career.
…Adding… Southtown…
An ethics investigation launched last year at the behest of state Sen. Michael Hastings found his former chief of staff engaged in prohibited political activity and misappropriated state resources by using her official email account to conduct personal business.
The legislative inspector general concluded that allegations Hastings made against Cassandra Matz, who worked for him from 2013 until he fired her in 2018, were “factually well-founded” and that her termination was “supported by the facts,” according to an investigative summary report.
* OK, on to the Edgar County Watchdogs…
In a letter dated August 12, 2022, to Secretary of the Senate Tim Anderson, Senate President Don Harmon wrote:
“Senator Michael E. Hastings has stepped down from his role on Senate Democrat Majority Caucus Whip. I have accepted this resignation and it is effective immediately. If you have any questions, please contact Jake Butcher, Chief of Staff.”
* More allegations from the Edgar County Watchdogs…
In 2019, Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings and the Illinois State Senate were sued by Cassandra Matz, who was Hastings’ former Chief of Staff (See Chicago Tribune article).
The Cook County Case Number was: 2019-L-6369 and alleged she was paid less than her predecessor and was treated differently than his other employees, which constituted harassment. Count I complained of Violations of State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. […]
On December 8, 2021, the court docket shows a “Stipulation to Dismiss” was filed.
According to the Stipulation to Dismiss, “Each party shall bear their own attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.” This Stipulation was signed by both party’s attorneys. […]
The Comptroller was invoiced on January 7, 2022, and later paid Plaintiff Cassandra Matz $45,000 on February 23, 2022.
The Comptroller was also separately invoiced on January 7, 2022, and later paid Plaintiff Matz’ attorneys $55,000 on February 23, 2022.
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* And Sen. Hastings posted this on his Facebook page earlier today…
#perspective
Life can be like that. It kicks us around. The stuff we expected to be simple turns out to be tough. The people we thought were friends let us down. A couple storms or unexpected weather patterns just add a whole bunch of difficulty on top of whatever we’ve been doing.
How could that possibly be seen as a good thing? You have to squint a bit to see it, but there is one way: if you see what’s been happening as practice, as training.
Seneca wrote that only the prize fighter who has been bloodied and bruised—in training and in previous matches—can go into the ring confident of his chances of winning. The one who has never been touched before, never had a hard fight? That’s a fighter who is scared. And if they aren’t, they should be. Because they have no actual idea how they’re going to hold up.
His point was that the boxer who has, “seen his own blood, who has felt his teeth rattle beneath his opponent’s fist…who has been downed in body but not in spirit…”—they know what they can take. They know what the darkness before the proverbial dawn feels like. Only they have a true and accurate sense of rhythms of a fight and what winning is going to require them to do. That sense comes from getting knocked around. That sense is only possible because of the hard times—the hard knocks—they’ve experienced before.
So yeah, things might not be great right now. Obviously it’d be nice if they were better. But if they were, you’d also be weaker for it. Less informed. Less in touch with yourself and the fight you’re in.
So squint and see that.
*** UPDATE *** Sen. Hastings’ resignation letter indicates that his resignation was requested by Senate President Harmon…