Illinois Senate approves harassment bills

Posted on November 8, 2017
Karen McCounnaughay
State Sen. Karen McCounnaughay said lawmakers can’t be trusted to police themselves. (Photo courtesy ilga.gov)

By RFD Radio/WFMB

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate debated and discussed topics on Tuesday surrounding sexual harassment at the Capitol.

The first step taken was to approve the appointment of a Legislative Inspector General. That office, in charge of looking into complaints like sexual harassment had sat empty for three years.

Now that Julie Porter has been approved the Senate also voted in favor of extending the statute of limitations on misconduct claims. That allows for all 27 claims made since the office was vacated to be up for review.

State Sen. Karen McCounnaughay, R-West Dundee, said it’s a valuable first step but more can be done.

“As we move forward, we need to take the process of investigating complaints against the General Assembly out of our control,” McCounnaughay said.

There is also a pending sexual harassment task force to be assembled by the Senate.

One senator has been publicly named in a harassment case; Ira Silverstein was at the Capitol but told reporters he would not be talking about the allegations against him until he spoke to the new Inspector General.

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