Dan Ugaste didn’t need to hear about the sexual harassment scandal rocking the office of longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) to form an opinion about his tenure.
“I would have liked to have seen Madigan walk away a long time ago,” Ugaste told the McHenry Times. “He’s been in power for far too long; right now he’s an example of why we need term limits, or at the very least limits for those in position of legislative leadership.”
Former Madigan political staffer Alaina Hampton recently stepped forward to allege harassment by Kevin Quinn, one of Madigan’s longtime senior operatives and her direct supervisor.
Dan Ugaste
Hampton further alleged that her complaint was essentially ignored by Madigan and other members of his organization, including Chicago Alderman Marty Quinn, the brother of the man she accused of being her tormentor.
“When someone is in power that long, it inhibits people from coming forward in times when they otherwise might,” Ugaste, a Geneva Republican running to replace retiring Rep. Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) in the 65th District, said. “When someone amasses too much power, there tends to be a problem of making certain everyone is treated fairly.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, Hampton alleges her issues with Kevin Quinn date back to 2016, when he started sending her inappropriate text messages and asking her out on dates. She said in February 2017, she formally filed a complaint with Marty Quinn, one of Madigan’s top lieutenants.
By April of that year, Hampton had walked away from her job after coming to believe her complaints were largely being ignored.
She said she feels there was a coverup because she sent a letter to Madigan’s home in late 2017, but again no action was taken against Kevin Quinn until a day after she went public with her story.
Hampton has also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and she and her attorneys plan to file suit against the Illinois Democratic Party and Friends of Mike Madigan.
“Everything about this needs to come out and everything needs to be transparent,” Ugaste said.
The ruckus in Madigan’s office comes as legislative leaders in Springfield grapple with the fallout from having the office of the legislative inspector general being unfilled for roughly three years. The inspector general is responsible for investigating all ethics complaints, including allegations of sexual harassment.
During the time the position went unfilled, at least 27 complaints alleging harassment were filed, including one against Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), who has since been found to have engaged in behavior “unbecoming a legislator” in his dealings with local activist Denise Rotheimer.
The 65th House District includes Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Pingree Grove, Hampshire and Huntley.
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