Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s agriculture chief resigns over his handling of ‘rape in Champaign’ email, governor’s office says – By Dan Petrella (Chicago Tribune) / Jan 13 2020
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top agriculture official resigned Sunday after the administration learned he knew in 2012 of an email in which a powerful lobbyist and close confidant of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan sought leniency for a state worker who he said had “kept his mouth shut” about a “rape in Champaign.”
The resignation of John Sullivan, a former longtime state senator from Rushville in western Illinois, is the first tangible political fallout since the email was first reported last week by WBEZ, leading to a chorus of condemnation and calls for investigation.
Pritzker was “disturbed” that Sullivan “became aware of the existence of the July 31, 2012, email contemporaneously, and did not handle it appropriately, including not alerting the inspector general or other authorities,” Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said in a statement Monday. The governor’s office asked for Sullivan’s resignation, which he gave via email Sunday afternoon, Pritzker’s office said.
Jeremy Flynn, the agency’s chief of staff, has been appointed acting director.
The email was sent by Mike McClain, a former lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison and a close adviser to Madigan, to two officials in the administration of then-Gov. Pat Quinn. McClain sought leniency for Forrest Ashby, a longtime state worker who was facing a disciplinary hearing.
