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As the Illinois primary race for governor heats up, one leading candidate has been slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit alleging that he repeatedly hit on and sexually harassed several male staffers.
Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, currently favored as runner-up in the Illinois gubernatorial election, has been accused of repeatedly sexually harassing Treasury department employee Ed Michalowski in a lawsuit filed Monday. Michalowski, who resigned from his job for fear of reprisal, claims in his lawsuit that Rutherford sexually harassed him a number of times throughout his three years in the Treasury department.
One incident described in the lawsuit claims that Michalowski, 43, and Rutherford, 58, were attending the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, when Rutherford invited Michalowski back to his hotel room and became angry when Michalowski refused.
“After the reception, Rutherford grabbed [Michalowski’s] arm and asked Plaintiff to go up to his hotel room,” the lawsuit alleges. When Michalowski denied, Rutherford allegedly became angry and replied, “You just said no to the Treasurer.”
Dan Rutherford, Illinois Governor Hopeful, Accused Of Sexual Harassment Against Male Employees
