Former Democrat State Senator John Sullivan from Quincy resigned as Dept of Ag Director
CHICAGO – Monday, the Illinois Director of the Department of Agriculture – a former state senator – resigned from his post, saying he knew about the "rape in Champaign" email and did nothing about it, WBEZ is reporting.
The announcement stirred a reaction from IL GOP Chairman Tim Schneider.
WBEZ found the above email after filing FOIA on McClain communications with Quinn Admin
"If a random state legislator like John Sullivan knew about McClain’s email at the time, surely there were others who knew about it and also ‘kept their mouths shut,’" Schneider said. "It defies belief that John Sullivan knew of the email and its contents, but Speaker Mike Madigan, a close confidant of the email’s author, knew nothing."
The heat appears to be turning up on the explosive allegations.
WBEZ writes:
The surprise departure of state Agriculture Secretary John Sullivan was announced Monday by the governor’s office. It represents the first measurable fallout from last week’s exclusive WBEZ report about ex-Springfield lobbyist Michael McClain’s explosive email that is now the subject of an investigation involving the Illinois State Police, state executive inspector general and the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s office.
A Pritzker spokeswoman said the Democratic governor was “disturbed” by Sullivan’s apparent mishandling of the email, which he appears to have known about when it was sent by McClain to two senior aides of former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration in late July 2012. At the time, Sullivan was a Democratic state senator from downstate Rushville.
Schneider said "Today’s news begs additional questions: Who else knew about the 'rape in Champaign?' When did they find out? Why didn’t they do anything? These questions deserve answers, and that’s why I agree with Leader Durkin that there should be a House investigation to get to the bottom of this scandal."
Related:
DURKIN SAYS NEWLY-FOUND MADIGAN INSIDER E-MAIL IS "SHOCKING" AND "BEYOND WORDS"
More to come …
