On harassment, Springfield moves with shocking speed
Sometimes change happens quickly, and sometimes it never seems to happen at all.
It certainly was a case of the former last week when the Illinois Legislature hastily approved a bill aimed at cracking down on issues of sexual harassment at the Illinois Statehouse. For a state that grappled for two years just to pass a budget, the speed of this most recent action is nothing short of astounding.
Yet the stakes right now are high. From Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey to Roy Moore and even George Takei, Mr. Sulu himself, accusations of sexual impropriety are flying fast and furious.
In Illinois, the stakes were perhaps even higher after the issuance of a recent open letter signed by more than 100 women that detailed a longstanding culture of sexual harassment and intimidation within the Statehouse. With lightning speed, House Speaker Michael Madigan threw his back behind a bill to immediately address the state's response to and accountability for such accusations. Because this is Mike Madigan, and Springfield, everything else quickly fell into place.
Garnering support along the way from Gov. Rauner, the unanimously passed bill requires lawmakers, their staffs and lobbyists to undergo 90 minutes of training dealing with sexual harassment. Also, lawmakers last week appointed a new legislative inspector general to help investigate the reportedly dozens of backlogged complaints against denizens of the Capitol. The position, it's worth noting, had been completely vacant for more than two years.
Of course, this is a good thing. There is no way to compellingly argue otherwise. When a sexually charged comment, gesture or touch isn't given and received with mutual consent, it's a problem. And when one initiates, even with apparent consent, from a place of political, social or workplace power, it's also a problem.
Yet the issue passes without serious discussion, providing grist only for office gossip and back room chatter. Now, the floodgates have opened. Many victims don't tell stories for fear of shame and retribution, but legislative solutions - not just the trials in the court of public opinion of which we are so fond - raise the promise that real justice might be served.
That said, call me a little cynical. Madigan's Democrats remain the dominant force in the Illinois General Assembly, and they have been for years. Surely they'd heard the gossip. In all probability, they'd heard a few stories. After dithering for two years as the state's institutions teetered on the brink of collapse, they just showed the true sense of urgency they are able to summon. Madigan has even called for a task force to look further into questions of workplace harassment. We'll leave it to that aforementioned court of public opinion to determine why they moved with such decisiveness.
And as for that legislative inspector general job that sat indefinitely empty, until last week? Very speedy work indeed.
Who knew these folks could act so decisively?