Madigan’s former chief of staff ‘commonly threatened people’s jobs,’ state report finds

House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, and former inspector general Maggie Hickey | Sun-Times file photo; Courtesy of Schiff Hardin

For 26 years, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s office was run by a chief of staff who used “fear” as motivation and could “make or break” careers, a massive report on harassment in state politics revealed on Tuesday.

The revelation came in a 201-page report by former state Inspector General Maggie Hickey. The report uncovered a pervasive and troubling workplace culture while also dissecting three marquee #MeToo cases that caused big headaches for the speaker last year.

The yearlong review included more than 100 interviews. Hickey looked at three high-profile cases: retaliation claims by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy and harassment allegations against both former state Rep. Lou Lang and former chief of staff to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, Tim Mapes.

“People from across the Capitol workplace reported that they had witnessed or personally experienced what they described as inappropriate sexual conduct in the Capitol workplace,” Hickey wrote. “The described conduct that included inappropriate sexual comments and unwelcome sexual advances.”

Some of Hickey’s harshest criticisms were of Mapes, who became Madigan’s chief of staff in 1991 and Clerk of the House in 2011; most of those interviewed, she said, “agreed that Mr. Mapes commonly threatened people’s jobs or reminded them that they were dispensable.”

Timothy Mapes (right), former chief of staff for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was accused of mishandling allegations of sexual harassment on two occasions.

“People believed that Mr. Mapes attempted to motivate workers through fear and that a few other supervisors throughout the years emulated this practice,” Hickey writes. “Some people also raised the additional concern that, given Mr. Mapes’ political ties, he could make or break their careers outside of the Speaker’s Office as well.”

Hickey writes that the speaker’s staff felt “obligated to volunteer for political organizations, such as DPI [Democratic Party of Illinois], or else suffer retaliation by not having their contracts renewed, by not getting good assignments, or by having their prospects diminished.”

Other told Hickey that if they got on “Mapes’ bad side, he would actively call prospective employers and discourage the employers from hiring them.”

“The number of independently verified instances of Mr. Mapes’ derogatory behavior was overwhelming,” Hickey wrote. “Mr. Mapes had a reputation for denigrating workers and threatening their jobs.”

Still, perhaps the reason he lasted for so long, Hickey wrote, “most people believed that Mr. Mapes was efficient at getting things done.”

“This appearance of efficiency was, at least in part, a product of the fear he engendered,” Hickey wrote, adding that the speaker’s staff didn’t feel comfortable talking to Mapes about concerns and “practically no one felt comfortable going to the Speaker with issues regarding Mr. Mapes.”

Hickey continues that several employees said they “continue to fear” that Mapes will return to the speaker’s office, even if not an official worker.

“Some workers pointed to the fact that other workers have been removed from the Speaker’s Office but have continued to work in the Capitol, often working closely with Speaker’s Office workers and spending time in their workspace,” the report said.

Mapes was ousted just after Garrett’s allegations were made public. And Hickey noted that since then, the speaker’s office has taken steps to address concerns, including a handout on who to contact with discrimination, harassment and workers’ rights.

In a statement about the release, Madigan again said more needs to be done to combat harassment.

“I take responsibility for not doing enough previously to prevent issues in my office, and continue to believe that we, collectively, need to do more in the Capitol to improve our workplace culture and protect the women and men who work here who want to make a difference in the world,” Madigan said in a statement. “While the Office of the Speaker has taken many steps to improve and will work to adopt Ms. Hickey’s recommendations, Ms. Hickey’s report makes clear there is more to be done. As part of my full commitment to change the culture, I am ready to work with the other legislative caucuses to ensure that everyone has a safe workplace.”

The report deals in part with allegations of retaliation made by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy.

While the massive report looked at those three cases, Hickey also concluded problems lie in the back-and-forth between the political and government roles many play.

Madigan and an advisory group comprised of women lawmakers asked Hickey to probe the Illinois House for “failures and mistakes” in June 2018

State Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, was among the advisory group who received the report last Friday. Williams, too, said she spoke with Madigan on Tuesday to discuss the next steps.

“The findings were at times very difficult to read,” Williams said. “We all are a bit of a family in Springfield and then to read parts of the report about people’s experiences and the feeling undervalued...is troubling. But we’re committed to making the workplace healthier, safer for women across the state.”

At the time Madigan requested the report, he was reeling from the abrupt departure of Mapes, clerk of the Illinois House, his chief of staff and the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, amid a whistleblower’s accusations that, among other claims, Mapes made light of harassment allegations.

Mapes’ departure came just a week after Lang stepped down from his leadership positions and his role in the Legislative Ethics Commission after a woman came forward with bullying and harassment allegations.

Illinois state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, also was accused of harassment; Hickey, however, did not find sufficient evidence to prove Lang made unwanted advances or bullied the woman who accused him, Maryann Loncar.

Regarding Cassidy’s claims, Hickey concluded she did not find sufficient evidence to corroborate her claims of retaliation. She also did not find sufficient evidence to prove Lang made unwanted advances or bullied the woman who accused him, Maryann Loncar.

The report, however, did find that Mapes did not “discharge his duties” as chief of staff and clerk “in a courteous and efficient manner.” He also “unequivocally violated the Speaker’s polices when he dismissed and mocked [his accuser Sherri] Garrett for coming forward with her serious concerns about potential sexual harassment.”