Aldermen raise concerns about two sex harassment ordinances
Question if measures would allow unfounded accusations to ‘ wreck someone’s career and life’
Chicago’s 53 elected officials would be held accountable for sexual harassment on their staffs — and citywide victims of sexual harassment and bullying would have a new tool to protect them — under a pair of ordinances unveiled Monday that scared the heck out of Ald. Nick Sposato ( 38th).
The City Council’s Finance Committee heard testimony but took no vote on the companion ordinances championed by its Chairman Edward Burke ( 14th) because there wasn’t enough public notice.
The vote will be held prior to Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
But that didn’t stop Sposato from voicing his concerns.
“This may come out the wrong way— and I don’t mean it to. But a false accusation could wreck someone’s career and life,” Sposato said.
“Say an alderman is way out front of this. You could say they’re being nice, too touchy- feely.”
Steve Berlin, executive director of the city’s Board of Ethics, said “only an investigation could ferret out” whether the facts support a claim of sexual harassment.
But Berlin assured Sposato that those investigations by the inspector general would be handled confidentially, then adjudicated by the Board of Ethics.
Still, Budget Committee Chairman CarrieAustin ( 34th) wondered a loud what would happen, “If I’m an employer and I reprimand someone and their retaliation is saying I’m sexually harassing” them.
Austin also took issue with Inspector General Joe Ferguson doing the investigating.
Two years ago, Austin unleashed a tirade at Ferguson for what she called the “witch hunt” that forced the resignation of her son.
At the time, Kenny Austin resigned from his $ 72,384- a- year city laborer’s job after an internal investigation concluded he crashed a city vehicle while driving on a suspended license, then had a coworker cover for him.
As outlined Monday, the ordinances would close a loophole that has allowed the three citywide elected officials and 50 aldermen to escape responsibility for sexual harassment on their staffs.
The second ordinance has broader implications. It would create what Burke called a “quasicriminal violation for individuals who feel they have been victims of bullying or sexual harassment.”
Burke asked how many sexual harassment complaints the city’s Department of Human Resources receives on an annual basis.
Judith Mars, head of the Equal Employment Opportunity training division, didn’t have the number.
The chairman then asked Berlin how many complaints the Board of Ethics has received. “We don’t have any,” Berlin said. Burke replied, “So we don’t have any 27 cases hanging out there.”
He was referring to the controversy surrounding the Illinois General Assembly’s decision not to fill the vacancy of legislative inspector general for two years, allowing 27 pending complaints to languish.
Ald. Anthony Beale ( 9th) credited Burke with attempting to stay one step ahead of the sexual harassment tidal wave.
“Being an elected official, you have staff or people in the community who would like to see your demise. They can come up with all kinds of false accusations . . . It can ruin your career if it got public — even if it’s not founded,” Beale said.
So why go along with the new crackdown?
“You want to have something in place that protects a person if it does happen,” Beale said.