Former staffer of disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Tammy Duckworth, has a trial date set for a case involving a suppressed whistleblower.
Duckworth is being accused of retaliating against two employees from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Quad City Times has the details:
Allegations outlined in a September 2009 amended complaint say Duckworth, who headed the agency from December 2006 to 2009, violated state ethics rules and inflicted emotional distress on two employees of the Anna Veterans’ Home.
In the suit, employees Christine Butler and Denise Goins say they ran into trouble at their jobs after complaining about the facility’s acting chief, Patria Simms.
Butler said Duckworth fired her during a visit to the Anna facility, saying she had been “insubordinate.” The termination was reversed four days later, and she was placed on paid leave.
On the same day Butler was fired, Duckworth is claimed to have met with Goins, who said she had been given negative evaluations after reporting what she believed were breaches of state rules by Simms.
During the meeting, Duckworth referred to Butler’s termination and “intentionally sought to prevent Goins from raising any further complaints, stating, ‘If you do your job and keep your mouth shut and concentrate on job duties, you will keep your job,’” the lawsuit states.
Goins “reasonably believed that this statement violated her right to report misconduct as a whistleblower” under state law.
Despite the allegations, Duckworth says she’s “proud” of her work in the Blagojevich administration: