Another Madigan aide gone after allegations of ‘inappropriate behavior’

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan fired another aide Monday — the second to be ousted in a week — citing “inappropriate behavior” toward a candidate and staff during the 2016 election.

Shaw Decremer is the second Madigan operative to be dismissed within a week, NBC 5 reported Monday evening.

Decremer, a lobbyist, was removed last week from four Democratic Illinois House campaigns, according to the political website Capitol Fax.

A Madigan spokesman, though, said only that Decremer currently has “no assignments or role in any campaign committee.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that Madigan sent a letter to Democratic caucus members that announced his political organization has retained an independent counsel to receive and investigate harassment allegations.

In a separate statement issued Monday evening, Madigan said Decremer — who was not referred to by name — “will no longer be involved with any activities of my political committees.”

“Last week, I was advised of inappropriate behavior by a volunteer toward a candidate and staff during the 2016 election,” the statement said. “I quickly made sure the individual had no participation in any activities my committees are involved in.

The statement goes on to say: “The complainant and I met with the individual, and the complainant assured me that the situation had been appropriately resolved.”

In a statement released Monday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Dan Biss and his running mate State Rep. Litesa Wallace called on Madigan to step down as chairman of the state’s Democratic Part, given the ongoing allegations.

“In the best interest of justice and truth, and to protect the women who have bravely come forward, Madigan should immediately resign from his position as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois,” the statement said. “And to ensure a truly independent investigation, we call on the Office of the Inspector General to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into these allegations.”

Last week, Madigan fired his longtime aide Kevin Quinn — brother of Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) — after a woman came forward to detail Quinn’s repeated requests to take her on a date or get drinks.

Alaina Hampton sent Madigan a letter last November saying that Quinn had made “unwanted advances.”

After receiving Hampton’s letter to the speaker, Madigan’s attorney Heather Wier Vaught conducted an investigation, which included numerous interviews. Wier Vaught, according to a statement Madigan released Monday, “recently came to the conclusion that the individual engaged in inappropriate conduct.”

Wier Vaught said Kevin Quinn sent “about a dozen” text messages to the woman that were “personal in nature” beginning in August 2016.

The woman worked for “various political committees,” but Wier Vaught would not detail which ones: “I can’t put any limitations as to what they are.”

“The contents of those were generally Mr. Quinn asking her if she would go on a date with him, or if she wanted to get drinks,” Wier Vaught said. “She made it clear that she was not interested in anything but a professional relationship.”