Former, Current Staffers Speak Out on Discrimination Lawsuit Against Pritzker Campaign
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Staffers are speaking out about a lawsuit accusing the Pritzker campaign of racism and harassment. NBC 5’s Regina Waldroup has the details.
Fifteen days before the November election, past and former staffers of J.B. Pritzker’s campaign said Monday they filed a lawsuit against the campaign to surface stories of what they called racial discrimination and intimidation—and not because of "politics."
At a joint press conference in Chicago, the group said there was a pattern of discrimination and harassment within the J.B. Pritzker for Governor Campaign. The lawsuit was filed last week.
“There exists a culture of discrimination and harassment for 'J.B. Pritzker for Governor’ campaign and that culture was here before we were hired,” expressed former campaign staffer Maxwell Little.
Pritzker said there is no basis for the accusations being made.
No matter who wins the race for governor, the groups said this is an issue of public concern, and political campaigns need to be held accountable.
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Incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner is running for a second term using many of the same rallying cries that sent him to Springfield the first time around. Rauner announced his re-election bid in October 2017, once again railing against powerful Democrat and longtime nemesis Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The Winnetka native’s announcement included another call for lower property taxes and term limits – two of the issues he focused on in his 2014 campaign, which was his first run for public office after a career in private equity. From the past four years, he counts education funding and criminal justice reform, as well as pro-business measures and his veto of an income tax hike (that eventually took effect), among his successes. But this time around may prove more difficult. Read more on Rauner here.
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J.B. Pritzker is a member of the billionaire Pritzker family, best known for owning the Hyatt hotel chain. After months of speculation, Pritzker announced in April 2017 that he would enter the race to unseat Gov. Bruce Rauner. For years, Pritzker has been a powerful Democratic fundraiser, involved in several local and national races, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress himself in 1998. A venture capitalist, Forbes listed Pritzker as the 219th richest person in the country in 2017, with a net worth of $3.4 billion - making him another candidate capable of self-funding his campaign. Read more on Pritzker here.
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Grayson "Kash" Jackson is the Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor. Born Benjamin Winderweedle in Louisiana, the 39-year-old retired U.S. Navy officer legally changed his name in 2017 and currently resides in north suburban Antioch. Jackson's proposals include requiring any tax increases to be passed by two-thirds of voters in a referendum, as well as unspecified criminal justice reforms, which he said includes getting family courts to “stop treating divorcing couples as sources of revenue" - an issue with particular relevance to his life. Read more on Jackson here.
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Republican State Sen. Sam McCann entered the race for governor in April under the Conservative Party label after initially mulling a GOP primary run against Rauner, with whom he has long been at odds. Billing himself as the only conservative in the race, McCann says on his website that he will “push for protections that preserve our religious beliefs from being attacked by leftist values” and “work with President Trump to secure the sovereignty of our borders.” Read more on McCann here.
“These things that are happening to us, as I am a current organizer on the campaign, is real,” said Erica Kimball. “We all believe in what J.B. and Juliana (Stratton) stands for but we are also in the fight of our lives in our work environment.”
Kayla Hogan says she was a field organizer for the campaign during the primary but says she was let go after complaining to Pritzker about racial bias and discrimination in his campaign.
Although the group would not talk about specific incidents, their pro-bono lawyers affirmed all of that will be addressed in court.
The group filed a $7.5 million lawsuit against Pritzker's campaign but the campaign has yet to be served with the lawsuit.
The campaign issued a statement Monday morning saying:
“The fact is, there is no basis for the accusations being made. Everything about the way this has been handled, from the threat to sue unless a $7.5 million dollar payment was made to the fact that their lawyer seems far more interested in conducting interviews and holding press conferences than even serving necessary papers that would allow the case to be dismissed, tell you all you need to know. JB and Juliana are proud of the diverse and inclusive campaign they are running.”
“We bring the lawsuit now because, at what time is the right time to fight for everyone’s dignities standing here?” said Attorney Shay Allen.
