Three Democratic legislators -- Sara Feigenholtz, Karen Yarborough and Iris Martinez -- are holding a press conference at noon today to ask what Bill Brady knew about the cover-up of a sexual harrassment charge in the Chicago Young Republicans.
The women are "demanding the truth from GOP standard-bearer Senator Bill Brady after his party covered up allegations of sexual misconduct by a top GOP leader. After two governors who betrayed the public trust, Illinois cannot afford a repeat of the problems of the past. Women and all voters should be concerned that a cover up of this magnitude was perpetuated by Illinois Republicans."
You may remember that back in April, Ward Room published a piece about the Chicago Young Republicans entitled “How To Meet Attractive Conservative Women in Chicago.”
It began:
Hey, Conservative Guy. Tired of striking out with all the Obama Girls in this town? Tired of going on match.com, only to find that every lady in the 60657 zip code lists her politics as “Liberal”?
Tonight may be your night to get lucky with a woman who not only looks like Sarah Palin, but also owns an autographed copy of Going Rogue.
Our source was CYR chairman Jeremy Rose. As it turns out, Rose has just resigned over accusations that he was, in fact, treating the Young Republicans as a meat market.
According to the Huffington Post, Rose, described as the group’s “charismatic young president,” met a young woman at a CYR event and lured her back to his apartment, where he allegedly put his hand on his thigh and tickled her. He then prevented the young woman from leaving by planting himself on her lap and taking away her cell phone so she couldn’t call a cab.
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The woman complained to the Illinois Young Republicans, but her complaint was ignored. In fact, Rose was subsequently promoted to executive director of the Cook County Republican Party by party chairman Lee Roupas. He was only forced to resign after a group of ex-Young Republicans leaked the incident to the media.
Just another chapter in the strange saga of that fringe group known as the Chicago Republicans, whose bid for relevancy has been derailed by the many unusual characters who have carried its banner: an ex-clown who ran for mayor, a neo-Nazi who ran for Congress, and now, a 24-year-old man who really, really needs to smooth out his game. Pinning a girl to a couch may keep her in your apartment for a few extra minutes, but only so she can explain how your tactics are woefully middle school-esque.
Do you have to be a little off to be a Republican in Chicago? Apparently so. It’s a shame, because this city really needs a two-party system. Pat Quinn has been portraying his Republican opponent, Bill Brady, as hostile to women because he won’t fund mammograms or maternity leaves. Now women have another reason not to join the party: they may not be allowed to leave.
