Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth should clear her already empty schedule – her VA whistleblower retaliation lawsuit "is back in court" on October 5.
Just as they lied about the settlement’s amount by roughly $14,000, Duckworth’s taxpayer-funded legal team claimed that the plaintiffs could not back out:
- "We worked with a judge on June 24 and reached a final settlement. It’s typical practice that after finalizing a settlement, the parties sign our standard form. If a plaintiff declines to sign the form, that does not change whether the agreement is final," spokeswoman Maura Possley said in an email.
Not so.
As the Chicago Tribune reports, the judge called the two sides to discuss the matter with him just one month before Election Day.
The breaking development comes as the people of Illinois are learning even more about Duckworth’s reckless, vindictive conduct as Rod Blagojevich’s hand-picked appointee in a new ad:
[youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcqWU7Z6V-8"]
Will taxpayers finally find out why Duckworth was so eager to waste their money trying to settle?
Read more from the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Tribune | By John Case
*New date in Duckworth lawsuit: The Downstate retaliation lawsuit against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth is back in court after the judge overseeing the case on Wednesday called for the two sides to discuss the matter with him in early October.
Last month, the Illinois attorney general’s office filed a motion to enforce a settlement it said had been agreed upon between Duckworth and two workers at the Anna Veterans’ home stemming from the congresswoman’s time years ago as head of the state’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
But the two employees have not submitted those settlement documents to the judge, court records show. So Union County Judge Mark Boie set a case management conference via telephone between him and the two sides to discuss the status of the case, according to the Union County clerk’s office. The huddle is set for the morning of Oct. 5.
It is the latest development in a seven-year-old lawsuit that has continued to dog Duckworth as she challenges Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in November. Earlier this week, Kirk’s campaign began airing TV ads featuring the two women who sued criticizing Duckworth’s leadership.
The attorney general’s office, which is defending Duckworth, said in June that a $26,000 settlement had been reached with no finding of wrongdoing and the judge canceled the trial, which was scheduled for mid-August. But after the announcement of the settlement, the attorney for plaintiffs Christine Butler and Denise Goins said the two didn’t agree to the deal, which has left the case in a legal limbo.
The suit had been dismissed several times previously, and the state unsuccessfully had asked for the same fate again prior to the settlement, arguing that Duckworth’s efforts to fire Butler, who had worked for the state for 22 years, from her administrative job were based solely on “insubordination.”
Duckworth later reversed that decision after being informed that she had to follow written disciplinary procedures. Duckworth then issued a reprimand with a paid suspension against Butler. Goins, a human resources secretary, alleged that complaints about her boss were ignored and led to an unfavorable performance review that prevented her from receiving a raise. Goins had said Duckworth urged her to “do your job and keep your mouth shut.”