In one day, Tammy Duckworth realized that she "screwed up" in firing the whistleblower who filed complaints alleging the mistreatment and abuse of veterans during her tenure as Rod Blagojevich’s director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs:
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On May 3, 2007, Duckworth Fired Whistleblower Christine Butler "Without Legitimate Cause Or Justification." "On May 3, 2007, Defendant Duckworth and Defendant Simms met with Plaintiffs Butler and Goins, and other department heads, at the Anna Veterans Home. In a private meeting with Plaintiff Butler, Defendant Duckworth, without legitimate cause or justification, summarily discharged Plaintiff Butler, effective immediately." (Christine Butler and Denise Goins vs. Tammy Duckworth and Patricia Simms, First Judicial Circuit, Union County, 9/17/09, p.9)
- On May 4, 2007, Duckworth Said She "Screwed Up In Firing" Butler In An Internal Illinois Department Of Veterans’ Affairs Email. “Team, Christy Rios and I will be meeting early Monday before I leave for Quincy to gather our case for CMS ref Christy Butler. I need documentation from you, in a clear, user-friendly format to justify my decision to fire her. I screwed up in firing her since she actually is to be put on disciplinary leave first. Our next step with CMS is to explain why we need to terminate employment. Thank you.” (Director Tammy Duckworth, Internal Illinois Department Of Veterans’ Affairs E-Mail, 5/4/07)
In one day, Tammy Duckworth will again realize that she "screwed up" as she chooses to host a fundraiser with special guest Harry Reid in Washington, DC instead of attending the case hearing in her whistleblower retaliation lawsuit.
As NBC Chicago reports:
"There is no indication that Duckworth will attend Thursday’s hearing. She will instead be in Washington, D.C. that day to attend a fundraiser hosted by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid."
"Defendant Duckworth" will be courting the paychecks of lobbyists in Washington instead of lobbying for her innocence in court.
Making matters terribly worse, as she dines with Harry Reid and Washington lobbyists for a $1,000 per plate, she’s forcing the people of Illinois to pick up the tab:
- "Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is representing Duckworth…" (Monique Garcia and Duaa Eldeib, “Walsh, Duckworth Skirmish Over Lawsuit,” Chicago Tribune, 10/11/12)
The Illinois taxpayer, therefore, will be present at tomorrow’s case hearing. As she faces allegations of improperly firing and retaliating against whistleblowers, why doesn’t Tammy Duckworth think that she should be there as well?