North Cook News

The news that an investigation into sexual harassment charges against Maine Township Trustee Dave Carrabotta had cleared him of any wrongdoing is expected to intensify a fight between a group of reformers in the township and an old guard resistant to change.

On Aug. 6, the township board voted to release the findings of a two-month investigation by Ancel Glink, a Chicago law firm, into allegations made by Trustee Kimberly Jones that Carrabotta had either groped her or he was involved in some inadvertent brushing. The level of contact claimed by Jones changed with the audience.

She called the contact “actual groping” in a July letter to Maine Township Republican Committeeman Char Foss Eggemann. The letter, signed by Jones and nine others calling themselves the Maine Township Republican Women’s Club (a “fringe group” according to one source), asked that Eggemann demand Carrabotta’s resignation. 

Dave Carrabotta

But the investigation that cleared Carrabotta had a different take: “Trustee Jones herself contemplates the possibility that any touchings were unintentional, which is why she tried to address this matter informally with Trustee Carrabotta initially without filing a formal complaint.”

One of the signatories of the letter to Eggemann was Laura Morask, a four-term trustee and now Maine Township supervisor, who has been accused by the Edgar County Watchdogs of numerous infractions: hiring a friend “outside of statutory provisions,” for destroying records “in violation of the law” and for violating the Open Meetings Act.

Trustees Carrabotta, Susan Kelly Sweeney and Claire McKenzie have been fighting for transparency in the township’s dealings and for some level of adherence to accepted governance practices.

The battle between the reformers and old guard has spilled over to Springfield. In a statement released Aug. 7, Eggemann called out state Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), who also demanded that Carrabotta resign before the investigation was complete, for failing to call for the resignation of House Speaker Mike Madigan over charges of abuse among some Democrats. Compounding the negligence, Madigan left the Legislative Inspector General (LIG) position vacant for nearly three years. The LIG investigates harassment and other ethics violations within the General Assembly.

“It is clear that Speaker Madigan and his supporters, like Rep. Marty Moylan, did not take the problem of sexual harassment seriously,” Eggemann said in the statement. “Moylan has proven time and time again that he cares more about loyalty to Madigan than he does about standing for leadership change, transparency and due process.

“Moylan has failed to take any of the necessary actions outlined here to fix the toxic culture of Springfield and assist women who seek to have their claims heard and investigated. Instead, Moylan has taken his total disregard for due process a step further: Moylan is the only elected official to call for another elected official in Maine Township to step down from his post because of a sexual harassment claim, despite the fact that the allegations were denied and a formal investigation had not been completed. Moylan’s public condemnation of a person who has claimed innocence without any evidence whatsoever is beyond the pale.”