JONESBORO, Ill. (AP) – A Union County Circuit Court judge today scheduled depositions from two state workers alleging retaliation from U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth when she was in charge of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
The long-delayed civil lawsuit has emerged as an issue in the Democratic congresswoman’s bid to unseat first-term Republican U.S. Senator Mark Kirk.
A judge has scheduled depositions from Christine Butler and Denise Goins in late August. Butler and Goins claim Duckworth and a veterans home administrator in Anna mistreated them and broke state ethics rules in 2006 and 2007.
A federal judge in 2008 dismissed the suit as a “garden variety workplace case.” It was refiled in state court and dismissed again, but then narrowed and brought back a third time. A trial is tentatively scheduled for April, one month after the Senate primaries.
