South Cook News

Chicago Young Republicans (CYRs) raised concern on the sexual harassment allegations against a Cook County high-ranking staff member and an elected Cook County official who retaliated against the employee for filing a complaint.

CYRs called out Deborah Sims and other officials on this matter.

“Democratic Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims, everyone,” CYRs posted on Facebook. “Chicago Tribune: ‘A Cook County elected official retaliated against an employee after she complained that her supervisor sent her unwanted, sexually explicit texts and groped her, according to the findings of an inspector general’s investigation.’”

The Office of the Independent Inspector General (OIIG) reported that there has been “substantial text message evidence.”

“The high-ranking staff member who was the subject of the complaint violated the county’s policy prohibiting sexual harassment, the investigation concluded, and received a 'verbal admonishment' and anti-harassment training, the report states,” CYRs added on its post.

The complaint also included that the supervisor “‘tap[ped] her butt.’” The OIIG report also confirmed that the supervisor acknowledged sending the “sexually explicit” messages.

“The report issued Thursday by the Office of the Independent Inspector General Patrick Blanchard doesn’t name the elected official, but sources identified her as longtime County Board Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Posen Democrat,” Chicago Young Republicans posted. “The unnamed high-ranking staff member was also found to have retaliated against the employee who made the complaint, according to the report."

Following the harassment complaint, the employee was closely monitored and her work responsibilities have been altered, in which the inspector general reckoned there was an “abrupt change” in the employee’s function “in relation to her sexual harassment complaint to the elected official.”

According to Chicago Tribune, Sims, who has represented the district since its inception in 1994, said she accepted the investigation’s findings, but by contrast the OIIG’s report stated that the elected official “disagreed with the OIIG finding of retaliation and rejected the OIIG recommendation for discipline of the (supervisor) on that charge.”

In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, it includes portions of the city of Chicago, and portions of Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Rich, Thornton, and Worth townships.