Gov. Pritzker: ‘we need to hold everybody accountable’ after report finds toxic workplace at Capitol

Posted on August 21, 2019

By Dave Dahl

SPIRNGFIELD – Now that a report of a toxic workplace at the Capitol is out, Gov. JB Pritzker’s glad the culture of harassment, intimidation, and bullying is now known to all.

But, he says, it doesn’t end here.

“I think we need to hold everybody accountable, and that means we need to address the culture,” Pritzker said Wednesday in Chicago after a bill-signing ceremony. “The only way to do that — you can’t just do one-time training; you can’t just announce that this is a problem. You have to be persistent and consistent about addressing it. People need to be reminded, and new people are coming to Springfield all the time.”

The closest Pritzker comes to saying House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) should face repercussions is that somebody like chief of staff Tim Mapes should not have been allowed to remain in power. Mapes is portrayed in the report as the bully-in-chief, regularly threatening people with the loss of their jobs.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].

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