Civil lawsuit filed against Pritzker, alleges racial discrimination

Posted on October 17, 2018

By Neil Doyle/WMBD-TV

CHICAGO- Illinois Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker faces a civil lawsuit filed by current and former workers on his campaign alleging racial discrimination and harassment.

The lawsuit claims the campaign pushed black and Latino campaign workers into race-related tasks. It also claims that these workers then received less favorable treatment as compared to their white counterparts.

According to our news partner WMBD-TV, a total of 10 campaign workers filed the civil lawsuit. One of the plaintiffs, Kasmine Calhoun, was hired as a field organizer for the Peoria office.

The lawsuit claims she was told she was hired to meet a “Black Female organizer quota.” The lawsuit also stated that Calhoun said she was not allowed to stay with a family who was friendly to the campaign because she was black. She was then put in a hotel in “an unsafe part of town,” and staffers denied moving her.

Pritzker responded in a statement saying the allegations weren’t true.

Lawyers for the staffers asked for a $7.5 million in compensation for damages.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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