The former second-in-command of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs resigned last year after an internal investigation into his allegations that he sexually harassed female employees and used racial slurs to target Black employees, according to a report released Wednesday by the Office of the Executive Inspector General.

Harry Sawyer, who resigned in May 2018, was found in a subsequent investigation by the state’s executive inspector general to have violated the agency’s employee handbook — but not the state’s Ethics Act — for his alleged comments that employees characterized as sexual harassment. Sawyer also was found to have violated Illinois Code of Personal Conduct for his alleged use of “highly offensive race-based language,” including the N-word, toward employees. 

But according to the report, completed in February but released on Wednesday, Sawyer was allowed to resign — instead of being fired — from his position after former Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries interceded on his behalf, citing his 37 years of service in state government and his service in the Vietnam War. 

Both Jeffries and Sawyer’s positions are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate. Jeffries accepted a job in the private sector in April 2018 after a tumultuous few years under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, in which the agency was blamed for the Legionnaires’ deaths of 13 residents at the Quincy Veterans’ Home in 2015, and the sickening of dozens more. 

In a memo to staff in late April last year, employees were told Jeffries’ last day would be May 18, 2018, and that Sawyer would take over as interim director. But according to the report, Jeffries heard about the allegations against Sawyer weeks before that, meaning Sawyer’s promotion was announced after officials launched a preliminary investigation into Sawyer’s behavior. 

IDVA Equal Employment Opportunity Officer Greg Dooley opened an internal investigation after he overheard agency employees talking amongst themselves about Sawyer’s behavior. Dooley brought it up the agency’s chief of staff, who instructed him to conduct the investigation. Jeffries also asked Dooley to gather witness statements, according to the report. 

After a few weeks of investigating, the matter was passed along to the inspector general, which began its months-long investigation. 

In early May 2018, Jeffries met with Sawyer about Dooley’s report, and while Jeffries said he called the allegations “B.S.,” Sawyer submitted his resignation effective May 31, 2018. 

Sawyer did not participate in the OEIG’s investigation, declining to be interviewed. 

A new agency director was announced on Jeffries’ last day in state government, and Sawyer was never actually made acting director as planned. An October 2018 agency newsletter refers to Sawyer as having retired from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, where he worked since 1982. State records show Sawyer made $98,500 in 2017, his last full year of employment with the agency.

The inspector general’s investigation focused on a period of time from November 2017 through the end of Sawyer’s employment with the agency, but many of the comments interpreted as sexual harassment allegedly occurred in March 2018. 

In mid-March last year, according to the report, an employee reported that Sawyer had referred to her rear end while she was bent down to pick something up or adjusting her shoe. Employees had apparently been talking about lunch plans, and Sawyer allegedly said “speaking of lunch,” regarding the employee’s backside.

A number of sexual comments were also reported on the same day later that month. During one meeting about how donated paintings should be displayed at the DuQuoin State Fair, Sawyer allegedly suggested women walk around holding up the paintings.

When a woman in the meeting asked: “Do you mean like boxing ring girls?” Sawyer allegedly nodded and “demonstrated a ‘ring girl pose’ while making his suggestion.”

That same day, an employee was eating a piece of birthday cake from which she’d removed the frosting. Sawyer allegedly asked if the employee was going to eat the frosting, and when she said no, “he replied with something like, ‘I wanted to watch you lick the spoon,’” according to the employee’s account in the report.

In a third alleged incident on that same day, while Sawyer and employees were discussing plans for the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade, an employee said she was willing to ride a horse. To that, Sawyer allegedly referenced Lady Godiva, who rode a horse naked, according to Anglo-Saxon myth.

While the watchdog determined that complaints that Sawyer’s comments violated the agency’s employee handbook were founded, investigators ultimately determined that the allegation that Sawyer’s comments violated the state’s Ethics Act were unfounded.

Investigators reached that conclusion because Sawyer’s comments and innuendo “do not appear to have been either pervasive enough or severe enough to alter conditions of employment,” investigators wrote, and ultimately did not create a hostile work environment.”

“While Mr. Sawyer’s comments were sexual in nature, and entirely inappropriate for the workplace, they didn’t to appear to have been threatening or particularly severe, nor did they appear to interfere with anyone’s ability to do his or her job,” according to the report. 

The report also details instances of Sawyer’s alleged use of racial slurs and racially insensitive language. 

In August 2017, Sawyer allegedly had been upset with an employee’s job performance, which he described as being inadequate.

“All n-----s stick together,” Sawyer allegedly said, also referring to what he allegedly called a “‘sisterhood’ of African American women within IDVA protecting each other.”

On another occasion in late 2017 or early 2018, Sawyer allegedly referred to an employee with the N-word while he berated her for not being able to fill out a travel reimbursement voucher for Sawyer “in a correct and timely manner.”

Other employees interviewed during the investigation said they had not heard Sawyer use racial slurs. 

The woman whose rear end had allegedly been referred to as “lunch” by Sawyer, and who Sawyer had also allegedly called the N-word told OEIG investigators that while she found his comments inappropriate, “she stated that she felt she could ‘hold her own’ with Mr. Sawyer,” the report said.

A footnote in the report recounts an incident recalled by an employee — during which she and Sawyer were “discussing compensation matters” — when Sawyer allegedly told the employee that “he could fire her ‘for the way [her] hair looks,’” according to the employee, whose hair was being worn naturally. 

“She thought it was inappropriate for a white man like Mr. Sawyer to comment on that,” the footnote said. 

But another employee told investigators that Sawyer’s behavior “was especially inappropriate,” since he was high up in the agency’s chain of command.

“She characterized him as a ‘creepy old man’ who simply needed to be made aware of the inappropriate nature of some of his conduct,” according to the report. 

At least two employees interviewed by investigators said they wouldn’t have felt comfortable confronting Sawyer about his comments.

“[Employee 3] told investigators that Mr. Sawyer had power and authority as the Assistant Director, and indicated that he felt Mr. Sawyer could hinder his career if he spoke up about Mr. Sawyer’s conduct,” according to the report.

Another employee echoed those comments, telling investigators that he never confronted Sawyer because “you should know your place and stay in your lane.” 

Investigators suggest the agency place a copy of their report in Sawyer’s employment file, but note he already left state employment. The report also recommends the agency consider revising its handbook to incorporate provisions to its policy against racial discrimination and harassment similar to its policy against sexual harassment.

“Doing so would strengthen IDVA’s ability to respond to the use of inappropriate and offensive race-based language/conduct that, while perhaps not actionable under Title VII and/or related to Illinois laws, should not go unaddressed,” according to the report.

The report was released one day after the blockbuster conclusions made in another investigation into workplace conditions in House Speaker Mike Madigan’s (D-Chicago) office, where employees described a culture of bullying and sexual harassment as the norm under former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes.”

Related: Speaker’s office workplace report dumps on Mapes, but allows Madigan to point to progress

In a year where the Illinois General Assembly massively expanded gambling throughout the state, the Lottery still makes up more than half of wagering revenues in Illinois, and recent reports indicate it’s growing under new private management after years of struggling.

Former Cook County Comm. Richard Boykin plunged Tuesday into the crowded race to be Cook County Circuit Court Clerk by surrounding himself with South and West Side political church leaders, launching a bid to secure retiring Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown’s political base.

House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) was left mostly unscathed by a long-awaited outside investigation into claims of sexual harassment and intimidation within the the Illinois Capitol — but the report called on him to pay closer attention to the behavior of his closest aides.

Wearing a dark suit and somber expression, State Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) entered a plea of not guilty at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, two weeks after a stunning 41-count indictment alleged the senator had been a ghost payroller for the Teamsters Joint Council 25 in his first few years after being elected to the General Assembly.

One day after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) visited Springfield to rev up the Democratic base at the Governor’s Day brunch held by the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, the Democrat’s face loomed over the crowd assembled for Republican Day programming on the Director’s Lawn at the state fairgrounds — along with grayscale headshots Gov. JB Pritzker and House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) — urging Republicans to “fight the machine.”

While U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) was billed as keynote speaker for Wednesday morning’s annual Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch in Springfield, it was Gov. JB Pritzker who got the crowd of Democratic party faithful revved up as he promised a “blue tsunami” to continue last year’s “Blue Wave” that swept Democrats into office at all levels of government in November in a rebuke of President Donald Trump and former Gov. Bruce Rauner.

As more than 2,100 Democrats milled about the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Convention Center early Wednesday, many bought T-shirts for sale that proclaimed “Illinois Democrats get BIG things done,” a riff on Pritzker’s campaign promises to “Think Big,” and a continuation of his branding for Democrats’ legislative wins listed on the back of the $25 shirt. 

Wednesday’s featured speakers boasted of the legislative victories, which include what they claim is the state’s first on-time and balanced budget in years, a $45 billion infrastructure plan, massive gambling expansion — including legalizing sports betting — recreational marijuana, a $15 minimum wage by 2025 and the Reproductive Health Act.

Pelosi, whose lengthy remarks largely focused on Trump and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), congratulated Pritzker, saying “you get big things done,” and called him a “model to the nation.” The California Democrat noted that she’d been friends with Pritzker’s mother, Sue Pritzker, when the governor was growing up in the Bay Area, and said it brought “tears to my eyes to see him…command the issues” in Illinois.

Pritzker praised Pelosi for her navigation of Washington as Speaker of the House and in dealing with Trump.

“I know I speak for everyone when I say thank God we didn’t send a man to do a woman’s job,” Pritzker said.

Pelosi praised the “persistent, bold experimentation” coming out of Illinois, saying that here and elsewhere, she sees evidence that “a mainstream agenda can also be a progressive agenda.” She referred to McConnell as “Moscow Mitch,” and used his own branding — describing himself as the “Grim Reaper” — against him.

“Since I’m in Springfield I’ll just quote a Republican president, Abraham Lincoln,” Pelosi told the crowd. “He said, ‘Public sentiment is everything.’ With it, you can accomplish almost anything, without it practically nothing.”

One Democrat who intimately understands public sentiment is House Speaker Mike Madigan, who is even more unpopular in his own state than Pelosi is, according to recent polling data. Madigan, who has mostly stayed in the shadows for Pritzker’s first year in office after being extremely visible for four years fighting Rauner, spoke for only three minutes Wednesday morning before departing out the back door.

Though some Republicans last year acknowledged that a constant message of blaming Madigan may no longer be a winning one, a coalition formed to stop one of Pritzker’s top priorities — implementing a graduated income tax in Illinois via a constitutional amendment — put Madigan in the center of its branding Wednesday.

Greg Baise, the former head of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and current chair of Ideas Illinois, a 501(c)4 group dedicated to defeating what Pritzker has branded as the “Fair Tax,” announced a political action committee dedicated to the cause, dubbed the “Vote No on Blank Check Committee.” 

The committee’s logo features the longtime House Speaker’s face, and polling released this Spring from Baise-connected We Ask America and commissioned by Ideas Illinois, found Madigan sits at an 18 percent favorability rating. A March poll from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University didn’t see Madigan faring much better, with only a 20 percent job approval rating.

Madigan, who is also the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, conducted what he jokingly called a “public opinion poll” gauged by the friendly crowd’s reaction.

“Are you happy about the fact that this year Illinois has a full-year budget, on time and balanced?” Madigan asked, with the crowd cheering for that and other Democratic victories, including a contract negotiated for approximately 80,000 state workers represented by AFSCME Council 31 — their first since 2015.

“All these things happened because there was a change in the occupant of the governor’s office in Illinois,” Madigan said. “We came together and decided that a budget impasse that lasted two and a half years was not acceptable…and we gathered together and we rallied, we removed Rauner from office and installed our governor, JB Pritzker.”

After telling the crowd to enjoy their day, Madigan left the building without any chance of being intercepted by reporters. Earlier this summer, the Tribune reported on a series of FBI raids at the homes and offices of some of the speaker’s closest allies, apparently in connection with checks written to former Madigan political staffer Kevin Quinn. 

Madigan fired Quinn last year as campaign worker Alaina Hampton went public with her accusations that Quinn had harassed her in pursuit of a romantic relationship, and that Hampton had not been protected from his advances. 

Madigan also dodged potential questions about State Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park), who two weeks ago was indicted on 41 charges related to having been a “ghost payroller” for the Teamsters Joint Council 25 for the first three years he served in the Senate. 

Cullerton’s arraignment, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was moved to Friday morning at the Dirksen Federal Court building in Chicago. 

Cullerton’s caucus leader, Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who is a distant cousin of the indicted politician, told reporters again Wednesday that Cullerton is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Cullerton was removed from his chairmanship of the Senate’s Labor Committee, but was given another chairmanship, which lets him keep a $10,000 bump in his legislative pay.

“It is what it is and he’s got to face the charges,” Senate President Cullerton said Wednesday. 

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who served in the Senate with Cullerton, declined to speculate on whether it’s appropriate for Cullerton to continue serving while facing 41 counts, many of which are labeled as embezzlement of nearly $275,000 from the union over three years.

“I have nothing to say about that particular case,” Raoul told The Daily Line. “I am a former member of the General Assembly. I now serve in a role as a law enforcement officer for the state, so I would reserve any comment, as any responsible law enforcement officer would do.”

Not many present at Wednesday’s festivities at the county chairs’ brunch or out on the Director’s Lawn at the state fairgrounds volunteered to speak on the record about any sort of pall the FBI investigations have cast over the Democratic Party as the party tries to repeat wins in 2020.

One standout freshman House Democrat, State Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee), was featured in a video screened at Wednesday’s brunch about her surprise victory over former State Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Harbor) in November. 

Mason, who ran on a platform that included protecting abortion access in Illinois, said she was cognizant of the bigger picture hanging over the collective head of the Democratic Party in Illinois, but said it hasn’t come up while talking with constituents this summer while knocking on doors, as directed by Madigan.

“On one hand, it feels really far away because I’m such a newcomer,” Mason told The Daily Line. “It’s not like I’m hanging out with those guys, so it seems very far away. On the other hand, I’m focusing on everything we’re working on…and you know, I just try to let it play out and see what happens. I’ve heard stuff like, ‘Oh, people just make stuff up, it’s going to go away’ [or] ‘it’s not going to go away.’ Regardless of that, I just keep working for my hometown and my district. It’s one of those things, I guess.”

Mason was one of the female freshman House Democrats who State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) and others have repeatedly given credit to as the driving force behind the passage of the Reproductive Health Act in late May, even after the speaker had put a brick on the bill. 

Related: ‘Watch the rollercoaster, don’t ride it:’ Rep. Cassidy — The Aldercast

Citing the state’s plans to spend a $45 billion on infrastructure in the next six years, Comptroller Susana Mendoza on Tuesday signed an executive order vowing her office will will refuse to pay construction vendors who aren’t paying workers the prevailing wage.

Six years after a limited medical marijuana pilot project was signed into law in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature on Friday significantly expanded the now-permanent program that is booming.

On a late August morning last summer, the state’s Office of Executive Inspector General received an odd tip: an employee of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was in the process of sawing a wooden desk into pieces and disposing of the parts in a dumpster in the parking lot of the museum in Springfield. 

Upon receiving the call, investigators looked out their 14th floor windows and spotted the man using a machine saw to cut apart some sort of decorative wooden wall. They took photos of the scene. The tipster said the desk had once been in Springfield’s old Union Station, and may have had historical value. 

The incident set off months worth of interviews and an eventual conclusion that the desk had indeed been purchased a decade before for $22,600 and its destruction was both a violation of state law and a missed opportunity for revenue to the state in a little-known program that brings in a few million dollars for Illinois every year.