Complaint deemed unfounded against state lawmaker surfaces in downstate legislative race

First publishedAug 20, 21:29 UTC

Last updatedAug 20, 23:15 UTC · 8m ago

121:29–21:33 UTC1 outletChicago Sun-Times

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<p>SPRINGFIELD — A former staffer for a Democratic downstate legislator went public Thursday with salacious allegations of harassment and misconduct against her former boss that were deemed unfounded last year by a top legislative watchdog.</p><p>Republicans say self-described progressive Laura Jackson “felt ignored by Springfield” after she filed formal complaints against state Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, D-Ottawa, but Democrats dismissed the charges as “a misleading political attack” in a district that’s expected to be closely contested in the Nov. 3 election.</p><p>In a press release shared by a GOP-aligned consultancy firm and the campaign of Briel’s Republican challenger, Liz Bishop, Jackson accused Briel of unwanted “repeated sexual advances, workplace drug use, harassment and retaliation” while working in the legislator’s district and campaign offices.</p><p>The ex-staffer claims in a a 43-minute interview posted online that Briel told Jackson she “could be Briel’s sexual ‘prize’ after winning the election,” supplied Jackson with Adderall in a frantic run-up to the 2024 election, smoked marijuana while working in Springfield and gave weed to staff as a “bonus.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-ad0000" name="image-ad0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9efd46b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f6c1897/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3b94d0b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="State Rep. Amy &quot;Murri&quot; Briel, D-Ottawa." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3b94d0b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fbc6434/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3b94d0b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/836x469+0+355/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F8f%2Ff3%2F2d1450754e24bc74d71005535249%2Fbriel8-21.png" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>State Rep.

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  Complaint deemed unfounded against state lawmaker surfaces in downstate legislative race

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  Chicago Sun-TimesAug 20, 21:29

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