SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A first-term Republican state representative resigned Wednesday after an ex-girlfriend claimed that he posted nude photos of her on a fake social media account under her name. Rep. Nick Sauer of Lake Barrington tendered a letter of resignation Wednesday afternoon to the House clerk's office.
CBS Chicago reports the freshman lawmaker—a member of the House Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Task Force–didn't get through his first term in the legislature before revenge porn allegations came to light Wednesday, ending his career prematurely.
The 35-year-old Sauer, elected in 2016 after serving more than a year on the Illinois Toll Highway Authority board as an appointee of Gov. Bruce Rauner, did not return phone, email or text messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Politico reported Wednesday that a Chicago woman claims that Sauer, who was seeking election to a second term in November, set up a fake Instagram account with her name and posted explicit photos of her to bait other men into conversations with him. Politico said the woman filed complaints with Chicago police and the legislative inspector general.
Sauer wrote in his letter that he was stepping down "as a result of the allegations by ... a former girlfriend." He named the woman, but The Associated Press has a policy of not naming women who allege they are victims of sexual misconduct.
"My ability to fulfill my obligations as a state representative and public servant will be affected by the distraction of addressing these allegations," Sauer wrote.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin immediately announced that Sauer would be relinquishing his seat. Asked at an event in Chicago, Rauner agreed that Sauer should resign.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-la...legations/
Comment: both Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama were Illinois state legislators.
CBS Chicago reports the freshman lawmaker—a member of the House Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Task Force–didn't get through his first term in the legislature before revenge porn allegations came to light Wednesday, ending his career prematurely.
The 35-year-old Sauer, elected in 2016 after serving more than a year on the Illinois Toll Highway Authority board as an appointee of Gov. Bruce Rauner, did not return phone, email or text messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Politico reported Wednesday that a Chicago woman claims that Sauer, who was seeking election to a second term in November, set up a fake Instagram account with her name and posted explicit photos of her to bait other men into conversations with him. Politico said the woman filed complaints with Chicago police and the legislative inspector general.
Sauer wrote in his letter that he was stepping down "as a result of the allegations by ... a former girlfriend." He named the woman, but The Associated Press has a policy of not naming women who allege they are victims of sexual misconduct.
"My ability to fulfill my obligations as a state representative and public servant will be affected by the distraction of addressing these allegations," Sauer wrote.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin immediately announced that Sauer would be relinquishing his seat. Asked at an event in Chicago, Rauner agreed that Sauer should resign.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-la...legations/
Comment: both Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama were Illinois state legislators.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.