Elections

Sen. Kirk Ad Condemns Duckworth’s Firing Of VA Whistleblowers

REUTERS/Jason Reed.

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Phillip Stucky Political Reporter
Font Size:

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk launched a new ad campaign Monday against Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s history of “threatening” whistle blowers for the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

“Christine Butler and Denise Goins were employees of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, run by then-Director Duckworth, who brought forth reports of veteran abuse and the improper hiring of staff that were not background checked, including a convicted felon,” Kirk communications director Eleni Demertzis wrote in the official release.

WATCH:  

The reports were brought to Duckworth’s attention, who visited Butler’s house, and told her to stay quiet about the reports. Duckworth later admitted in an email obtained by the Kirk campaign that she improperly fired Butler.

Both Butler and Goins received multiple raises and earned an “acceptable” job approval rating before Duckworth fired the pair.

The ad will run in Chicago. Much of the state is Republican, except for the heavily populated Chicago metropolitan area. Real Clear Politics does not curate polls in the race, but the latest poll published by the Huffington Post in the first week of August gave Duckworth a 7 point lead over Kirk, at 44 percent to 37 percent.

Follow Phillip On Twitter

Have a Tip? Let us Know

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.