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Madigan Named In Federal Sex Harassment Lawsuit

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The woman who first blew the whistle on sexual harassment inside House Speaker Mike Madigan's political organization has now filed a federal lawsuit.

Political consultant Alaina Hampton says she suffered illegal repercussions after she accused Madigan campaign aide Kevin Quinn of sexual harassment.

"Not only did the defendants completely fail to respond to my reporting about sexual harassment, they retaliated against me for it," Hampton said.

Hampton's attorney, Shelly Kulwin, said: "She was out, she was not going to be asked to work on any more campaigns the Democratic party was supporting. That's retaliation. That's as crystal clear as it gets."

Hampton's lawsuit names the Illinois Democratic Party, chaired by Madigan and the House speaker's political organization as defendants.

A Madigan spokesman said the lawsuit is being reviewed but maintained there was no retaliation.

Madigan has fired Quinn for "unwanted advances" and "inappropriate text messages" toward Hampton.

Hampton has said Quinn, her immediate supervisor in Madigan's party office, sent her 75 text messages, repeatedly complimenting her appearance and asking her out on dates, but she turned him down and asked him to stop, but he wouldn't.

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