SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A sexual harassment lawsuit that derailed the political career of former state Treasurer Dan Rutherford has been dismissed in federal court in Chicago.
Court records show the action was dismissed Wednesday by agreement on both sides “without prejudice.” That means former Rutherford employee Edmund Michalowski (MIHK’-uh-low-skee) can refile it.
Michalowski claims there six instances in which Rutherford made unwanted sexual advances or comments from 2011 to 2013. They included an overnight stay at Rutherford’s Chenoa (shuh-NOH’-uh) home in which Michalowski claims his host entered his room and touched him sexually.
Michalowski filed his lawsuit in February 2014. That was just weeks before the GOP governor primary. The allegations tanked Rutherford’s campaign and he lost to now-Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Messages left for lawyers on both sides were not immediately returned.
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