Morning Spin: Senator accused of sexual harassment fighting to stay on ballot
Ira Silverstein
Topspin
An attorney for state Sen. Ira Silverstein  predicts the Chicago Democrat eventually will overcome a challenge to  his  spot on the primary ballot  allowing  him  to continue  his  bid for re-election.
At issue are the petition signatures a candidate needs to run for office. A preliminary examination of  Silverstein 's paperwork raised questions about enough of the signatures to leave  him  about 45 short of the 1 000 needed  an election official said.
 Silverstein  is facing four primary challengers in a contest that started after a victims' rights advocate accused  him  of sexual harassment as she was working with  him  to pass a bill.  Silverstein  has disputed the allegations and said  he  apologized "if I made her uncomfortable."
Asked about the issue with  his  signatures   Silverstein  said  he  was “not an expert on the topic” and referred a reporter to  his  attorney  longtime election lawyer James Nally.
While several Democratic candidates for governor have called on  Silverstein  to step down following the harassment allegation  he has pressed forward as lawmakers have scrambled to address the fallout. That includes the appointment of a new inspector general to look into ethics complaints filed against legislators and staff  a post that sat empty for years as accusations piled up.
Records show that as of December   Silverstein  will hit 20 years in the legislative pension system  meaning he will be eligible for a yearly payment of 85 percent of his final legislative salary. In 2017  his yearly salary totaled almost $88 500  according to the comptroller's office.
Topspin
An attorney for [TGT]predicts the Chicago Democrat eventually will overcome a challenge to  his  spot on the primary ballot  allowing  him  to continue  his  bid for re-election.
At issue are the petition signatures a candidate needs to run for office. A preliminary examination of  Silverstein 's paperwork raised questions about enough of the signatures to leave  him  about 45 short of the 1 000 needed  an election official said.
 [TGT]is facing four primary challengers in a contest that started after a victims' rights advocate accused  [TGT]  of sexual harassment as [TGT] was working with  [TGT]  to pass a bill.  [TGT]has disputed the allegations and said  [TGT]  apologized "if I made [TGT] uncomfortable."
Asked about the issue with  his  signatures   [TGT]said  [TGT]  was “not an expert on the topic” and referred a reporter to  his  attorney  longtime election lawyer James Nally.
While several Democratic candidates for governor have called on  [TGT]to step down following the harassment allegation  [TGT] has pressed forward as lawmakers have scrambled to address the fallout. That includes the appointment of a new inspector general to look into ethics complaints filed against legislators and staff  a post that sat empty for years as accusations piled up.
Records show that as of December   [TGT]will hit 20 years in the legislative pension system  meaning [TGT] will be eligible for a yearly payment of 85 percent of [TGT] final legislative salary. In 2017  [TGT] yearly salary totaled almost $88 500  according to the comptroller's office.