Kirk ad previews hearing in lawsuit against Duckworth

Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) campaign released a new web ad on Monday previewing Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s (D) upcoming hearing regarding a lawsuit against her that alleges workplace retaliation.

{mosads}In 2009, two former employees working under Duckworth when she led the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs filed a lawsuit against her. One employee alleged that she was fired after filing complaints against her boss, but her termination was later reversed after meeting with Duckworth. 

The other employee claims she received a bad performance review and no raise after complaining about the same boss. She claims Duckworth told her to “do your job and keep your mouth shut” to keep her job.

The digital spot plays clips from a TV news segment about Duckworth’s hearing and the lawsuit while also flashing headlines and quotes about it across the screen. 

The hearing will take place on Thursday, and Duckworth will be represented by the Illinois attorney general’s office. 

On Monday, Kirk’s campaign also knocked Duckworth, his rival in the Illinois Senate race, for planning to attend a fundraiser with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning. 

“While taxpayer-paid attorneys defend Duckworth against charges that she silenced whistleblowers this Thursday morning, Duckworth will be with Harry Reid in Washington hosting a $1,000-per-plate breakfast,” Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl said.

“From defending [former Gov. Rod] Blagojevich to now hosting thousand-dollar breakfasts with Harry Reid, Illinois voters are right to raise questions about her independence and willingness to represent them in the Senate.” 

Duckworth has previously denied that the employees were treated unfairly, and her campaign spokesman, Matt McGrath, called the ad “another dishonest attack from a desperate campaign.” 

“Tammy Duckworth spent 23 years defending this country in the National Guard, and has made working on behalf of Veterans her life’s work, with tangible results,” McGrath said in a statement. “Mark Kirk, on the other hand, claimed to have served in combat in Iraq when he never did, and has been caught lying about his military record at least 10 times.

“Given that record of deceit, it’s no surprise he’s not telling the truth about Tammy, and Illinois voters know better than to believe these Swift Boat-style attacks,” he added.

Kirk and Duckworth are locked in a tight battle in what is considered to be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle. The Democratic-leaning state was won by President Obama in both 2008 and 2012. 

According to first-quarter fundraising reports from 2016, Duckworth has about $700,000 more on hand than Kirk.

Duckworth also narrowly leads him in polls. In April, a poll conducted for the Kirk campaign found the congresswoman leading by several points within the margin of error.