Crisis Whiteboard - Full Disclosure
The topics of full disclosure and conflict of interest leaped center stage mid-month. It was triggered by reporting from the Chicago Tribune and NPR. Their stories revealed some crisis communications assistance provided for then Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, five years ago. The communications firm is SKDK, which is co-owned by Anita Dunn — now a top advisor to President Biden. Simultaneously, SKDK was also involved in a high profile effort to assist victims of sexual harassment through the Time’s Up Legal Defense fund — which was working on behalf of political consultant Alaina Hampton. In 2018, Hampton was employed by the Illinois Democratic Party. She alleged Madigan retaliated against her when she reported being harassed by her supervisor at the Madigan-led state party headquarters. In this episode, our Lissa Druss and Thom Serafin unpack their long journey through the complexities of ethics.