CHICAGO – In a political scandal which wouldn’t have been possible not so long ago, Illinois state Rep. Nick Sauer has resigned following the revelation of an allegation he used nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend to “catfish” other men on Instagram.
Sauer resigned yesterday after Politico reported that his ex-girlfriend Kate Kelly had filed a complaint accusing Sauer of using nude pictures of her to create an account on Instagram through which he tricked other men into having “graphic” discussions with him.
According to Politico, Kelly filed a complaint with the Office of the Legislative Inspector General in which she alleged Sauer used the account “to catfish other men using my privately shared naked photos.”
“Nick would use this account to direct message men with my photos to engage in graphic conversations of a sexual nature,” Kelly stated in the report. “The men believed they were communicating with me and Nick shared private details of my life.”
Kelly’s complaint states she also filed a police report with the Chicago Police Department and that there is an “active investigation” in progress. (The CPD has not yet responded to a Freedom of Information Act request for the police report filed by Politico.)
In his letter of resignation sent to the Clerk of the Ill. House of Representatives, Sauer wrote “As a result of the allegations by Kate Kelly, a former girlfriend, I have decided to resign.”
“It is important that the citizens of the 51st District be fully represented,” Sauer wrote. “My ability to fulfill my obligations as a State Representative and public servant will be affected by the distraction of addressing these allegations. After speaking with my family, I feel it best to step away from my public responsibilities.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the hyper-partisan political climate which seems to define modern American politics, efforts to hang Sauer’s actions onto their political opponents are already in full swing among Sauer’s erstwhile in the Illinois government. Ill. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a republican, quickly pointed a finger at an alleged “culture of abuse” in the legislature, the creator of which he fingered as House Speaker Mike Madigan, a democrat.
“Madigan in the Legislature has created a culture of abuse. People all around him had to resign because they’ve been caught. What’s clear is that Madigan has hidden accusations,” Rauner said. “He has pushed back against those who have come forward, and his lieutenants have threatened individuals. He’s created a culture of harassment and of hiding the harassment and that culture has to be brought out and exposed and those responsible should be removed from office. The Legislature clearly has been existing in a culture of harassment, and that culture is created by Mike Madigan.”
To her credit, State Sen. Melinda Bush, one of Madigan’s fellow democrats, declined the opportunity to blame any republican other than Sauer for the acts which led to his professional undoing.
“There’s only one person that’s responsible for this behavior if it’s true and if the allegations are true,” Bush said. “And that is Nick Sauer.”
