Has The GOP Cornered The Market On Political Closet Cases? Meet Illinois Gubernatorial Aspirant Dan Rutherford

"Josh Lanning has the worst job"

A year or so ago, I found myself at the fabulous Beverly Hills restaurant of one of the world's most celebrated chefs, José Andrés, The Bazaar. But my dining companion was even more famous-- perhaps infamous-- than Andrés who has won James Beard awards and who beat Bobby Flay on Top Chef. My dining companion's name and face had been splashed all over the media a few years before for inappropriate behavior with underage boys-- while he was a congressman. So why was I having dinner with a Republican ex-Congressman at The Bazaar? He wanted to feel me out about running for Congress again-- in my district, which includes two of the largest LGBT geographic communities in America, West Hollywood and Silverlake. I told him that gays like supporting other gays, but that there's no much chance they would support someone they perceive as a sexual predator, like alone a child sexual predator. He protested that the boys were all of legal age. There has been some dispute about that in the media and unless he relished the prospect of that being a recurring debate and an issue in a campaign, he should probably not run. He didn't.

But Dan Rutherford is-- for governor of Illinois. Rutherford has an extremely LGBT-friendly record, especially for a Republican-- except when it comes to marriage equality, which he opposes-- and there has been some speculation that he's gay himself-- which the 58 year old confirmed bachelor has always denied. Chris Christie's RGA visit to Chicago helped make the whole country aware of another elephant in the room for the Republicans

In the summer of 2012, Illinois right-wing columnist Fran Eaton tackled the persistent rumors about Rutherford (and Aaron Schock) being closet cases.

So, let's start with the obvious. Both Rutherford and Schock are not married. Rutherford is 57 years old and Schock is 31. Both have dedicated their adult professional lives to public service.

Rutherford worked for ServiceMaster before becoming a state representative, then a state senator, and now the state treasurer. He's been involved in politics statewide for decades, and has actively promoted Republican candidates and local organizations. While in the legislature, his voting record was above average on conservative issues with a lifetime average rating of 70 according to the staunchly conservative URF legislative scorecard.

However, Rutherford was the sole Republican vote in favor of adding "sexual orientation" to the state's non-discrimination statute. The vote caused a furor, and rumors about Rutherford's sexuality really began to fly.

That's when I interviewed Rutherford and when I asked him what he referred to as "The Question." He had heard the same rumors over the years and was eager to answer it publicly. Indeed, Rutherford told me directly, "No, I am not gay."

Pretty definitive and pretty gutsy, I thought. We published the column on Illinois Review in December of 2005 and waited for the fallout. Indeed, it came-- from other conservatives angry that Illinois Review had published the quote and-– they believed-– given Rutherford “cover.” "He's lying," and "Why did you do that?" were the top two comments.

And perhaps Rutherford isn't gay. But the Republican gubernatorial candidate has been accused by several male staffers of sexual harassment of a homosexual nature-- like grabbing his subordinates' junk. One, Ed Michalowski, is suing him.

The lawsuit comes five weeks before the March 18 gubernatorial primary in which Rutherford was seen as the clear runner-up to frontrunner Winnetka venture capitalist Bruce Rauner.

The former employee, Ed Michalowski, accused Rutherford of making unwanted sexual advances against him, starting in 2011 and also alleged that Rutherford’s chief of staff did nothing when the incidents were reported.

…Among Michalowski claims is that in 2011 Rutherford held an overnight office retreat at Rutherford’s Chenoa home, entered Michalowski’s bedroom and grabbed his genitals.

…Rutherford has charged that Rauner was behind the charges, however, he was unable to provide proof beyond that Rauner’s campaign last year paid the Michalowski’s attorney, Christine Svenson, to review a lease.

“You look at the different actions that are taking place right now… I happen to be the guy who’s got the most money available, I’ve got the best organization available,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford said he firmly believed politics was behind the allegations because the primary is five weeks away, and early voting was underway.

“I believe I stand between Bruce Rauner and the nomination,” Rutherford said. “This thing smells of politics.”

For his part, Michalowski insisted to the Sun-Times he has no political motivations behind his allegations.

“I’ve never met Bruce Rauner,” Michalowski has told the Sun-Times. “I went to [Svenson] as an employment lawyer.”

The lawsuit goes on to detail other instances of alleged harassment, including incidents at a Springfield bar, during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., and at an office party.

In August of 2011, at D.H. Brown’s, a bar in Springfield, Michalowski alleges that Rutherford approached him and said: “If you go home with me you can have anything you want in the office.”

In another instance, the lawsuit alleges that Michalowski and Rutherford were attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August 2012 when Rutherford asked Michalowski to go up to his hotel room.

When Michalowski refused, Rutherford allegedly became angry and said: “You just said no to the treasurer,” according to the lawsuit.

In December 2013, Rutherford allegedly went over to Michalowski at an office party, rubbed his shoulders and said to him, “You need a full body massage.”

“That was creepy,” said another person who witnessed what happened, according to the lawsuit.

Kyle Ham, Rutherford’s chief of staff and Michalowski’s boss, is also accused in the suit of demanding Michalowski perform political activity and failing to investigate his harassment complaints. In a statement Rutherford released Monday, Ham denied receiving any complaints from Michalowski.

When Michalowski complained about being sexually harassed, he alleged in his suit that Ham responded that he, too, had been harassed by Rutherford and said, “At least we have job security.”

In a pre-emptive strike, Rutherford held a news conference on Jan. 31, but Monday was the first time the allegations were made in a legal venue and the first time that Michalowski’s name became public.

There have also been allegations that Rutherfod has a hunky 28 year old executive assistant, Josh Lanning, who he takes on vacations all over the world. Rutherford's chief of staff told Michalowski when he complained about being fondled that “Josh Lanning has the worst job and you should feel lucky.”