Durbin: Shimkus should step down from page board by Jim Muir
Durbin: Shimkus should step down from page board
BY JIM MUIR, THE SOUTHERN
The political fallout from Washington's latest sex scandal escalated Monday in Illinois with Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin calling for Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus to step down from his role as chairman of the House page program.Durbin's strong admonishment of Shimkus comes on the heels of the resignation of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, of Florida, who abruptly quit Congress Friday in the wake of reports he had sent sexually graphic e-mail messages to teenage boys working as congressional pages.
"I believe Congressman Shimkus should step aside from his position on the page board," Durbin said. "I believe what happened here is not acceptable conduct and that he did not go far enough in asking hard questions about what Foley was sending to these pages. He (Shimkus) had a special, almost parental responsibility to these pages, and he should have done more."
Durbin said he found it "deeply troubling" that the allegations against Foley first surfaced more than four years ago and were known by many Republican lawmakers, some in leadership positions, who failed to take any action."There is no reason why this matter wasn't brought before the page board," Durbin said. "But they decided to try and contain this and tell only Republicans about it. According to what John Shimkus is saying, Foley said there was no need to worry about him and they told him to stay away from pages.
"Well, let me tell you, that's not good enough. We're talking about high school students, young men and women who are sent there by their parents with the belief they will be safe and protected. If this were my son involved in this I would be outraged."
Durbin said "at a minimum" the matter should have immediately been turned over to the police.
"They (Republicans) tried to contain it, tried to cover it up, and it didn't work," Durbin said. "There needs to be an investigation into who knew what and when they knew it."
Shimkus would not speak directly to Durbin's call for his resignation as chairman of the page program but did issue a statement.
"As the chairman of the House Page Board, I have a responsibility to protect the students participating in the program and former participants. I have been honored to serve in this role and we have worked hard to make the page program the best program possible," Shimkus said.
"The instant messages Mark Foley reportedly sent to a former page are deplorable. When I learned of these instant messages last Friday from ABC News reports, the very thought of this behavior made me sick. Mark Foley should be ashamed.
"Shimkus said "the integrity of the program must be maintained" and said the safety and protection of the pages has always been a top priority. He said many safety measures have already been taken and said a toll-free number will be set up in the coming days where pages, former and current, and their family members can call with concerns. Shimkus said the page program has played an important role in Congress since the early 1800s.
"The page program is a valuable part of this institution. As the father of three boys, I am personally mindful every day of just how difficult it is to protect our children, especially in the world of the Internet and text messages," Shimkus said. "I am determined to do everything that we can to make sure that this kind of incident will never happen again.
"Shimkus admits he was made aware of the issue about the e-mails last year and immediately investigated the matter. He said he was told the messages from Foley to the 16-year-old page were "overly friendly" and maintains he was never told they were sexual in nature. Shimkus said he instructed Foley to refrain from any contact with the youths to remove any appearance of impropriety.
Also Monday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert went on the offensive while condemning Foley's actions. Hastert said he was "outraged and disgusted" by Foley's actions. He said he welcomed Foley's resignation - and would have demanded it had Foley not offered it - and said he has already asked the Justice Department to investigate Foley's conduct with the pages.
"Congressman Foley duped a lot of people ... He deceived the good men and women in organizations around the country with whom he worked to strengthen child predator laws," Hastert said. "I have known him all the years he served in the House and he deceived me, too."
Hastert said plans are under way to look for ways to prevent any type of recurrence of the problem.
"Today I have met with Congressman Shimkus, who is the head of the page board, to discuss what we can do to make sure this never happens again," Hastert said. "This will not be my last meeting on this subject. I intend to get advice on how we can make this program as safe as possible."
Foley abruptly quit Congress Friday after reports surfaced that he'd sent sexually charged electronic messages to boys working as pages. In the statement, Foley said the "events that led to my resignation have crystallized recognition of my long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties."
Durbin isn't buying the alcohol-rehab angle being used by Foley.
"He has serious problems and I can tell you that alcohol rehab is not going to solve those problems. What an irony that Foley is holding himself out as a protector of kids from abuse and exploitation at the same time that he is a predator through these e-mails to young people," Durbin said. "There are things I could say but I'm not going to at this time, but John Shimkus should have known better."
Shimkus is running for re-election in Illinois' 19th Congressional District, where he is being challenged by Danny L. Stover of Centralia. Stover joined Durbin in calling for Shimkus to step down as chairman of the House page program.
Through a press release, Stover said Shimkus was the wrong choice to conduct an investigation a year ago, and is even more convinced that Speaker Hastert's decision to ask Shimkus to investigate further is yet another error.
"Rep. Shimkus neglected his specific duties as chairman," Stover said. "He appeared to be more concerned about politics than protecting the well-being of the victim identified in the current news reports. The news reports suggest other victims may exist, and all victims were presumably minors when the alleged incidents occurred."
Stover claims there was a cover-up by Shimkus and other Republican House members and points to the fact that the sole Democratic member of the board, Rep. Dale Kildee of Michigan, was not told of the e-mail exchanges until they became front-page news.
- This story includes information from The Associated Press.
BY JIM MUIR, THE SOUTHERN
The political fallout from Washington's latest sex scandal escalated Monday in Illinois with Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin calling for Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus to step down from his role as chairman of the House page program.Durbin's strong admonishment of Shimkus comes on the heels of the resignation of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, of Florida, who abruptly quit Congress Friday in the wake of reports he had sent sexually graphic e-mail messages to teenage boys working as congressional pages.
"I believe Congressman Shimkus should step aside from his position on the page board," Durbin said. "I believe what happened here is not acceptable conduct and that he did not go far enough in asking hard questions about what Foley was sending to these pages. He (Shimkus) had a special, almost parental responsibility to these pages, and he should have done more."
Durbin said he found it "deeply troubling" that the allegations against Foley first surfaced more than four years ago and were known by many Republican lawmakers, some in leadership positions, who failed to take any action."There is no reason why this matter wasn't brought before the page board," Durbin said. "But they decided to try and contain this and tell only Republicans about it. According to what John Shimkus is saying, Foley said there was no need to worry about him and they told him to stay away from pages.
"Well, let me tell you, that's not good enough. We're talking about high school students, young men and women who are sent there by their parents with the belief they will be safe and protected. If this were my son involved in this I would be outraged."
Durbin said "at a minimum" the matter should have immediately been turned over to the police.
"They (Republicans) tried to contain it, tried to cover it up, and it didn't work," Durbin said. "There needs to be an investigation into who knew what and when they knew it."
Shimkus would not speak directly to Durbin's call for his resignation as chairman of the page program but did issue a statement.
"As the chairman of the House Page Board, I have a responsibility to protect the students participating in the program and former participants. I have been honored to serve in this role and we have worked hard to make the page program the best program possible," Shimkus said.
"The instant messages Mark Foley reportedly sent to a former page are deplorable. When I learned of these instant messages last Friday from ABC News reports, the very thought of this behavior made me sick. Mark Foley should be ashamed.
"Shimkus said "the integrity of the program must be maintained" and said the safety and protection of the pages has always been a top priority. He said many safety measures have already been taken and said a toll-free number will be set up in the coming days where pages, former and current, and their family members can call with concerns. Shimkus said the page program has played an important role in Congress since the early 1800s.
"The page program is a valuable part of this institution. As the father of three boys, I am personally mindful every day of just how difficult it is to protect our children, especially in the world of the Internet and text messages," Shimkus said. "I am determined to do everything that we can to make sure that this kind of incident will never happen again.
"Shimkus admits he was made aware of the issue about the e-mails last year and immediately investigated the matter. He said he was told the messages from Foley to the 16-year-old page were "overly friendly" and maintains he was never told they were sexual in nature. Shimkus said he instructed Foley to refrain from any contact with the youths to remove any appearance of impropriety.
Also Monday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert went on the offensive while condemning Foley's actions. Hastert said he was "outraged and disgusted" by Foley's actions. He said he welcomed Foley's resignation - and would have demanded it had Foley not offered it - and said he has already asked the Justice Department to investigate Foley's conduct with the pages.
"Congressman Foley duped a lot of people ... He deceived the good men and women in organizations around the country with whom he worked to strengthen child predator laws," Hastert said. "I have known him all the years he served in the House and he deceived me, too."
Hastert said plans are under way to look for ways to prevent any type of recurrence of the problem.
"Today I have met with Congressman Shimkus, who is the head of the page board, to discuss what we can do to make sure this never happens again," Hastert said. "This will not be my last meeting on this subject. I intend to get advice on how we can make this program as safe as possible."
Foley abruptly quit Congress Friday after reports surfaced that he'd sent sexually charged electronic messages to boys working as pages. In the statement, Foley said the "events that led to my resignation have crystallized recognition of my long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties."
Durbin isn't buying the alcohol-rehab angle being used by Foley.
"He has serious problems and I can tell you that alcohol rehab is not going to solve those problems. What an irony that Foley is holding himself out as a protector of kids from abuse and exploitation at the same time that he is a predator through these e-mails to young people," Durbin said. "There are things I could say but I'm not going to at this time, but John Shimkus should have known better."
Shimkus is running for re-election in Illinois' 19th Congressional District, where he is being challenged by Danny L. Stover of Centralia. Stover joined Durbin in calling for Shimkus to step down as chairman of the House page program.
Through a press release, Stover said Shimkus was the wrong choice to conduct an investigation a year ago, and is even more convinced that Speaker Hastert's decision to ask Shimkus to investigate further is yet another error.
"Rep. Shimkus neglected his specific duties as chairman," Stover said. "He appeared to be more concerned about politics than protecting the well-being of the victim identified in the current news reports. The news reports suggest other victims may exist, and all victims were presumably minors when the alleged incidents occurred."
Stover claims there was a cover-up by Shimkus and other Republican House members and points to the fact that the sole Democratic member of the board, Rep. Dale Kildee of Michigan, was not told of the e-mail exchanges until they became front-page news.
- This story includes information from The Associated Press.
