EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County Board Chairperson Kurt Prenzler sent a release regarding an ongoing lawsuit regarding sexual harassment in the Madison County Administrative Offices.
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In the release, Prenzler said he was reviewing a lawsuit filed by former Director of Community Development Kristen Poshard against Madison County Board Member Phil Chapman as well as the county itself. Prenzler said Poshard told him of the alleged sexual harassment for the first time on June 7, 2017, in the presence of Madison County Board Administrator Doug Hulme. Prenzler said Chapman arrived in Poshard's office during that meeting and said he and Hulme escorted him to the Madison County Administration Building and asked him to resign after discussing the allegations. Prenzler said he refused.
“Sexual harassment has no place in my administration, and I take every complaint of sexual harassment very seriously,” Prenzler said in the release. “With the approval of the State's Attorney's Office, we then retained retired Judge Jim Hackett to investigate the charge of sexual harassment. My office cooperated fully with Judge Hackett and made all witnesses, records, and files available to him. His report was made available for each county board member to review.”
During this time, Prenzler said Poshard was provided time away from work and “safe accommodations but said she “refused to return to work.” During her time out of the office, Prenzler said issues arose in her office requiring a director.
Poshard was removed from her position as of Oct. 17, 2018, unanimously by the Madison County Board.
Riverbender.com reached out to Chapman for comment. He said he was unaware of Prenzler's release, adding he had “no comment” as the case is a matter of litigation at this time.
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Reporter Cory Davenport can be reached via call or text at (618) 419-3046 or via email at cory@riverbender.com.
