Posted on 11/28/2018 12:43:22 PM PST by infool7
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit said she "intends to apologize" for her "poor choice of words" after drawing criticism from fellow legislators for comments she directed at a lawmaker on the State House floor Tuesday regarding the deadly Legionnaires outbreak at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.
Lawmakers were debating a measure that would increase the cap for funds the state would pay in civil lawsuits from $100,000 to $2 million, designed to help those affected by the Legionnaires disease outbreak at the veterans home in 2015, which has so far killed 13 people. The House ultimately voted 71-36 to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's amendatory veto of the bill, which was originally passed in May.
During the debate, Kifowit, D-Oswego, directed a comment to State Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, who is the outgoing House Republican floor leader, after Breen questioned the cost of the measure. Breen lost his bid for re-election earlier this month to Democrat Terra Costa Howard.
“I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one, so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated and ultimately die,” Kifowit said.
Kifowit's comments were immediately denounced by State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, on the House floor.
Kifowit later tried to clarify her remarks and said they were "misinterpreted."
“For the fact of it being misrepresented, I’m going to say that what was said earlier is a mischaracterization of what my words were,” Kifowit said on the House floor. “And for that, for it being misinterpreted, I will apologize. But I will not apologize for what happened to those families. And I will clearly say to all of us, imagine if it was your family.”
Kifowit, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was recently appointed to Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker's Serving Illinois Heroes Committee, a 19-member veterans issues advisory panel for Pritzker's transition team.
On Facebook, Kifowit again tried to clarify her remarks, stating they were "hypothetical" and that she "never stated anything to wish [Breen's] family death."
"Just to stem the lies - we were discussing restitution for the families of our veterans who died of Legionella," she wrote. "It’s been revealed that the state knew it pumped a 'broth of Legionella' of 1,600 gallons into the Quincy Veterans Home. In response to remarks against giving restitution by Rep. Breen I stated my words as a hypothetical because it did happen to families. I never stated anything to wish his family death. My words were twisted and misrepresented but keep in mind - he was angry at the thought. For the families of the Veterans who died and the individuals that were sickened - this is reality."
On Wednesday, Kifowit said she was planning to apologize personally and publicly to Breen for her "poor choice of words."
"I'm going to talk to him before session and publicly apologize to him for my poor choice of words," she said. "The sentiment I was trying to convey was to have him put himself in the shoes of the families of the veterans who died. My word choice was a little bit poor because I should have directed them to the body as a whole instead of just him as an individual, and of course I mean no ill will or harm or anything terrible to happen to his family or himself."
She continued, "The point is, as you know, we had 13 veterans die, one spouse, 70 people get ill, and we had [Illinois Department of Public Health] Director [Nirav] Shah waving off the fact that, in his words, a broth of Legionella was released into the Quincy Veterans Home. And to me that's a very serious issue that we need to continue to talk about. So it was an attempt to convey individuals to put themselves in the shoes of the families, and unfortunately the choice of words was more in a personal affect to Peter Breen than it should have been to the [legislative] body as a whole to empathize with the families."
On Facebook, Breen wrote, “Today on the House Floor, Stephanie Kifowit called for the death of my family. She was applauded by the Democrats."
State Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, released a statement Tuesday evening condemning Kifowit's remarks, stating that the House members "witnessed a shocking personal attack rising to the level of a threat made by one member of the General Assembly against a colleague."
"Kifowit’s statement went way beyond a breach in decorum," Wheeler wrote. "Way beyond a casual incendiary remark made during a moment of heated debate on an emotional issue. Her words were a cruel and utterly dehumanizing attack against a colleague who is the proud and loving adoptive father of two young sons; a toddler and an infant."
Wheeler also slammed Kifowit's attempt to apologize on the House floor.
"Given the opportunity to apologize, she instead portrayed herself as the victim, claiming that her remarks were 'misheard' and 'misrepresented,'" Wheeler said. "Her refusal to accept responsibility and offer a simple apology make her vicious attack even more appalling."
Wheeler said the people of her district "deserve better from their state representative."
"The threat of violence has no place in public discourse. Period," Wheeler stated. "For a member of the General Assembly to explicitly state her personal desire to inflict fatal harm on the family of a colleague is beyond reprehensible. Representative Kifowit brought shame upon her office and the dignity of the Illinois General Assembly today. Republican or Democrat, we should all agree that Stephanie Kifowit’s contempt for those who disagree with her has no place in public discourse."
Both the Illinois Republican Party and the Kendall County Republican Party called for Kifowit to resign on their respective Facebook pages Wednesday.
"Rep. Stephanie Kifowit should resign, she should be ashamed of herself for wishing State Rep. Peter Breen and his wife and family should suffer and die," the Kendall GOP post read. "This shows the true nature of Stephanie and her Democrat Socialist party agenda. They are not about Freedom, Liberty, and respect for individuals and LIFE!"
However, when asked about those posts, Kifowit said it should be Shah who should resign over the Legionnaires' disease outbreaks.
"No, I believe the person to resign is Director Shah," she said. "And that's who the call should go to."
Illinois should be considered to be far worse than Afghanistan or Iran since the threat from the very heart of the midwest, to our form of government is much greater than any threat we face from abroad today.
7
Typical 'Rat "apology"
Who ya gonna believe? Me or your lyin' ears?.................
And just how should we interpret those comments?
Why is it that Dems/Leftists can say the most vile, obnoxious and offensive things, make a non-apology apology and are then forgiven. But, if a Repub/Conservative says something, or even doesn’t say anything but the media/Leftists accuse him/her of saying something bad, then only that person’s resignation or an ounce of blood will satisfy them.
Well we are MORE AND MORE seeing clearly what must likely happen.
You can draw your own conclusions as to my meaning.
Yes, typical. They add insult to injury whenever possible.
I would like to get a legal opinion as to if her rant was criminal in anyway and if Madigan had any responsibility as speaker to stop and admonish her on the spot or if there are any rules that would require him to force her censure and resignation. I think this is a terrifying precedent even for Illinois and this isn’t yet the new even more democratic house that was recently elected.
7
“...if this is what they are willing to say out loud in public, on the floor of the State House their unspoken thoughts are frighteningly unimaginable.”
Yes. Hateful, nasty people. And it was, yet again, a women speaking this vile thing. Women rat politicians are really letting their inner biotches out, for all to see. How many of them there are. How ugly they are inside.
God help America. MGTOW. Red Pill.
The sad part about these misguided liberal legislators . . .they procreate.
Conclusion drawn, for some time now. Bring it on. My affairs are in order and my powder is ample and dry.
tagline
7
I live in NYC so my guns were lost at sea.
I’m SURE I could find them when the need comes.
Apparently, some animals are more equal than others.
7
Hope she doesn’t misinterpret me when I say she is full of donkey dung.
Misinterpreted? She offers to make a broth of legionnaire’s disease bacteria to infect a loved one of Rep. Breen, yet somehow it’s Rep. Breen who’s misinterpreting this to be threatening?
I’ll bet ze is a pro-gay, anti-God, pro-abortion, anti-COTUS, anti-male feminazi. Any takers?
“To the representative from Lombard, I would like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of [his] loved one so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated and ultimately die,” Kifowit said.
If it was a republican making that comment about a democrat on the house floor I think things would have gone a bit differently. Republicans need to wake up to this double standard that puts us at a significant disadvantage.
Dan Bongino points out that winning just isn't good enough for leftists, they need to punish the losers. This statement by Stephanie, starkly illustrates his point exactly.
7
I foresee many, many, women who will be shocked by what their intemperate words have gotten them into when the gloves come off.
I'm speechless.
ATTN Tony Scott: WWWWW&H First Paragraph.
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