SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • A Republican Illinois senator who allegedly bit her husband, rammed his car with her car, locked him out of the house on Christmas day, and tried to use her "connections" to make a police dispatcher ignore his 911 calls should step down for the good of the party, says one conservative commentator.
The rocky marriage of suburban state Sen. Suzi Schmidt, R-Lake Villa, has come to Chicagoland's attention before. The issue hasn't previously gotten much coverage down here because it hasn't had broader political implications.
But conservative Illinois writer and attorney Doug Ibendahl predicts that's about to change, with this week's online release of four 911 calls from Schmidt and her husband
"You won't hear the Democrats calling for Schmidt to step down. They're praying Illinois Republicans do what they usually do—blindly circle the wagons around a Republican friend," Ibendahl writes in an article today in Republican NewsWatch. "For the Democrats it's just one more piece of low hanging fruit they'll pick in November 2012."
The four 911 calls, posted as audio clips by the Chicago Tribune this week, were made on Christmas Day 2010, then again last month, and then Monday. (The audio is available HERE.)
In three of the calls, Schmidt's husband, Robert Schmidt, a 64-year-old real estate appraiser, reports that his wife is biting him, ramming his car with her car, and locking him out of the house on Christmas day.
"I'm freezing . . . She won't throw me a coat," Robert Schmidt tells a 911 dispatcher. " . . . I'm getting pretty cold."
But what could become the political issue, Ibendahl writes, is an earlier Christmas Day call from Suzi Schmidt. In it, Schmidt, 60, tells the Lake County sheriff's dispatcher that she is the former Lake County Board chairman (she is)—then, in a chatty tone, explains, "I'm having a little problem with my husband."
"If he calls you . . . you can ignore him," Schmidt tells the dispatcher.
"He's kind of afraid of me because he knows I have connections," Schmidt says later in the same call, then laughs.
The dispatcher explains that they're not allowed to ignore a 911 call. Ultimately, the dispatcher tells Schmidt that her husband is in fact calling in, and that police will be at the scene.
"She's heard . . . inappropriately trying to leverage her political or official position to influence the action of law enforcement authorities," Ibendahl writes. " . . . (I)t's wrong and completely unacceptable for an elected official—especially a Republican."
He adds: "It sounds like the Schmidts have some marital issues they need to address. . . I would just hope that Senator Schmidt would do the right thing for her constituents and her Party by stepping aside from her state office where she can hopefully deal with those issues—in private and off of our dime."
Republican Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno today issued a statement that called the Schmidt situation "extremely troubling," and vowed: "We cannot and will not tolerate abuse of the public trust." But the statement stopped short of calling for Schmidt's resignation.
The Schmidts have declined to comment. Suzi Schmidt's office released a statement apologizing "if any of my comments during this very emotional time seem inappropriate," and vowing to continue serving her district.
