https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/22/illinois-republican-attorney-general-candidate-racial-slur-421732





CHICAGO — A Republican candidate for the Illinois Legislature is under fire from his own party amid allegations that he asked an African-American candidate for state attorney general whether she was a “lesbo” and used a racial slur during a conversation with her.

Now, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Republican floor leader of the Illinois House, Peter Breen, are calling for the candidate, Burt Minor, to drop out of a race for state representative.

“He’s not fit to be a Republican nominee for office, especially not the General Assembly,” Breen told POLITICO. “His conduct was outrageous.”

At issue is a conversation that took place last fall between Minor and Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold. Harold, the party-backed candidate for the GOP, who is also a Harvard Law graduate and former Miss America, was talking to Minor in his capacity as a Winfield Township chairman.

“[Minor] asked Ms. Harold personal questions about her marital status, and even her sexual orientation, going so far as to inquire whether she was a ‘lesbo,’” Breen wrote in a letter to other Republicans this morning. “The chairman also used the full ‘n-word’ repeatedly in front of Ms. Harold and her assistant, asking whether she found its usage offensive.”