(The Center Square) – State Rep. Amy Murri Briel, D-Ottowa, is the latest lawmaker subject to allegations of ethics violations and inappropriate behavior in office after a former staffer went public with allegations including drug use and sexual harassment.
Laura Jackson, Briel’s former chief of staff and campaign staffer, went public Thursday through the campaign of Liz Bishop, the GOP nominee for the 76th Illinois House district, with allegations that the lawmaker acted inappropriately in office.
Bishop’s campaign released a 44-minute-long video where Jackson, a self-described progressive, said Briel made sexual comments to her and other staff, used and shared drugs such as Adderall and marijuana in her taxpayer-funded office, and more.
In the interview, Jackson alleged Briel sexually harassed her multiple times.
“I was told several times in a joking manner that I would be her prize sexually after she won the campaign, but then it was just constant from there. Even after getting into office, every day I would hear comments about how I need to get an older woman lover,” Jackson said.
She said Briel would also work in her taxpayer-funded office while high on marijuana.
“I have witnessed Rep. Briel working as a public official high on many occasions, including smoking a joint and then going into a meeting in her office with somebody from the community,” Jackson said.
She said Briel got away with smoking in the district office because it was on the building’s top floor, often unoccupied, and she often brought a THC vape pen when working in Springfield.
Jackson also claimed that Briel distributed the stimulant Adderall, a Schedule II controlled substance, to her during her campaign.
Jackson described to The Center Square how her complaints were handled in Springfield.
“I submitted my complaints, told my story very early on and was met with a lot of – just questions that were really kind of trying to invalidate me. I wasn’t heard by anybody,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she filed an official complaint with the Legislative Inspector General, Michael McCuskey, in April 2025, and sat down with him for a three-hour interview.
McCuskey’s ability to serve as the LIG was called into question following his investigation into former Rep. Harry Benton, who resigned after being accused of sexually harassing multiple women, to which the 78-year-old former judge denied any poor practices in the investigation.
Jackson said her complaint and recent complaints against other lawmakers in the House parallel one another.
“These politicians with this power are able to do anything that they want and then they have these organizations surrounding them to protect them as any kind of complaints or anything is submitted,” Jackson said.
While neither her campaign nor her public office responded to a request for comment, Briel said in a statement to other media outlets that the allegations were found to be false, calling on the Legislative Ethics Commission to release McCuskey’s report dismissing Jackson’s complaint.
“The statements in the video produced by her MAGA political operatives were previously taken to the Legislative Inspector General in 2025 and were found to be without merit,” Briel said.
In an attempt to reach McCuskey for comment, an office staffer of the LIG said that all of their cases, including Jackson’s, are confidential and he won’t comment on the matter.
Jackson waived her right to confidentiality, according to McCuskey’s own statement to the Sun Times.
