A judge has vacated a trial date next month for a workplace retaliation lawsuit against Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth and says a settlement agreement reached in June is being finalized.
The order Wednesday from a Union County judge puts the years-long lawsuit closer to being over and indicates the two plaintiffs can't back out of the agreement like they've said they've wanted.
Duckworth is in a race to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in a November contest that could help determine which party controls the Senate. Kirk's campaign has sought to use the lawsuit against Duckworth.
The lawsuit accused Duckworth of violating ethics laws in reprimanding Christine Butler and Denise Goins when Duckworth led the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
The settlement agreement stipulated Duckworth did nothing wrong.
