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Illinois GOP lawmaker: ‘Republican Party ought to disown every aspect’ of Roy Moore

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Two Republican lawmakers from Illinois have called on U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama to end his campaign in the wake of allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl.

“If true, the allegations leveled against Roy Moore are disturbing,” U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton said in a statement Monday.

In the statement, Roskam said his office took allegations of sexual assault and harassment “very seriously.”

“I call on Moore to step aside and remove himself as a distraction to Senate and House members so that they may continue focusing on serving the people in their states,” he added.

Moore is accused of pursuing teenage girls when he was in his 30s, according to four women who spoke in a report last week in The Washington Post. One woman said Moore initiated sexual contact with her in 1979 when she was 14 years old and he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney.

On Friday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon told CNN the allegations against Moore were “disgusting” and urged him to abandon his campaign.

“Roy Moore needs to step aside now,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “These allegations are disgusting and I believe them against him. And there is no way to defend this.

“This is a bridge too far and the Republican Party ought to disown every aspect of him,” Kinzinger said, warning that more allegations could be made.

He spoke before a fifth woman came forward on Monday, saying Moore attacked her years ago when she was a 16-year-old waitress.

If Moore wins the Dec. 12 election, the Senate should either refuse to seat him or expel him once seated, Kinzinger said.

“Look, Alabama has a right to pick their senators, but this is beyond the pale to have this kind of contact with somebody when they were 14 years old,” he added. “I don’t care how long ago it was. He was an adult.”

A third GOP Republican also weighed in. Rep. Rodney Davis, of Taylorville in south central Illinois, said in a statement: “Unless Roy Moore can prove he is innocent, he should step down because actions like this have no place in the U.S. Senate.”

Other Republicans in Illinois’ congressional delegation did not respond to requests for comment.

kskiba@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @KatherineSkiba

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