Indiana

Indiana cases highlighted in national report on ‘pervasive’ statehouse sexual harassment problem

Published

9 months ago

March 12, 2025

Indiana cases highlighted in national report on ‘pervasive’ statehouse sexual harassment problem

A new national report on sexual harassment in U.S. state legislatures includes two lawmakers in the Indiana statehouse – Democratic state Sens. David Niezgodski and Greg Taylor – among 11 new cases nationwide revealed in 2024.

The “Abuse of Power” report, from the National Women’s Defense League, reported that the new allegations reported in 2024 in nine states including Indiana are part of at least 398 incidents of sexual harassment allegedly committed by 144 sitting state lawmakers since 2013.

The organization estimates that actual incidents are likely much higher due to underreporting by survivors, which is common in sexual harassment and assault cases.

The two Indiana cases were revealed by IndyStar reporting in 2024 and led to Taylor being removed from a legislative leadership post and the Indiana Democratic Party creating an ethics committee. Niezgodski described the matter as a private personnel matter and has said he regrets how he acted. Taylor initially apologized after allegations were revealed before categorically denying the accusations.

Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women’s Defense League, a nonpartisan group that aims to prevent harassment and protect survivors, said there needs to be more action taken and accountability in state legislatures in order to address the problem.

“Our latest research reinforces what we already knew: the problem of sexual harassment in statehouses is pervasive, damaging and covered up,” Davidson Tribbs said. “These abuses of power that not only inflict trauma, but impede policy making, waste taxpayer resources and disproportionately impact the leadership of women and minorities in government.”

The report also revealed that one in three U.S. state lawmakers in a recent survey reported experiencing or witnessing sexual harassment in their statehouse.

The extent of the problem in Indiana is unclear. IndyStar reported last year that legislative leaders are refusing to reveal the number of harassment complaints received.

“As an advocate for women in Indiana and an active participant in Hoosier political workspaces, I’m appalled by the ongoing pattern of sexual harassment and the lack of appetite to make the substantive, common sense changes necessary to fix it,” said Elise Shrock, a Democratic strategist and former Indiana Statehouse staffer, as part of the report.

The report also mentions sexual harassment allegations impacting Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office. IndyStar reporting in 2024 revealed former Hogsett’s chief of staff Thomas Cook allegedly sexually harassed three subordinates over a decade. The mayor knew about at least one of the allegations and another case involving Cook’s relationship with a subordinate but continued to work with Cook.

Lauren Roberts, one of the people who said she was harassed by Cook, said that she’s spent more than a decade dealing with the situation, which was made worse by “negligent choices made by Mayor Hogsett, the Indiana Democratic Party, and others at the highest levels of power.” Those choices allowed Cook to prey on other women, she said.

“We need a radical shift away from the culture of abuse that exists at all levels of government and politics, and we need systems that protect survivors and hold abusers fully accountable,” Roberts said.

Though the recent reporting in Indiana has focused on allegations against Democratic officials, the national report makes clear that it’s a bipartisan problem. Between 2013 and 2024, instances of harassment are nearly equal between the Republican and Democratic parties, according to the report.

Indiana was highlighted in the 31-page report, the only state to get its own “close up” page describing the extent of the issue in the Hoosier state and its political ramifications.

“Indiana’s government workspaces, including the state legislature, were rocked by a series of sexual harassment accusations that spanned multiple levels of leadership, exposing deep cracks in accountability and ethics,” according to the report.”

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com. Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, curated by IndyStar political and government reporters.

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

4 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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Indiana

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

16 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

Jump To: A–Z

A

Area 30 Career Center

Putnam

Charles A Beard Mem School Corp

Henry

School

Delayed 2 hours

Cloverdale Community Schools

Putnam

School

2-Hour Delay, No AM Preschool

D

Decatur County Community Schools

Decatur

School

Delayed 2 hours

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Indiana

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) has named Sinners the best film of 2025, also awarding the film original screenplay, score, cinematography, editing and ensemble.

Paul Thomas Anderson was named best director for One Battle After Another, which also picked up acting wins for Benicio Del Toro (supporting performance) and Chase Infiniti (breakout of the year).

Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up.

Best Picture
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Lead Performance
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Runner-up: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Supporting Performance
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance
Winner: Will Patton, Train Dreams
Runner-up: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Animated Film
Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters
Runner-up: The Legend of Hei 2

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: No Other Choice
Runner-up: Sentimental Value

Best Documentary Film
Winner: The Tenderness Tour
Runner-up: Orwell: 2+2=5

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Mike Flanagan, The Life of Chuck

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Breakout of the Year
Winner: Chase Infiniti (performer), One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Miles Caton (performer), Sinners

Best Cinematography
Winner: Autumn Donald Arkapaw, Sinners
Runner-up: Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Best Editing
Winner: Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Runner-up: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Best Stunt / Movement Choreography
Winner: Wade Eastwood (second-unit director / stunt coordinator), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Runner-up: Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator), One Battle After Another

Best Special Effects
Winner: Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (visual effects supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor), Frankenstein
Runner-up: Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (visual effects supervisors) and Donnie Dean (special effects coordinator), Sinners

Original Vision Award
Winner: Good Boy
Runner-up: The Testament of Ann Lee

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.