Herman Cain accuser files suit against veteran anchor
BY LEEANN SHELTON Staff Reporter November 6, 2012 1:18AM
Updated: November 6, 2012 1:46AM
The Glenview woman who accused former presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment filed a $1.6 million suit Monday against veteran anchor Bill Kurtis over alleged comments he made about her on a Chicago radio show.
Sharon Bialek claims Kurtis questioned her story on the Roe Conn show on WLS radio on Nov. 7, 2011. Richard Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist, also is on the show.
Bialek’s suit said Kurtis’ “knowingly false” and “malicious” comments smeared her reputation, hindered her job search and forced her to seek medical treatment for physical and emotional distress.
Bialek did not say which comments were defamatory.
Bialek , who is representing herself in the lawsuit, also lists Kurtis’ employer, CBS Corp., as a defendant. Mike Nelson, a spokesman for CBS television stations, declined to comment on the suit. A message left at Kurtis’ production company was not returned.
The radio station, Conn and Roeper were not sued.
Bialek made headlines in late 2011 when she claimed Cain groped her in a car when she sought his help finding a job more than a decade earlier. The Republican hopeful denied her accusations but ultimately pulled out of the race, citing the hurt the allegations caused his family.
