U.S. Senate candidate Blair Hull said Thursday that he and his ex-wife will petition a Cook County Circuit judge to have their divorce records unsealed, and those records could be released as soon as Friday.
Hull's contentious 1998 divorce from Brenda Sexton--their second divorce in three years--has dogged Hull's campaign since the Tribune reported on Feb. 15 that Sexton sought an order of protection against Hull during the divorce proceedings.
Hull, a wealthy former securities trader seeking the Democratic nomination to the Senate, has said that the protection order stemmed from a single incident in which Hull struck Sexton on the shin, causing a minor bruise.
However, Hull has declined to answer specific questions about the incident. He also has said that the divorce records were sealed because the issue was a private family matter and did not belong in a Senate campaign.
But on Thursday, Hull backed off that stance. He issued a written statement saying he would seek to open the records.
"As a candidate for the United States Senate, I understand I must answer questions and provide information even about the most private family matters of this kind," Hull said in the statement. "Accordingly, I have decided to ask the Cook County Circuit Court to unseal our 1998 divorce file. Brenda supports this decision. ... I am sorry that the intense spotlight of a public career has been turned on Brenda, who neither asked for this inquiry nor deserved its scrutiny."
Sexton is director of the Illinois Film Office, a job she acquired after Hull recommended her to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Hull was a major donor to Blagojevich's campaign for governor.
Through her lawyer, Sexton also issued a statement supporting the decision to unseal the records but said she would not discuss the issue further "for the sake of my family and myself."
Hull's contentious 1998 divorce from Brenda Sexton--their second divorce in three years--has dogged Hull's campaign since the Tribune reported on Feb. 15 that Sexton sought an order of protection against Hull during the divorce proceedings.
Hull, a wealthy former securities trader seeking the Democratic nomination to the Senate, has said that the protection order stemmed from a single incident in which Hull struck Sexton on the shin, causing a minor bruise.
However, Hull has declined to answer specific questions about the incident. He also has said that the divorce records were sealed because the issue was a private family matter and did not belong in a Senate campaign.
But on Thursday, Hull backed off that stance. He issued a written statement saying he would seek to open the records.
"As a candidate for the United States Senate, I understand I must answer questions and provide information even about the most private family matters of this kind," Hull said in the statement. "Accordingly, I have decided to ask the Cook County Circuit Court to unseal our 1998 divorce file. Brenda supports this decision. ... I am sorry that the intense spotlight of a public career has been turned on Brenda, who neither asked for this inquiry nor deserved its scrutiny."
Sexton is director of the Illinois Film Office, a job she acquired after Hull recommended her to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Hull was a major donor to Blagojevich's campaign for governor.
Through her lawyer, Sexton also issued a statement supporting the decision to unseal the records but said she would not discuss the issue further "for the sake of my family and myself."
