Ex-girlfriend: Cohen no good for public office

Scott Lee Cohen has no place in public office, his ex-girlfriend said in a statement from her attorney.

Speaking through her celebrity attorney, Gloria Allred, Amanda J. Eneman suggested Cohen does not belong in Springfield.

Eneman, a convicted prostitute, is the woman behind a 2005 domestic battery charge, in which she alleged Cohen threatened her with a knife. The charge was later dropped when Eneman did not appear in court.

"We represent Amanda J. Eneman. She was Scott Lee Cohen's girlfriend and lived with him for about a year, some four or five years ago," Allred said Saturday. "Based on her personal observations during the course of their relationship and his behavior, Ms. Eneman does not believe that he is fit to hold any public office, including that of lieutenant governor."

Allred, who has represented the alleged girlfriends of golfer Tiger Woods and other well-known clients like Paula Jones and Amber Frey declined to answer further questions, including whether the 29-year-old Eneman has been contacted recently by any high-ranking Illinois Democrats.

"Ms. Eneman has no further comment at this time and does not wish to be contacted," she said.

Calls and an e-mail to Cohen's camp went unreturned Saturday.

Cohen was arrested Oct. 14, 2005, after he threatened Eneman with a knife, according to a police report.

The report says Cohen held "a knife up to complainant's neck causing minor scars." Cohen is also alleged to have pushed Eneman, headfirst, into a wall, the report states.

Cohen has publicly denied the allegations and has called on Eneman to come forward and do the same. He has also denied knowing Eneman was a prostitute, but court and police records show that they were living together in his Gold Coast home just days before she pleaded guilty to prostitution on charges from a Glenview massage parlor where she had worked.

Allegations of anabolic steroid use and other violent acts also surfaced from his divorce file, only causing more headaches for the Democratic ticket. Meanwhile, Democratic brass from U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, to Cohen's current running-mate Gov. Pat Quinn have called for Cohen to step aside.

Meanwhile, a Quinn campaign spokeswoman said the governor has not talked to Cohen, and there were no new developments Saturday. A spokesman for House Speaker and Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan also said there was nothing new to report regarding Cohen and his presence on the statewide ticket.

If Cohen does indeed decide to resign, state party leaders would decide who to replace him with. But if he does not, Durbin and others say Quinn can consider the possibility of running without him by leaving the Democratic Party.

It's happened before. In 1986, Democrat Adlai Stevenson III created the Illinois Solidarity Party to avoid running with a lieutenant governor candidate who was a follower of frequent presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche. Stevenson lost to Republican Gov. Jim Thompson.