As he runs for an open Illinois House seat representing part of Chicago’s North Side, Karim Lakhani’s time as a small business owner who has worked “to help operate and grow” his family’s hotel chain plays a central role in his campaign.
The family business has also become the financial backbone of his candidacy. His parents, who serve as president and vice president of Lakhani Hospitality, have contributed more than $300,000 to his campaign fund, propelling him to the top fundraising position in the four-candidate Democratic primary.
“My parents came here with nothing but hope,” Lakhani said in a Nov. 12 message blasted out to potential voters. “I grew up in their small business, learning what it means to work hard and persevere through tough times.”
Yet the family business that is powering Karim Lakhani’s campaign has drawn scrutiny in the past — including a jury verdict in 2022 against Lakhani Hospitality in connection with an alleged 2013 sexual assault at one of its hotels by an employee.
Karim Lakhani was not named or blamed in the lawsuit and was not working for the company at the time of the incident. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was a student at Cornell University when the assault occurred 12 years ago. By the time the case went to trial nearly a decade later, he was serving as director of operations and development and was later promoted into the company’s executive ranks.
The lawsuit resulted in a $1.8 million verdict against Lakhani Hospitality, after jurors concluded that Lakhani Hospitality had failed to take sufficient actions to prevent injuries to a guest, Karla Gress, who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a hotel employee while staying at the Holiday Inn Chicago-Skokie, a hotel owned by the family business.
Lakhani’s campaign declined to make him available to discuss his role at the company during the trial, but emphasized he did not shape litigation strategy or oversee human resources during that period.
“This incident occurred when Karim was in college, before he joined the company. This cynical attempt to relitigate a settled case as some sort of reflection of his values or record is disingenuous,” the campaign said in an emailed statement. “Lakhani Hospitality has a continuous commitment to improvement and guest and employee safety.”
Karim Lakhani’s father, Mansoorali Lakhani, responded similarly in an emailed statement, saying “safety and security are top priorities for us across all facets of our business.”
“This case dates back more than a decade, when Karim was a student in college. Our company has continued to grow in the years since, thanks in no small part to Karim’s leadership, and we are proud that he’s willing to take his skills and put them to work for the people of the 12th District in Springfield,” Mansoorali Lakhani said in his statement.
While Karim Lakhani has a partial ownership interest in other company properties, he has never had an ownership interest in the Skokie hotel property, according to his campaign.
Even so, the financial ties between the campaign and the family business are substantial. In the most recent fundraising quarter alone, his parents’ nearly $215,000 in contributions exceeded the total amount raised by any of his opponents.
Among other candidates in the race, nonprofit program strategy director and Obama White House alum Paul Kendrick raised about $161,000 overall during that period, while former policy adviser to Mayor Lori Lightfoot Mac LeBuhn received roughly $129,000 and political activist and a former regional organizing director for the Illinois Democratic Party Litcy Ludvic Kurisinkal raised about $12,700.
The four are vying for the 12th District Illinois House seat that covers much of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, as well as portions of the Gold Coast and Old Town. It’s now represented by state Rep. Margaret Croke, a Democrat who is running for state comptroller.
As he runs against the other three, Lakhani portrays himself on his campaign website as a “small business owner” and cites his work “to help operate and grow” the hotel business. In addition, he discusses his work as an attorney while vowing to fight to lower costs for working families, help small businesses and ensure taxpayers aren’t overly burdened.
The lawsuit itself traced back to an October 2013 incident in which Gress alleged she was sexually assaulted by a hotel security guard, Alhagie Singhateh, after returning to her room following dinner at the hotel restaurant. Gress and her husband sued both Singhateh and the hotel company, alleging negligent hiring and retention, as well as assault and battery.
A lower court initially dismissed the family hotel company from the case, but an appellate court ruled that Lakhani Hospitality could be sued. Court records detailed prior complaints about Singhateh’s conduct and other security issues at company properties. Singhateh was never charged criminally and testified that the encounter was consensual, a claim the jury rejected.
Gress and her husband sued the hotel and Singhateh, alleging neglect in hiring and retaining him and assault and battery. A sexual assault kit matched Singhateh’s DNA, according to the complaint.
Singhateh was never charged criminally due to “the lack of physical evidence police had to work with,” according to a recounting of the case on the website of the law firm that brought it, Salvi Schostok & Pritchard.
As the attorneys “uncovered more and more information about how the (Holiday Inn in Skokie) had been operated, it became clear that the hotel was negligent and provided her attacker, Alhagie Singhateh, with an opportunity to prey on guests,” the law firm’s website said.
In court documents, Singhateh was kept on the Lakhani Hospitality payroll even as he racked up complaints for several years before the alleged attack and for some time after it was made aware of the allegations that led to the lawsuit, according to the guest’s complaint.
As part of the court filings, Gress also alleged that six years before she was assaulted, Singhateh was working at the O’Hare Holiday Inn — which the Lakhani hotel group also owned at the time — when a woman complained about “creepy behavior by the security guard,” which included “him contacting her at her hotel room via the hotel telephone, even though she had not given this security guard her name or room number,” the appellate court ruling in the case said.
That woman complained that Singhateh called to ask if she wanted a salad from the front desk, according to Gress’s complaint.
“Although Singhateh was not identified by name, the resulting report was placed in his (Lakhani Hospitality, Inc.) file, implying that management knew that the guest was talking about Singhateh,” according to the appellate court ruling.
Singhateh had also been disciplined for harassing managers and searching their bags, the complaint alleged. He also had an incident form placed in his file in 2006 “detailing a physical altercation with another hotel employee,” the complaint said.
In a deposition, Singhateh testified he was more than just security at the hotel because he had other front desk responsibilities. He testified he went to Gress’ room in response to a call for service and that she opened the door, let him in and flirted with him. He testified that she initiated a sexual encounter with him and he cut it off halfway out of guilt.
Defense attorneys in their closing testimony questioned Gress’ credibility and suggested she wasn’t really traumatized. They cited, in part, what they said was a lack of tears during her testimony.
“She has 25 million reasons why she’d come to you with a story that she has been telling to cover up her own bad choices and decisions that she knew could very well ruin her marriage and her family,” defense attorney Margaret Firnstein said, referring to the possibility of compensation from the lawsuit, according to a transcript viewed by the Tribune.
Additional contributions to Karim Lakhani have come from businesses that appear to be part of the family’s broader portfolio, totaling close to $50,000, according to campaign finance filings and business records.
As Lakhani presses his case to voters, his campaign has emphasized his work at the company and has touted his labor endorsements from Teamsters Local 727, which represents employees at Lakhani Hospitality, and the SEIU Illinois State Council.
“Since joining the company,” his campaign said, “Karim has helped grow the business to create hundreds of good-paying jobs and a culture of mutual respect from his employees whose union has endorsed him in his campaign.”
