Political corruption in Illinois

Political corruption in Illinois has been an issue from the earliest history of the state.^[1]

Federal

U.S. House of Representatives

Dennis Hastert, who was the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House. In 2006, Hastert became embroiled in controversy over his championing of a $207-million federal earmark (inserted in the 2005 omnibus highway bill) for the Prairie Parkway, a proposed expressway running through his district.^[2][2][3] The Sunlight Foundation accused Hastert of failing to disclose that the construction of the highway would benefit a land investment that Hastert and his wife made in nearby land in 2004 and 2005. Hastert received five-eighths of the proceeds of the sale of the land, turning a $1.8 million profit in under two years.^[2][3][4] Hastert's ownership interest in the tract was not a public record because the land was held by a blind land trust, Little Rock Trust No. 225.^[5] There were three partners in the trust: Hastert, Thomas Klatt, and Dallas Ingemunson. However, public documents only named Ingemunson, who was the Kendall County Republican Party chairman and Hastert's personal attorney and longtime friend.^[4][5] Hastert denied any wrongdoing.^[2] In October 2006, Norman Ornstein and Scott Lilly wrote that the Prairie Parkway affair was "worse than FoleyGate" and called for the Speaker's resignation.^[6]

Daniel Rostenkowski was a United States Representative from Chicago, serving from 1959 to 1995. He became one of the most powerful legislators in Washington, especially in matters of taxation, until he went to prison.^[7]

Jesse Jackson, Jr. was a Congressman who represented Illinois's 2nd congressional district from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. On February 8, 2013, Jackson admitted to violating federal campaign law by using campaign funds to make personal purchases.^[8] Jackson pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013 to one count of wire and mail fraud.^[9] On August 14, 2013, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.^[10]

Aaron Schock was a United States Representative from Illinois's 18th congressional district, serving from 2009 until 2015. On March 17, 2015, after controversy about his use of federal funds, Schock announced his resignation from Congress, effective March 31.

State

Governors

Otto Kerner, Jr. was 33rd Governor of Illinois, serving from 1961 to 1968. Following a 1973 trial in which his prosecutor was future Illinois governor James R. Thompson, Kerner was convicted on 17 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy, perjury, and related charges.^[11] The federal bribery counts were dismissed. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison in Chicago and fined $50,000. Faced with almost certain impeachment, he resigned his position on the federal bench on July 22, 1974.

Daniel J. Walker was 36th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1973 to 1977. His post political career was marked by high living, but marred by a guilty plea to bank fraud and perjury at the peak of the late 1980s savings and loan crisis. After a year and a half in federal prison, Walker retired to the San Diego metro area and authored several books until his death in 2015.

George Ryan was 39th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1999 to 2003. He was found guilty of corruption. He was sentenced to serve six and a half years in prison.^[12]

Rod Blagojevich was 40th Governor of Illinois, serving from 2003 to 2009. He was found guilty of corruption. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.^[13]

State officials

• Orville Hodge was the Auditor of Public Accounts (predecessor to the Office of Comptroller) from 1952 to 1956. During his term in office, he embezzled $6.15 million of state funds, mainly by altering and forging checks that were paid on the state's account. Upon indictment, Hodge pleaded guilty to 54 bank fraud, embezzlement and forgery charges and was sentenced to a 12 to 15 year prison term.
• Frank Mautino, state auditor, remains under investigation for questionable spending of campaign funds.^[14]

Municipal

Fred Roti served as an Illinois state senator (1951–1957).^[15] When his seat was lost to redistricting, he returned to precinct work, and took a patronage job as a drain inspector with the City Department of Water and Sewers.^[16] In 1990 Roti was indicted for racketeering and extortion. On January 15, 1993, after deliberating 2½ days, a federal jury convicted Roti of taking thousands of dollars in bribes. The jury convicted him on all 11 counts of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, bribery and extortion. The jury found him guilty of two out of three "fixing" charges, convicting him of taking $10,000 for influencing a civil court case and $7,500 to support a routine zoning change, both in 1989. But the jury cleared him of the most serious allegation, sharing $72,500 for fixing a Chinatown murder trial in 1981.^[17]

In 2015, the head of Chicago’s cash-strapped Public Schools, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, resigned over a $20,500,000 no-bid contract to her former employer SUPES Academy.^[1]

References