by Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Republican legislators have urged their Democratic colleagues to endorse ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for lawmakers accused of misconduct.
Two Illinois House Democrats have recently faced public accusations of inappropriate or criminal actions. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, stepped down on July 3 following an internal ethics report, according to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, that revealed inappropriate behavior. Additionally, Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, was charged with 10 federal corruption offenses for allegedly misusing campaign and state funds.
“This has been another disgraceful week for the Illinois government, driven by conduct by members on the Democratic side of the aisle and the failure of leadership to demand real accountability,” House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, stated at a Thursday news conference.
Welch temporarily removed Ammons from the House Democrats’ caucus but abstained from urging her resignation during her criminal trial, a process that may extend for months or years. Last Thursday, Welch requested Benton’s resignation after examining a confidential report from the legislative inspector general that found Benton engaged in unspecified inappropriate conduct.
Welch explained to reporters in Springfield on Wednesday that he has not called for Ammons to resign because she remains “innocent until proven guilty.” Benton was also removed from the caucus during an ongoing investigation, which has not yet been disclosed publicly.
However, McCombie criticized Welch for insufficiently holding suspected unethical lawmakers accountable and failing to deter others from similar conduct.
“The people of Illinois deserve answers,” McCombie declared. “They deserve accountability, and they deserve a legislature that is willing to police itself before another scandal forces its hands.”
Investigating Ammons
Ammons, a state representative since 2015, was indicted on 10 felony charges Wednesday, including wire fraud, lying to an FBI agent, and obstructing justice. Her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, was also charged with obstructing justice. Despite prosecutors alleging she benefited from her mother’s illegal activities, Ammons’ daughter, Titianna Ammons, was not charged in the scheme. However, Titianna Ammons faces federal fraud charges in a separate case.
Prosecutors claim that beginning in 2017, Ammons and her daughter “received financial benefits in excess of $100,000” through a scheme involving illegal payments from the “Friends of Carol Ammons” campaign account and payments made to Titianna Ammons from local nonprofits that received state grant funds arranged by the legislator.
McCombie advocated for a special investigative committee to examine Ammons, which might ultimately result in her expulsion from the House. The House rules permit three members from any party to initiate this investigative process.
Although the House GOP could have started this process without Democratic support, they had not done so by Thursday.
“Criminal proceedings determine guilt or innocence,” McCombie noted. “The House determines whether its members are worthy of serving the people of Illinois. We may not be able to legislate bad behavior, but we can absolutely demand transparency, accountability, and meaningful penalty enhancements or consequences for those who betray the public’s trust.”
A similar committee was convened in 2019 to investigate ex-Democratic Rep. Luis Arroyo and in 2020 for longtime Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan. Arroyo resigned before his committee met, while Madigan’s committee, led by Welch, declined to sanction the former speaker after he was indirectly implicated in a court document accusing ComEd of bribery. Both men were later incarcerated.
“She’s entitled to due process and I believe the court system is the proper place for that to happen,” Welch stated. “However, we have processes in place that if they are invoked, we will use those processes. That is the right of our members.”
Ethics reform
Republicans have consistently used corruption cases to advocate for ethics reform, emphasizing the need to prevent alleged offenders from serving in the General Assembly in light of Ammons’ charges.
They also argued that Ammons’ case should prompt legislators to reform the budget process. Ammons allegedly directed state grants to nonprofits that would pay her daughter. Among these organizations, the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center received a $750,000 reappropriation from the Fund for Illinois’ Future in the current year’s budget, often used to fund initiatives in Democratic districts.
“If Democrats are going to include millions of taxpayer dollars and member-directed funding for local projects, they must also demand transparency, accountability, and rigorous oversight of every organization receiving those grants,” Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, commented. “Many organizations that have appeared before House committees seeking taxpayer funding have been unable or unwilling to provide clear accounting of how public dollars were spent.”
Welch assured reporters that multiple layers of review are already in place.
“There are processes in place; we got to make sure organizations go through several steps — at least 10 steps,” Welch explained. “Members have complained since I’ve been speaker how slow things are and it’s because we’re taking them through all those steps that have been put in place to try to ensure things are done in a proper way.”
Republicans also insisted on the necessity of more hearings to explore new ethics reforms.
“Having such a super majority makes them feel like they are untouchable, and this stuff is going to continue to happen until the people of the state of Illinois realize that these people think they’re untouchable,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, remarked.
Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, advocated in a statement for giving local prosecutors wiretapping authority to investigate public corruption.
“The people of Illinois do not deserve this continued embarrassment of having to wait for the feds to come in to investigate public corruption by their own state elected officials because the Democratic majority continues to sideline the Illinois Attorney General and local prosecutors from policing public corruption,” Curran added.
Republican proposals include making legislative inspector general reports, like the one on Benton, public 60 days after completion, prohibiting lawmakers from using campaign funds for criminal defense, and suspending pension benefits for public officials charged with felonies related to their official duties.
Hannah Meisel and Brenden Moore contributed.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
