Lake County Gazette

State Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan) was charged on Aug. 13 with felony income tax fraud, making him the latest in a long line of Illinois Democratic officials to face criminal charges. 

Documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said Link, first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, knowingly underreported his 2016 income in a tax return filed in October 2017. The 30th District representative said he made $264,450, although he "knew that the total income substantially exceeded that amount,” according to the charges.

Link, 73, did not comment after charges were filed. The 30th District includes all or part of Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Green Oaks, Lincolnshire, Mundelein, North Chicago, Riverwoods, Wheeling, Vernon Hills and Waukegan. Link, who also serves as chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, is the third Democratic state senator to face federal charges in little more than a year, as criminal investigations continue into some of the most powerful people in the state.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) | File photo

Former Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) pleaded guilty to bribery and tax charges Jan. 28, admitting to taking more than $250,000 in bribes and filing a false income tax return in 2017. He said he had underreported his income from 2012-16.

A Democrat who represented the 12th District from 2003-2019, Sandoval resigned from office Jan. 1. He was ordered not to leave the state and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

A year ago, state Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) was charged a single count of conspiracy and 39 counts of embezzlement for reportedly accepting pay and benefits from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 25, although he did little or no work for the union. Cullerton, who has represented the 23rd District since 2013, has pleaded not guilty. A trial was set for this summer.

Among the biggest names mentioned in criminal investigations are Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is being scrutinized for a $331,000 tax break he received from the Cook County Assessor’s Office after he had five toilets removed from a second mansion he owns in 2015. Pritzker repaid the tax bill during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign but the issue has since resurfaced.

In July, longtime Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) was linked to a bribery case involving Commonwealth Edison, which agreed to a $200 million fine for seeking to influence “Public Official A,” revealed to be the speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Madigan, who has served in the legislature since 1971, has held that post for all but two years since 1983. 

The criminal charges come despite Link’s apparent cooperation with investigators in recent years. When former state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was under investigation for attempting to bribe a state senator to support legislation to legalize sweepstakes machines, the senator, believed to be Link despite his repeated denials, reportedly worked with prosecutors.

Arroyo, a seven-term representative and assistant majority leader, was charged with felony bribery in federal court in October 2019. He resigned from the House Nov. 1 and pleaded not guilty to the charge in February.

Link remains in office but did resign as a member of the Legislative Ethics Commission Thursday afternoon, according to a spokesman for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.

Ethics was a watchword in Springfield on Thursday, as a group of Democratic lawmakers called for serious changes to the state's political culture. The 16 Democrats advocated for an end to lobbying by sitting legislators, a yearlong restriction on lobbying after leaving office, stricter reporting on outside income, term limits for legislative leaders and other reforms.

“The culture in Springfield is broken,” 7th District Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), said at a news conference. “I think you’ve been hearing that from all of us.”