Lake County Gazette

The recent federal bribery charges against Sen. Emil Jones III (D-Chicago) have prompted Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) to renew demands for ethics reform in Springfield.

"How many more indictments will it take before Democrats get serious about ending corruption in Illinois?" Bos posted on Facebook. "We need robust ethics reform today to give our citizens the honest, transparent state government they deserve."

Jones is facing federal bribery charges over allegedly lying to the FBI about protecting red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Jones is a deputy majority leader and has served in the Legislature since 2009. His father, Emil Jones Jr., was formerly the Illinois Senate President. Jones Jr. said of Jones III, “Everyone knows he is an honest, hardworking legislator. I intend to fight with him and stand alongside him throughout this process.” Jones III has been asked to resign from his leadership roles in the Legislature by Senate President Don Harmon, who said, “These are grave allegations. Members of the Senate and all public officials need to hold themselves to a high ethical standard for the public to have trust and faith in our work."

Jones' legal woes occur in a year in which two other Democratic lawmakers have seen themselves in trouble with the law.

Earlier this year, former Democratic Sen. Thomas Cullerton was sentenced to one year in jail for embezzlement, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said Cullerton “broke the trust of the people” for taking payments as an organizer for Teamsters Joint Council 25, while doing little or no work for the union. Between March 2013 and February 2016, Cullerton accepted $188,320 in salary, bonuses and cellphone and vehicle allowances and $64,068 in health and pension contributions from the union.

Former Speaker of the House Michael Madigan was indicted on March 2 on federal racketeering and bribery charges. According to a release from the Department of Justice, "The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates." 

Madigan is facing charges of racketeering and conspiracy, as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. The release notes that in addition to his role as Speaker of the House, Madigan has also held the positions of Representative of Illinois’s 22nd District, committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner.

A recent report ranked Illinois the third most corrupt state in the country, according to WTTW. The report, which was co-authored by by University of Illinois at Chicago professor and former 44th Ward Ald. Dick Simpson, draws on data from the U.S. Department of Justice. In the Northern District of Illinois, which covers Chicago and the northern third of the state, 22 public officials were convicted on corruption-related charges in 2020. That number is actually a decrease from 2019, when 26 Illinoisans were convicted of public corruption.