Illinois House begins investigation into indicted Rep. Carol Ammons

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers on Thursday began investigating alleged misconduct by Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, that was outlined in a federal indictment.

Ammons pleaded not guilty on July 16 to 10 felony charges, including wire fraud, lying to the FBI and conspiring to obstruct justice. Her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, also faces a conspiracy charge. Their daughter, Titianna Ammons, was not charged in the case despite being a key figure at the center of it, though she is facing separate federal unemployment fraud charges.

The House Special Investigating Committee was triggered by a Republican petition that largely mirrored the indictment, alleging Ammons engaged in inappropriate and illegal behavior. While the committee will decide whether the 11-year state representative engaged in conduct unbecoming of a legislator, it’s just the first step in a long process that could ultimately lead to her punishment.

And after introducing the House Republicans’ charges against Ammons, the committee voted unanimously to consult with the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois to find out if the committee’s action would interfere with the federal investigation. The committee will not meet again or conduct a deeper investigation until the U.S. attorney responds.

Past special investigating committees into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, former Rep. Derrick Smith, and former Speaker Mike Madigan also contacted the investigating U.S. attorney before proceeding.

The Ammons indictment

Federal prosecutors allege that starting in 2017, Ammons and her daughter “received financial benefits in excess of $100,000” via a scheme including illegal payments from the “Friends of Carol Ammons” campaign account and from payments made to Titianna Ammons by local nonprofits that received state grant funds arranged by the lawmaker.

Rep. Ammons declined through her attorneys to attend Thursday’s opening hearing because it was only going to be a procedural step, committee Chair Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said. The House rules give Ammons a right to attend each hearing, introduce her own evidence and testify to the committee.

“As members of the Illinois House of Representatives, we are held to a higher ethical standard, and we must hold each other to that high ethical standard as we make sure to take care of this institution,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, said as he introduced the GOP’s petition to initiate the investigation.

Eleven Republicans signed a slimmed down petition that tasks the committee with investigating five counts that Ammons abused state funds. Their initial petition contained nine charges, which included campaign finance law violations.

Davidsmeyer said the GOP decided to focus on violations related to state tax dollars, believing issues surrounding campaign contributions and lying to federal agents could be explored another time.

“This committee is not a court of law, and we are not judging innocence or guilt,” Tarver said. “Rather, we are tasked with inquiring into the underlying facts to determine whether reasonable grounds exist for the discipline to be pursued by the House.”

Trust in the process

The committee is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, but chaired by Tarver, a Democrat.

“When one of our members is the subject of a criminal indictment based on allegations of a wire fraud, false statements to the FBI, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, there is a direct threat to the public trust in this very institution,” Tarver said.

The last committee to investigate a lawmaker, the 2020 investigation into Madigan more than a year before he would be federally charged, was criticized by members of both parties for different reasons. Then-Rep. Chris Welch, the Hillside Democrat who led that committee, said courts were a better place to determine wrongdoing. Republicans bashed that characterization and the Democrats’ decision to conclude the committee’s work without finding Madigan engaged in unethical behavior.

“The people of Illinois deserve answers, and above all, they deserve the truth,” Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said. “This committee cannot become another Springfield exercise in delays, doublespeak excuses, and more political protections for insiders. Decades of scandal have destroyed the public’s trust in state government.”

Davidsmeyer voiced confidence in Tarver’s leadership.

“I think Chairman Tarver will do a good job,” he told reporters. “I have a lot of respect for how he looks at things. We may not always agree, but we can at least have conversations on these things. So I think this should be a good committee. It will be a little bit more robust than the committee that was kind of swept under the rug for Speaker Madigan.”

Campaign fodder

On the campaign trail, Republicans have been vocal about Ammons’ indictment and Welch’s handling of sexual harassment cases.

The party’s nominee for governor, Darren Bailey, held a news conference at the Statehouse prior to Ammons’ hearing where he said, “the people of Illinois, they’re ultimately responsible for this,” and called Gov. JB Pritzker “a jackass.”

“Voters need to send better people here. Accountability and transparency will do that,” Bailey said. “What greater first steps can we take in Illinois with a new governor than to bring transparency and accountability to their own elected officials.”

Bailey and his running mate, Aaron Del Mar, called on lawmakers to respond to Ammons’ case by passing a law that makes nonprofits receiving at least $10,000 in state funds subject to open records laws.

“Serving in public office should not descend into an opportunity for personal benefit and it should never provide protection from accountability,” Bailey said.

Bailey argued Pritzker has been “silent” on the issue, though the governor told the Illinoize newsletter that Ammons should resign from office, and if she’s exonerated, run for her seat again. Bailey also added the state’s Democratic leaders have failed to address corruption problems in their own party.

“Sadly, these are not isolated political problems,” Bailey said. “In the last 25 years, more than 100 Democrats, ranging from governor, Congress, to legislators, aldermen, and county commissioners, have been indicted for crimes committed.”

He cited other Democrat politicians who’ve been indicted or convicted for “using their office for personal gain,” including Madigan, state Sens. Martin Sandoval and Terry Link, and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

“This is not just a culture of corruption that has been enabled through indifference. This is a systematic failure of leadership at the highest levels of government,” he said.

State lawmakers have passed a handful of ethics bills under Pritzker, including new requirements for various disclosures lobbyists and politicians must file and banning lawmakers from holding fundraisers while they’re in session. But no major ethics bills designed to prevent public corruption have advanced since 2021.

Peter Hancock contributed.

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