Illinois House to investigate Rep. Carol Ammons following indictment

SPRINGFIELD — An Illinois House committee will investigate actions by Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, following her indictment on 10 federal charges this week.

A group of 11 House Republicans filed a petition on Friday to create a special investigating committee, a sparingly used process laid out in House rules that can be initiated by any three members, regardless of party.

The body, which by rule has its members appointed by the legislative leaders, is expected to explore Ammons’ conduct and could ultimately lead to her expulsion from the General Assembly. But when it will get to work isn’t immediately clear. The process was last used to probe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in 2020. Now-House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, chaired that effort, which did not end in discipline, though Madigan was eventually convicted in court.

“Democratic leadership has said the courts should handle this,” House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said in a statement. “The courts should absolutely do their job, but the Illinois House has a responsibility to do ours. Accountability in the legislature cannot be outsourced to the criminal justice system.”

Ammons, a state representative since 2015, was indicted on multiple 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. Ammons’ daughter, Titianna Ammons, was not charged in the scheme despite prosecutors alleging she was a beneficiary of her mom’s illegal actions. Titianna Ammons is facing federal unemployment fraud charges in a separate case, however.

Read more: State Rep. Carol Ammons indicted in scheme to receive kickbacks, misusing campaign funds

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 from local nonprofits that received state grant funds arranged by the lawmaker.

Ammons released a statement on Friday pledging to fight the charges, according to the News-Gazette. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 16.

“I want to be clear: I have done nothing wrong, and I strongly disagree with the allegations outlined in this indictment,” Ammons said. “I have complete confidence that the facts will demonstrate my innocence, and I intend to vigorously defend myself through the judicial process. Because this matter is now before the courts, I will not litigate the facts through the media. I have great respect for our judicial system, and I am confident the legal process will provide the appropriate forum for the truth to be established.”

Read more: Republicans call for more transparency, accountability after ‘disgraceful week’ for House Democrats

How it works

Due to House rules, the petition that lists the specific charges the House will be tasked with probing will not be made public until the committee is established. Welch named Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, chair of the committee, with Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, and Rep. Lilian Jimenez, D-Chicago, joining him. All three are attorneys.

“The special investigating committee is another process to ensure the House responds appropriately and within our purview — while ensuring nothing we do interferes with the ongoing federal case,” Welch said in a statement.

McCombie selected Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, to lead the Republican side of the committee. He will be joined by Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, and Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich.

Per rule, the committee will hold hearings and Ammons an opportunity to testify under oath. If at the end of the hearings at least four of the members vote to authorize charges against her, another 12-member bipartisan committee would be created to weigh any disciplinary action.

If discipline is recommended, it would go to the full House for a vote. Most punishments would require a supermajority vote of 71 members, while it takes 79 votes to remove Ammons from the House.

It’s not clear when the initial investigating committee will first meet, however. The House rules don’t outline any timeline for starting the process.

Ammons has already been removed from the Democratic Caucus and lost access to speaker’s office staff members.

Fourth time in 15 years

The committee investigating Ammons will be the first since Republicans initiated the 2020 probe of Madigan after he was named as “Public Official A” and accused in court documents of bribing utility Commonwealth Edison.

Welch chaired that committee, which was formed within days of the Republican-filed petition. But the process was prolonged and the committee held just three meetings in four months, and it deadlocked on party lines with Democrats voting against a motion that stated Madigan engaged in conduct unbecoming of a lawmaker. Madigan was later charged with 23 felonies and found guilty on 10 counts. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Welch said after the committee dissolved that he believed the courts were a better place to handle legal allegations.

A special committee was also established in 2020 to investigate former Democratic Rep. Luis Arroyo after he was charged in a bribery scheme. Welch signed the petition to create that committee, but Arroyo resigned before it could meet. Arroyo pleaded guilty and was sent to prison.

Former Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, was the last lawmaker to be expelled from the House following a special investigating committee. He was kicked out of the legislature in 2012 after he was charged with bribery, though he was reelected to the House later that year. He eventually gave up his office when he was convicted in 2014.

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.