Illinois’ Dishonor Roll: Meet the convicted, indicted General Assembly members

As part of the series “Culture of Corruption,” the Tribune has compiled a list of roughly 200 convicted, indicted or generally notorious public officials from Illinois’ long and infamous political history. We’re calling it “The Dishonor Roll.” On this page you can explore those who served in the General Assembly.

This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, and the Tribune will be updating it as warranted. “The Dishonor Roll” draws heavily from the vast archives of the Tribune, including photography and pages from the newspaper on the days these public officials made headlines.

Read more of “The Dishonor Roll” below:

Eddie Acevedo

Eddie Acevedo in 2021 pleaded guilty to skirting about $37,000 in taxes by misreporting lobbying income he’d received over three years. He was sentenced in 2022 to six months in prison. A Chicago Democrat, Acevedo served as former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s assistant majority leader in the House before retiring in 2017. He went on to work as a consultant paid by former state Rep. John Bradley, a Democrat from downstate Marion and a onetime lobbyist for ComEd. Acevedo told the Tribune he had been paid as much as $5,000 a month by Bradley. Acevedo’s son Alex also was found guilty by a federal jury of tax evasion charges that were an offshoot of the investigation into Commonwealth Edison’s alleged attempts to influence Madigan.

Luis Arroyo

A longtime Democrat from Chicago, state Rep. Luis Arroyo of Chicago resigned his seat shortly after he was arrested in 2019 on charges that he took bribes from politically connected business owner James Weiss in exchange for help promoting legislation beneficial to Weiss’ company, Collage LLC, which specialized in sweepstakes gaming machines. Arroyo also admitted he enlisted the help of then-state Sen. Terry Link, arranging for Weiss to pay Link bribes to help push the legislation in the General Assembly. At the time, Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, was secretly cooperating with the FBI. Link resigned from office before pleading guilty to unrelated tax evasion charges in September 2020. A federal appeals court upheld Arroyo’s 57-month prison sentence, saying the district judge was well within his bounds by placing extra emphasis on general deterrence for any future elected officials thinking about taking bribes.

Patricia Bailey

Former state Rep. Patricia Bailey was ordered in 2005 to serve two years of probation and community service following her conviction on felony perjury and forgery charges stemming from her use of false addresses on election documents.

She was also forced to resign her $46,500-a-year Cook County job as a probation officer and her $57,600-a-year legislative post. Bailey was prohibited from holding a government job for five years.

The charges against Bailey, who was first elected in 2002, were filed after the Tribune reported that she appeared to live outside the South Side district she represented.

Larry Bullock

State Rep. Larry Bullock — once touted as a possible candidate for mayor — was sentenced to six years in prison in 1986 after being convicted of submitting false statements to government agencies in a failed attempt to obtain minority business certification for his construction firm. Bullock was found guilty of 12 counts of mail fraud and filing false documents with federal agencies in an unsuccessful effort to obtain official minority certification for Magnum Enterprises, a construction firm he owned. It was also revealed during his trial that Bullock had been a government informant.

Bullock endorsed Jane Byrne, who lost in the 1983 Democratic primary election to Harold Washington, and admitted he paid members of the El Rukn street gang to oversee South Side operations for her campaign. The money came from Democratic Party funds supplied to Bullock by notorious former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, who was then immensely powerful as the party’s Cook County chairman.

At the time of his sentencing, Bullock had been defeated in the Democratic primary in his bid to win reelection to a fifth term as state representative of the legislative district representing Chicago’s Near South Side.

Donald D. Carpentier

Former state Sen. Donald D. Carpentier of East Moline — whose adoptive father had been Illinois secretary of state and mother once held the license plate tag “3” — was considered a Republican candidate for governor until his father had a heart attack in January 1964 and he bowed out of the race. Carpentier ran to unseat Paul Powell as secretary of state in 1968 but lost.

Carpentier pleaded guilty in January 1975 with two executives of the Illinois Division of the Midwest Ready Mix and Concrete Association to federal conspiracy indictments in payoffs totaling $30,000 to state legislators for a law favoring the industry. The payoff scheme fizzled when legislators were unable to override Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie’s veto. Carpentier became a government informant and secretly recorded conversations with other legislators. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

James Y. Carter

A former state representative, James Y. Carter was found guilty in 1978 of shaking down major independent taxi owners for nearly $150,000 while he was Chicago’s public vehicle license commissioner under Mayor Richard J. Daley from 1960 to 1975. Carter was said to have used his power to suspend and transfer taxi licenses to demand money.

After hearing the first witness against him, Carter tried to change his plea to guilty and admitted to taking many of the payoffs — including $650 a month for 11 years — from Bertel Daigre, owner of Daigre and Holiday cab companies. Carter was sentenced to seven years in prison for extortion, racketeering and income tax fraud.

Annazette Collins

Annazette Collins, who was both a state representative and senator, was convicted in 2024 on four tax-related charges. A federal jury convicted her of filing two false tax returns and failing to file one personal tax return and a return for her lobbying firm. She was acquitted on other charges and sentenced to one year in prison.

Collins was a longtime state representative — fined in 2008 for not reporting how much campaign money she raised and spent for the previous three years — before being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2011 left by state Sen. Rickey Hendon. Her criminal case was part of the sprawling federal probe into former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. When Collins was indicted in 2021, federal authorities were closing in on Madigan, charging a string of ex-lawmakers and lobbyists with ties to the once-powerful speaker and ComEd, which was Collins’ biggest lobbying client. The charges against Collins, who represented Chicago’s West Side, focused largely on income from her successful lobbying and consulting firm, Kourtnie Nicole Corp., which she formed after leaving the legislature in 2013.

Kenneth Course

Kenneth Course, a state senator and field manager of Meigs Field, was one of six men, including lawmakers, former lawmakers and associates, found guilty of participating in a $30,000 bribery scheme designed to secure the passage of legislation benefiting the ready-mix concrete industry by increasing the load limit for ready-mix trucks on Illinois roads. Course was sentenced to three years in prison.

William D. Cox

William D. Cox, a state representative from Charleston, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for income tax evasion and ordered to repay the state $15,000 he received as part of a fake expense-voucher scheme. A former House majority whip, Cox pleaded guilty to one count each of income tax evasion and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Cox had been named in an 18-count federal indictment in March 1973.

Cox was a former baseball player who pitched for the Chicago White Sox during his rookie season. He earned his first Major League Baseball win on Sept. 29, 1937 — holding the Cleveland Indians to three hits at Comiskey Park.

Robert Craig

State Rep. Robert Craig of downstate Danville was one of six men, including lawmakers, former lawmakers and associates, found guilty of participating in a bribery scheme designed to secure the passage of legislation benefiting the ready-mix concrete industry by increasing the load limit for ready-mix trucks on Illinois roads. Craig was sentenced to three years in prison.

Thomas Cullerton

The family of Thomas Cullerton, former state senator and village president of Villa Park, has its roots in politics going back to 1871 — the year of the Great Chicago Fire. He was sentenced in 2022 to one year in federal prison for pocketing more than $250,000 in salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little or no work. At the time, Cullerton — who resigned before he pleaded guilty in 2022 — was the fourth sitting member of the General Assembly within the previous three years to be forced from office because of a federal criminal investigation.

According to the indictment, then-Teamsters boss John Coli conspired with Cullerton in 2013 to give the newly elected senator a do-nothing job with the clout-heavy union. Over the next three years, the two ignored complaints from supervisors when Cullerton failed to show up for work, according to the charges.

Bruce Farley

A state representative and senator from 1973 to 1999, Bruce Farley pleaded guilty in November 1998 to taking part in a ghost-payrolling scheme involving the Cook County treasurer’s office. Federal prosecutors charged the Chicago Democrat and former state Rep. Miguel Santiago with doing little or no work for then-Treasurer Edward Rosewell from 1990 to 1995 in exchange for money and benefits.

Farley lost his 17th District seat by an overwhelming margin to newcomer Lisa Madigan in March 1998 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in August 1999. Santiago was acquitted of the charges at trial. Rosewell pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and was awaiting sentencing when he died of liver disease in February 2000.

Keith Farnham

Former state Rep. Keith Farnham pleaded guilty in 2014 to online trading of thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting victims as young as toddlers. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Farnham was ordered to register with federal authorities as a sex offender.

A Navy veteran who ran an Elgin printing business before running for office in 2009, Farnham resigned his seat in 2014, one day after winning his primary race and only days after federal agents seized computers from his state office and home. He died in prison in 2017.

Larry Hicks

State Rep. Larry Hicks, from downstate Mount Vernon, represented his southern Illinois district from 1983 to 1995. He was once best known for using campaign funds to lease a Porsche 911 Targa and fund trips to the Bahamas, Las Vegas and Mexico. Hicks was convicted in 1997 for a scheme that prosecutors said cost the state $20,000 from 1990 to 1992 in which Hicks bought office equipment using his legislative budget, gave it to an associate, and then leased it back. Hicks, prosecutors said, got kickbacks from the associate on payments made by the state. He was sentenced to three years in prison for mail fraud.

Constance Howard

Former state Rep. Constance Howard of Chicago pleaded guilty in 2013 to diverting as much as $28,000 for her personal and political use from a scholarship fund she created to benefit needy students. She was sentenced to three months in prison. Howard’s “Tee Off for Technology” program raised money through an annual golf outing that was supposed to provide scholarships to people seeking a degree in computer science and related fields. She entered a plea agreement to one felony count of mail fraud. She resigned her House seat in 2012. Twelve days later, a federal grand jury subpoenaed a series of records from the Illinois House from 2000 to 2007, a period in which she ran the House Computer Technology Committee.

Doug Huff Jr.

State Rep. Douglas Huff Jr., a West Side Democrat, pleaded guilty in 1988 to federal income tax evasion charges. He served 13 years in the Illinois General Assembly, having been elected to the Illinois House in 1974 under the state’s former method of electing three members from each House district. In 1988, he was defeated in the March Democratic primary, chiefly because of his indictment on federal tax evasion charges.

Huff and his wife, who was also his legislative aide, were accused of failing to pay taxes on more than $115,000 they received from developers of a federally subsidized housing project in his West Side district. Both pleaded guilty. Huff was sentenced to four years in federal prison, and his wife was sentenced to one year and one day. Huff’s attorney attributed the crime to the legislator’s cocaine addiction. Days after being sentenced, Huff died of complications from a stroke.

Emil Jones III

State Sen. Emil Jones III is facing federal bribery charges alleging he took $5,000 from a red-light camera company executive to kill legislation requiring traffic studies for automated camera systems, and then lied to federal agents about it. After the charges were filed in 2022, he won reelection in an uncontested race. Jones III, son of former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., has pleaded not guilty. Jones III was one of several politicians to be charged in the sweeping federal investigation centered on red-light cameras installed by SafeSpeed LLC, a once clout-heavy camera company that secured contracts to run red-light cameras in nearly two dozen Chicago suburbs. The probe was exposed in 2019 when agents raided the offices of then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who at the time was the head of the state Senate’s Transportation Committee.

The investigation also led to a prison sentence of more than five years for political operative Patrick Doherty, once chief of staff to Jeffrey Tobolski, a former Cook County commissioner and mayor of McCook. Tobolski pleaded guilty to charges related to the probe. Other suburban mayors convicted of related charges include Louis Presta of Crestwood and Tony Ragucci of Oakbrook Terrace.

Terry Link

Longtime state Sen. Terry Link of Lake County pleaded guilty in 2020 to failing to report income on his tax returns to the IRS and spending more than $73,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. The guilty plea came as part of a cooperation deal with federal prosecutors and allowed Link to avoid prison time. He was sentenced to three years of probation.

Column: Former Sen. Link joins parade of state Democrats caught in federal trap

Link agreed to wear a wire and help the FBI crack an elaborate bribery scheme that led to prison sentences for state Rep. Luis Arroyo, a Democrat from Chicago, and businessman James Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic Chairman Joe Berrios. He was ordered to pay restitution, but he is expected to keep his state pension of nearly $96,000 a year because a review determined his crime was not directly related to his official duties.

Michael Madigan

The longest-serving state speaker of a state house in American history, Michael Madigan faces federal racketeering charges alleging his elected office and political operation were a criminal enterprise that provided personal financial rewards for him and his associates. The case alleges Madigan participated in an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 aimed at using the power of his office for personal gain.

Madigan lost the speakership in 2021 when 19 lawmakers refused to support him for another two-year term as speaker. Shortly after, he resigned the House seat he had held for just over 50 years and also his position as the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

Michael Madigan, ComEd and corruption: Timeline of how the investigation unfolded

Madigan was first outed as “Public Official A” in court records in a deferred prosecution agreement filed in July 2020 where the public utility Commonwealth Edison acknowledged it had showered the speaker with various rewards in exchange for his assistance with its legislative agenda in Springfield. Among the perks were do-nothing jobs for Madigan’s top political cronies, college internships for students in his 13th Ward power base, legal business for political allies and the appointment of his choice for the state-regulated utility’s board of directors, according to the allegations.

Madigan was indicted twice in 2022 on charges tied to the ComEd conspiracy as well as similar allegations involving AT&T. He’s also charged with trying to pressure developers in Chinatown to steer business to his private law firm. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for October.

Walter “Babe” McAvoy

Walter C. “Babe” McAvoy served 31 years in the Illinois House representing the Southwest Side before he was convicted in 1978 of taking a bribe to back laws favorable to employment agencies. He was sentenced to five years in prison. His appeals, based on the argument that he had legislative immunity, were unsuccessful. McAvoy was first elected to the House in 1942; when he left the House in 1978 he was the ranking Republican member of the General Assembly.

William “Sam” McCann

A former state senator and candidate for governor, William “Sam” McCann pleaded guilty in 2024 to felony counts of wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. The plea came during his federal corruption trial over misusing up to $550,000 in campaign contributions. A state senator from 2011 to 2019, McCann formed the Conservative Party of Illinois to campaign for governor in 2018. McCann allegedly used campaign cash to purchase vehicles, pay off an overdue loan and credit card bills and fund a family vacation. McCann was sentenced on July 9, 2024, to 42 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay nearly $684,000 in restitution for fraudulent use of campaign funds, money laundering and tax evasion.

Robert McPartlin

A member of the Illinois House in the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, state Rep. Robert McPartlin was indicted for taking part in a $1.2 million bribery scheme to assure a $46 million Metropolitan Sanitary District sludge-hauling contract for a New Orleans company. McPartlin was found guilty and later sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $40,000.

Edward Nedza

A state senator, Edward Nedza was convicted in 1987 on federal charges he used his political influence to obtain an illegal interest in a flea market in the 31st Ward where he was Democratic ward committeeman. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Nedza was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1978 and retained his city job as first deputy commissioner of aviation. In 1981, while still in the Senate, he was assistant water commissioner for Chicago. Nedza was among a group of public officials and city employees to be convicted as a result of the federal Operation Phocus investigation of the city’s system for licensing businesses and enforcing codes.

Nedza was indicted along with former Ald. Chester Kuta, 31st, on charges they conspired with a former state senator to obtain a covert, 50 percent interest in the Buyer’s Flea Market. Leonard Kraus, owner of the flea market, also was charged in the indictment. Kuta and Kraus pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and agreed to testify as witnesses against Nedza.

Frank North

A former state representative from Rockford, Frank North was one of six men, including lawmakers, former lawmakers and associates, found guilty of participating in a bribery scheme designed to secure the passage of legislation benefiting the ready-mix concrete industry by increasing the load limit for ready-mix trucks on Illinois roads. North was sentenced to three years in prison.

Pete Pappas

Pete Pappas of Rock Island was a former state representative who became a lobbyist. A chief conspirator in the concrete scandal who became a government informant, he pleaded guilty and got probation.

Bernard Peskin

Former state Rep. Bernard Peskin was convicted in 1974 of bribing Hoffman Estates officials in return for Village Board approval of a 412-acre housing development there. He was an attorney in private practice when he was charged. Prosecutors said Peskin passed $35,000 in payments from developers he represented as an attorney to two of the suburb’s former mayors and four former Village Board members.

Martin Sandoval

A longtime state senator from the Chicago and Cicero area, Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty in 2020 to political corruption and was cooperating with prosecutors in multiple ongoing investigations when he died of complications from COVID-19 that same year. He was 56. The case was dismissed following his death. The head of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, Sandoval admitted taking bribes comprising more than $250,000 in exchange for his political influence or official action rooted in a red-light camera scandal.

Nick Sauer

A state representative for one term, Nick Sauer of Lake Barrington was charged in 2019 with 12 felonies for allegedly posting private sexual photos of two people online without their permission. Sauer resigned in 2018 as a result of the allegations, which were made by a former girlfriend. The woman accused Sauer of posting nude photos of her on an Instagram account he opened under a false name. The accusations reportedly were detailed in complaints filed with the Chicago Police Department and the state legislative inspector general. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was ordered to serve 90 days in jail and was placed on 24 months’ probation.

Derrick Smith

Derrick Smith of Chicago was appointed to represent a West Side district in the Illinois House in 2012. Shortly afterward, he was charged with taking a $7,000 bribe in exchange for writing a letter of support for a day care center that wanted a state grant. When he refused to give up his seat so another Democratic candidate could run in the general election, then-House Speaker Michael Madigan led an effort to have members expel Smith from the House. It was the first time a lawmaker was tossed from the House for perceived misdeeds in 107 years. Smith, however, stayed on the ballot and won the election.

During the next election in 2014, Madigan backed Smith because House Democrats were supporting all incumbents, even though the charges against Smith were still pending. Madigan even spent more than $72,000 to help Smith’s campaign. This time, Smith lost the primary election. He then also lost at trial and was sentenced to five months in prison.

Roger Stanley

A former state representative, Roger Stanley pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering in the federal scandal that took down former Gov. George Ryan. Stanley admitted to wide-ranging corruption, including paying kickbacks to win public contracts and campaign business, secretly mailing vicious and false attack brochures about political opponents, and helping obtain a ghost-payrolling job at a real estate firm for a 2000 Republican state House candidate.

Nicknamed “The Hog” in part for his prowess at landing government and political business, Stanley acknowledged his direct-mail company made more than $4 million in contracts from Metra. He ultimately agreed to forfeit tens of thousands of dollars tied to kickbacks involving a Ryan associate on the commuter rail agency’s board. When sentenced, Stanley was the second high-profile defendant convicted in the Ryan scandal to go to prison. Scott Fawell, chief of staff during Ryan’s tenure as secretary of state, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years.

Arthur “Ron” Swanson

A state senator from 1963 to 1971 and later a lobbyist, Arthur “Ron” Swanson’s insider deals played a key role in the conviction of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. Swanson was sentenced in July 2006 to eight months of home confinement for lying to a grand jury when he claimed to have performed work as part of a $180,000 lobbying assignment at McCormick Place arranged by Ryan. Swanson’s lawyers said testimony at Ryan’s trial indicated that the chief lobbyist for McCormick Place had simply forgotten to pass on work to Swanson for the first 10 months of the contract. Swanson, a former key member of the governor’s “kitchen cabinet,” declined to cooperate in the federal probe and wasn’t called to testify in Ryan’s trial.

Jack E. Walker

A former state senator and onetime House speaker from Lansing, Jack Walker was one of six men, including lawmakers, former lawmakers and associates, found guilty of participating in a bribery scheme designed to secure the passage of legislation benefiting the ready-mix concrete industry by increasing the load limit for ready-mix trucks on Illinois roads. Walker was sentenced to three years in prison.

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Originally Published: August 24, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.