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 read about those who served in statewide offices.
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:
Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002 and served until 2009 when he became the first Illinois governor in history to be impeached and removed from office.
The impeachment occurred after Blagojevich was arrested in late 2008 by federal law enforcement on a series of corruption charges, including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. At Blagojevich’s first trial, he was convicted of lying to the FBI but the jury was hung on other charges.
At his second trial, in 2011, Blagojevich was found guilty on the more widespread allegations, including the Senate seat charges, trying to shake down a children’s hospital leader in exchange for sending money approved for pediatric services, and seeking a $100,000 contribution from a horse track owner in exchange for signing favorable legislation.
In 2020, President Donald Trump, a Republican later convicted of felonies himself, commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence to about 8 years served.
Jerry Cosentino
Jerry Cosentino, who served two separate four-year terms as Illinois’ treasurer, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 1992, after leaving office. He later was sentenced to nine months of home confinement and five years’ probation and fined $5,000. Cosentino admitted writing millions of dollars in bad checks to keep his trucking company in business. The company later went defunct.
Orville Hodge
Orville Hodge was a former state representative and Illinois’ auditor of public accounts from 1953 to 1956. As auditor, Hodge embezzled looting and squandering more than $2.5 million in public funds. He had a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing two private planes, multiple automobiles and luxury homes in Illinois and Florida. Once the scandal broke, Hodge resigned, pleaded guilty and went to prison in 1956. He served nearly 6 1/2 years in prison and paid restitution.
The Chicago Daily News won a Pulitzer Prize for its work in revealing Hodge’s crimes, and the state created separate treasurer and comptroller positions to replace the single auditor in order to keep better track of the state’s money.
Otto Kerner
Otto Kerner, who was governor from 1961 to 1968, was accused of secretly buying stock in 1966 in the Arlington Park and Washington Park horse racing tracks. The former governor, whom some called “Mr. Clean,” got the stock at a steep discount allegedly in exchange for political favors. Kerner, who had resigned as governor to become a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, was found guilty in February 1973 of bribery, conspiracy and income tax evasion.
U.S. Attorney James Thompson, who later became governor himself, alleged Kerner profited from a deal in which he purchased stocks at low prices from Marjorie Lindheimer Everett, the leading figure in Illinois racing at the time. Kerner then sold those same stocks back to Everett at higher prices. In exchange, Kerner made favorable decisions regarding racing matters. He became the first sitting U.S. appellate judge to be convicted in the nation’s history and also perjured himself before a federal grand jury. He was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $50,000. Kerner denied any wrongdoing.
Joel Aldrich Matteson
Joel Aldrich Matteson was Illinois’ 10th governor, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was also the first chief executive to reside in the Illinois Governor’s Mansion in Springfield, which was completed in 1855. The namesake of the south suburb was accused of defrauding the state of $388,528 in 1859, after serving his term as governor. An investigation was dropped after Matteson promised to pay the state back, even though he maintained his innocence.
Oscar Nelson
Oscar Nelson was both Illinois treasurer and auditor of public accounts from 1923 to 1933 (he announced in 1932 he would not seek reelection). Nelson was accused of misfeasance on a charge that he had failed in his duty by delaying the closing of the Waukegan State Bank long after he knew of its poor financial condition. During the nine months Nelson left the bank open, the bank’s assets dissipated.
But a Lake County judge directed the jury to acquit the auditor, saying the courts had no jurisdiction to try a state officer for misfeasance or other dereliction of his official duties. A prosecutor called the ruling a “legal technicality.”
Paul Powell
A former speaker of the Illinois House, Paul Powell was Illinois secretary of state from 1965 until he died in 1970 in Rochester, Minnesota. He became one of Illinois’ most notorious politicians after about $750,000 was found inside his Springfield room at the St. Nicholas Hotel after his death, providing an enduring symbol of the shady side of Illinois politics. The Tribune reported Powell’s executor said the money was found in a shoe box, two leather briefcases and three steel strongboxes hidden behind old whiskey cases and mixed among the old clothing in the closet.
Even though his annual salary never topped $30,000, Powell’s estate after his death was deemed worth more than $3 million as a result of his bribe taking, investigations later determined. Powell during his life was famous for his folksy sayings, including, “There’s only one thing worse than a defeated politician, and that’s a broke politician.”
Andrew Russel
Andrew Russel, who served two terms as state treasurer and was the state’s auditor from 1917 to 1925, died in prison on the day his application for a presidential pardon was received in Washington. With a long career in politics and banking, he was vice president of Ayers National Bank in Jacksonville when it failed in 1932. Russel’s overdrafts had reached more than $1.3 million. He was indicted for misapplication of bank funds. He served three months of an 18-month sentence for violations of the National Banking Act.
George Ryan
George Ryan was governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. He chose not to run for a second term amid a brewing scandal and ongoing federal investigation related to his time as Illinois secretary of state. Ryan was convicted in 2006 on 18 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, tax and mail fraud and lying to the FBI.
Prosecutors accused him of receiving illegal cash payments and gifts during his time as secretary of state and governor. The former governor was given a 6 1/2 year prison sentence. He spent more than five years in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, and was released from home confinement in 2013.
William Scott
William Scott was Illinois treasurer and attorney general from 1969 to 1980. He resigned after he was convicted in 1980 of converting political campaign contributions to personal use without paying income taxes on the money.
A day before his conviction, Scott lost the 1980 GOP primary for U.S. Senate against Lt. Gov. Dave O’Neal. Scott was released from prison in 1982 after serving seven months of a 366-day sentence.
Lennington Small
Lennington “Len” Small, a Kankakee farmer, was elected governor in 1920. Just seven months after taking office, the former state senator was indicted on charges of conspiracy and embezzling state funds, later tabbed at $1 million, while he was state treasurer. The attorney general charged that Small deposited state funds in an inactive bank near Kankakee and then lent the money to Chicago meatpackers, collecting about 6 percent interest. Small would then refill state coffers at about 3 percent interest, according to the charges. He never accounted for the difference.
Len Small: Perhaps the dirtiest Illinois governor of them all
Small testified at his trial and was acquitted — after just an hour and a half of deliberation — which allowed him to continue as governor until 1929. Six of the jurors in Small’s trial were rewarded with state jobs or in other ways, the Tribune reported in 1932, raising suspicions of jury tampering. Though still insisting he didn’t owe the state any money, Small later settled the state’s claim against him for $650,000.
William Stratton
William Stratton was Illinois’ governor for two terms from 1953 to 1961. Four years after he left the Governor’s Mansion, Stratton was indicted on charges of violating income tax laws, related to the way he spent some of his campaign cash. He was acquitted of income tax evasion in 1965.
Dan Walker
Dan Walker was elected governor in 1972 after spending much of his campaign walking 1,197 miles from Brookport on the state’s southern border to South Beloit on Illinois’ northern border. In just a few years, Walker went from obscurity to pulling off an against-all-odds political upset to being a has-been. He served only one term and was succeeded as governor by James Thompson.
Ten years later, on Aug. 5, 1987, a day before his 65th birthday, Walker pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with $1.4 million in loans from his failed First American Savings and Loan Association of Oak Brook. The money was used to help finance a chain of quick oil-change franchises and for personal expenses, including operation of an 80-foot luxury yacht, the Governor’s Lady.
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Originally Published: August 24, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.
