State Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) issued the following statement in response to the indictment of State Representative Carol Ammons by a federal grand jury on wire fraud, making false statements, and obstruction charges:
“Representative Ammons must be immediately removed from office for her flagrant violation of the public’s trust. There must be zero tolerance for political corruption in Illinois. We should follow the precedent set in 2012 when the House of Representatives voted to expel then-State Representative Derrick Smith when he was charged with accepting a $7,000 cash bribe to write an official letter of support for a daycare center that he believed was seeking a state grant.
“To prevent future abuses like those Representative Ammons has been charged with, the General Assembly should end the awarding of member initiative projects. To take taxpayer funds from all parts of the state and put them only in Democrat districts is outrageous. This is an obviously corrupt political practice with no oversight that robs taxpayers.”
Rep. Carol Ammons: Allegations of Corruption and Abuse of Public Trust
Indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud, making false statements, and obstruction charges, where prosecutors allege she:
- Converted campaign contributions for personal use.
- Used campaign funds to pay herself and family members for services that were not legitimate
- Orchestrated cash kickback schemes by directing inflated payments to third parties who then returned money to her.
- Filed false campaign finance reports that concealed payments and misrepresented expenditures.
- Used her position as a state representative to help secure a $605,431 state grant for an organization that later employed her daughter.
- Financially benefited, along with her daughter, from state grant funds in violation of Illinois conflict-of-interest rules.
- Attempted to conceal the scheme from investigators and state authorities.