Another week another Democrat goes down.
And as is usually the case, it was involving fraud and bribery charges.
And also as is usually the case, it was FEDERAL charges, so you know they’re not messing around.
And in this case, a federal raid.
That’s never good!
Here's more, from Fox News:
An Illinois Democratic senator under federal investigation for fraud and bribery resigned Wednesday from his office after FBI agents raided his Chicago home and Springfield office earlier this year.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Senate, State Sen. MartinSandoval said his resignation would be effective Jan. 1.
"it is with a heavy heart, I, Martin A. Sandoval, do hereby resign the office of state senator," he wrote.
On Sept. 24, FBI agents raided Sandoval's offices and home looking for information on concrete and construction businesses as well as information related to bribery or theft of federal funds. They were also looking for information on a power company, officials, lobbyists, gambling interests, a red-light camera company and information on at least three suburban mayors.
Following the raid in his Chicago and Springfield offices, agents were also dispatched to his Cicero office.
The raid was also followed by federal law enforcement actions in the towns of McCook, Lyons and Summit -- all of which are part of Sandoval's district, according to reports from The Journal Gazzett & Times Courier and The Chicago Tribune.
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The move comes after two months of pressure by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders who demanded Sandoval step down as chairman of the Transportation Committee. Pritzker expressed concern about the state's $41.5 billion construction program, in which Sandoval had a leading role last spring.
Local news outlets previously reported federal agents also went to Bluff City Materials, a Bartlett sand and gravel operation owned by a major Sandoval donor and that his connections to Commonwealth Edison, where his daughter, Angie, has worked as a senior representative for years.
Sandoval has represented the 11th District since 2003.
In his resignation letter, Sandoval said he continues to have respect for his constituents and that Illinois senators convinced him that his resignation was necessary for the party to move forward.
And from IllinoisPolicy.org:
The once-powerful state officeholder previously resigned as chairman of the influential Illinois Senate Transportation Committee in October.
The state lawmaker who credited himself for Illinois’ massive gas tax hike in July will no longer be serving in the state Capitol come next year.
On Nov. 27, state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, submitted his resignation from the Illinois Senate, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
Sandoval’s resignation comes the same day Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Robert Herguth published an article suggesting possible abuses of his erstwhile role as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. According to the Sun-Times, Sandoval’s daughter and daughter-in-law both landed jobs at the Chicago Transit Authority while Sandoval led the committee that holds influence over it.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan played an integral role in Sandoval’s election to the Senate, ensuring that he ran unopposed in the 2002 Democratic primary.
Sandoval stepped down from his influential chairmanship in October, facing pressure as subject of a federal corruption probe into alleged conflicts of interest involving a red-light camera company and other firms.
It was from his powerful leadership post on the transportation committee that Sandoval shepherded to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk one of the governor’s top legislative wishes.
As committee chair, Sandoval played a key role in shaping the $45 billion capital plan Pritzker signed into law in June, doubling the state gas tax and increasing a variety of other taxes and fees. The bill lifted Illinoisans’ total gas tax burden to third-highest from 10th in the nation.
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At the time of Pritzker’s signing, Sandoval’s website boasted, “The $45 billion construction package is the culmination of a three-month negotiation process led by state Sen. Martin A. Sandoval.” An Illinois Policy Institute analysis in July found that waste and pork-barrel spending included in the plan amounted to more than $1.4 billion. In May, the Institute published a report finding lawmakers could have spent $10 billion extra on infrastructure without hiking taxes.
Federal probes into Illinois corruption have included Chicago aldermen, lawmakers and lobbyists with close ties to Madigan, and state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, D-Villa Park, who faces federal embezzlement charges that state during three years he was paid about $275,000 in salary and benefits but performed little to no work for the Teamsters Union. Cullerton has pleaded not guilty, and while he was removed as chair of the Labor Committee, he remains chair of the Veterans Committee and sub-chair of Utility Rate Regulations.
Sandoval’s resignation comes weeks after Senate President John Cullerton announced he will retire in January 2020, bringing to an end a 40-year legislative career. A Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Institute found Cullerton is set to collect $2 million in pension benefits.
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