Draft:List of Illinois political scandals

The following is a list of political scandals which occurred in the U.S. state of Illinois, organized in reverse chronological order.

State of Illinois

 * Thomas Cullerton (D) State Senator from Villa Park in the 23rd District, was accused of embezzling money from Labor Union 734 while holding a no-work position there, and then making false statements about it. In February 2022 he abruptly pled guilty and resigned his position in the Illinois Senate. (2019)


 * Martin A. Sandoval (D) State Senator from the 11th District, was accused of accepting bribes largely from Safe Speed, LLC, a red light camera company, and filing fake tax returns. He was found guilty of accepting bribes of $250,000 and tax evasion.  He died of Covid before sentencing. (2020)


 * Luis Arroyo (politician) (D) State Representative from the 23rd District was accused of offering a fellow lawmaker a bribe to vote in favor of legalizing sweepstakes machines. When an investigative committee was formed, Arroyo abruptly resigned. (2019)


 * Nick Sauer (R) State Representative from the 51st District, was accused by his ex-girlfriend of posting revenge porn pictures of her online. Top GOP leaders urged him to resign, which he did. (2018)


 * Kevin Quinn (D) Aide to State Representative Mike Madigan (D) was accused of sexual harassment and making unwanted advances. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and then fired. (2018)


 * Terry Link (D) State Senator from Waukegan in the 36TH District, was convicted of underreporting his income andtax evasion. (2016)


 * Ron Sandack (R) State Representative from Downers Grove in the 81st District, was accused of inappropriate online conversations, Sandack admitted he had been caught in an extortion scam, which threatened to release sexually explicit videos. Rather than make more payments, he resigned. (2016)


 * Constance A. Howard (D) State Representative from the 34th District, was convicted of mail fraud for stealing $28,000 from a charity event and using it for personal use and funding her campaign. She was sentenced to three months in prison and two years probation. (2013)


 * Keith Farnham (D) State Representative from District 43, pled guilty to a federal charge of transporting child pornography on computers. He was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison. (2014)


 * Derrick Smith (politician) (D) State Representative of Chicago in the 10th District, was accused by the FBI of accepting a $7,000 bribe to support a day care center. He was expelled from the House, but since he was on the election ballot at the time and had won, he was immediately re-instated.  He was then tried in court again and found guilty of bribery and extortion.  He was sentenced to five months in prison with community service and fined. (2011}


 * Ron Stephens (Illinois politician) (R) State Representative from Greenville in the 102nd District, was arrested for DUI. He was found guilty, and since he had previous arrests for drug abuse, he was given 12 months of supervision, his license was revoked and he was required to take monthly drug tests.  He then resigned his seat. (2010)


 * Rod Blagojevich (D) Governor was charged in a so-called "Pay to Play" scheme, which included the alleged sale of President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat which he described in a wire tap as "f*****g golden" which he wanted to exchange for a bribe of $1.5 million. He was impeached and removed from office. He was then convicted of corruption and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. (2009)