[MUSIC] >> Welcome to Capitol View on.

WSIU.

I'm Jeff Williams sitting in as we take a look at what's making news around the state in Illinois.

Politics in the headlines this week, a special bipartisan statehouse committee will investigate state Representative Carol Ammons of Urbana in the wake of a federal grand jury indictment.

Governor JB Pritzker has signed more than 30 new bills into law.

We'll take a look closer, look at some of those, as well as likely some other topics this week on Capitol View.

To help lead our discussion this week are Brenden Moore, statehouse reporter for Capitol News Illinois, and Jason Piscia, director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Gentlemen, welcome back to the program.

>> Good to be here.

>> Good to be here.

>> All right.

As you mentioned at the top, last week, 103rd District State representative Carol Ammons, an Urbana Democrat, was indicted by a federal grand jury on ten felony counts stemming from an alleged multiyear cash kickback and campaign fund scheme.

Her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, also indicted on obstruction of justice for allegedly conspiring to impede a federal investigation.

Representative Ammons has strongly denied that she has done anything wrong and that she disagrees with the allegations in the indictment.

Republicans in the House initiated the formation of a special bipartisan investigation committee that is set to get underway.

Brenden Capital is Illinois, and you have been following aspects of this story kind of set the stage, bring us up to speed, where where things stand.

>> Yeah.

So last week, State Representative Carol Ammons, who has been in the state House for over a decade now, was indicted alongside her husband of Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons.

Uh, basically part of the scheme to, uh, that included allegedly illegal payments from her campaign account, uh, made, uh, to her daughter, uh, from local nonprofits, uh, that received, uh, grant funds that were arranged by her, uh, by Representative Emmons.

Uh, and then there was also allegations that essentially she was, um, basically over overcharging, uh, or, or overpaying, uh, certain folks from her campaign account and then having them gift back the excess funds to her, uh, and the allegations that, uh, altogether, uh, this totaled more than $100,000.

So, uh, there were ten counts, including, uh, wire fraud, lying to an FBI agent and obstructing justice.

Uh, and that's for Representative Emmons.

Aaron Emmons was was charged with obstructing justice as well.

Uh, And they were both arraigned in, uh, in federal court this week.

Uh, again, Representative Ammons has denied any wrongdoing and has said that she will vigorously defend herself.

Uh, so that's where we are on the legal front.

Uh, and obviously this is going to take some time, but, uh, in the legislative realm, uh, pretty much immediately after she was indicted, uh, House Speaker Chris Welch, uh, stripped her of her committee assignments and many resources from, uh, the speaker's office.

And he kicked her essentially temporarily kicked her out of the House Democratic caucus.

Uh, we saw something similar when, uh, representative Harry Benton was accused of, of, uh, some wrongdoing, uh, not criminally, but, uh, some allegations of sexual harassment.

Uh, so it's kind of getting the same treatment as she works through these, uh, legal issues.

However, uh, there there is.

The speaker did not call for her resignation.

Basically, he told us last week that he believes that she deserves due process and that due process should come in a in a courtroom and not from the legislature.

However, in the House rules, there is a mechanism for having some sort of due process.

Uh, basically any three legislators can file a request to form a special investigative committee, uh, and that can basically, uh, look into wrongdoing by, by members of, of the legislature.

And, you know, it's not used very often.

I mean, this, uh, but it was invoked last week.

Uh, there was a group of 11 Republican lawmakers that that invoked it.

Uh, and that kind of starts this process of, uh, now, uh, the speaker appoints three members, uh, the minority leader, Tony Mccombie, appoints three members, and they basically, uh, look to see if there's any allegations of of wrongdoing.

And if they find that, you know, four out of the at least four out of the six find that there's some wrongdoing, then it would advance to another committee that would essentially kind of, uh, kind of operate as almost kind of a trial in the legislature.

And then they would, you know, see if there's any wrongdoing done and recommend punishment to the full House, which would vote on it.

Uh, and punishment can include, you know, like a censure or could include expulsion.

Um, again, this is not used very often.

Uh, the last time we saw this was with former House Speaker Michael Madigan, uh, who, uh, Republicans invoked it back in, I believe it was in 2020 when the speaker was kind of entangled in some of the issues that eventually led to his indictment and conviction and incarceration.

Uh, but at that time, uh, the, the, uh, the three Democrats are on the Special Investigative Committee, which was chaired by House Speaker Chris Welch before he became speaker, voted to not proceed.

Again, the speaker basically using the same argument that he used now, which is that, uh, it's kind of he kind of said it's a kangaroo court.

This is a partisan thing that the Republicans are doing, uh, that any allegations of wrongdoing should be litigated in a courtroom.

So, uh, we will see where this goes.

Uh, again, the the members have been appointed to this committee.

Uh, but there is no time frame for when they have to meet again.

The legislature itself doesn't meet again until November.

Um, Representative Ammons is on the ballot.

Uh, she doesn't have an opponent.

Uh, so she's likely to be reelected.

Uh, and so, uh, we don't really know where this goes from here.

Uh, you know, beyond that, this committee, uh, has formed and, uh, and supposedly will look into some of the allegations made against representative, uh, amends.

But again, there is no mechanism for forcing them to meet.

So I guess to be determined.

Uh, again, things are in motion on the legal front, kind of in motion on the legislative front too.

But, uh, it remains to be seen if it's going to go anywhere, especially knowing, uh, the speaker's reluctance to use a process like this in cases like this.

>> Now, I was going to ask if, if the Republicans hadn't forced this issue, if there was any indication that this special investigative committee would have been convened otherwise.

>> I don't think so.

Uh, again, it's in the House rules where any three members can, can, can bring this.

So you don't need like a member of the majority party.

The speaker seemed to know that this was coming.

Even when he talked to us last week, he said, I don't think this is the proper way to go about it, but if the process is invoked, then we will go through it.

Uh, he, you know, was invoked a couple of days later and the speaker clearly was ready.

He had his members already picked.

They were announced even before the Republicans had picked their members.

So he kind of knew the writing was on the wall.

This is going to happen.

But again, I think we should emphasize this is a bipartisan committee.

It's made up of equal members of Republicans and Democrats.

But you need a majority to move forward to proceed beyond just kind of the fact finding phase of this.

So if what happens, uh, if we see a, I guess, a, you know, a repeat of what happened in 2020 with Speaker Madigan, where the three Democrats don't vote to proceed in a deadlocked three three, then that's the end of it.

So, uh, I think that's probably what happens most likely.

But, uh, but I've been surprised before.

So, uh, I guess just everyone should stay tuned.

>> Yeah.

Jason, just out of curiosity, as, as an observer, as someone now that teaches public affairs reporting at a graduate level to to reporters that are viewing and watching this process and, and look at transparency in government.

Does a committee like this do you think does it serve a purpose?

>> Uh, definitely.

If it actually goes ahead and does the work, um, you know, I teach my journalists to be cynical is not the right word, but wary of when, uh, the legislature is investigating itself, uh, especially when there's members of the same party involved.

Um, you know, I think we're seeing a lot of those same arguments come up in the, the Harry Benton issue.

Uh, the state lawmaker from the Joliet area who resigned amid those sexual harassment allegations.

The legislative inspector general put out a report, uh, that, uh, kind of made all those charges clear.

That report hasn't been released, and there's no indication on whether it's going to be there's some frustration among Republicans and, frankly, those in the media who, uh, you know, think there should be some accountability there.

And, you know, public officials should have to, uh, you know, stand up to the charges and, and have those detailed out for the public to see.

Um, so whenever you know, the legislature is investigating itself, we have to, uh, take that with a grain of salt and realize what's happening here.

Um, but also realize, you know, there's Republicans involved in this as well, and they are, uh, politically motivated as well as, you know, from a justice standpoint, uh, to try to get to the bottom of things.

>> Sure, sure.

Just for everyone will note.

And Brenden, I think you, you, you mentioned it.

Representative Ammons has her initial appearance scheduled in federal court on Thursday.

As we tape this on Wednesday, it'll be it'll be happening tomorrow.

I want to also ask with with the Ammons indictment and as we mentioned, the controversy surrounding now former um, 97th District State Representative Harry Benton, um, as you mentioned, who resigned Um, from the house last week related to contents of that yet unreleased legislative inspector General's report.

House Speaker Welch has kind of been in the in the spotlight in, in recently, um, over how he has been handling these, um, ethics concerns, especially those involving his, his own party.

Uh, either one of you, how would you assess the speaker's performance in handling what is, you know, legitimately a difficult and weighty process within the within the General Assembly?

>> Yeah.

I mean, I think he's trying to strike a balance.

If you look at the former Representative Benton's situation, uh, I mean, obviously us in the media and I think the public are kind of frustrated with the lack of transparency, uh, that the report hasn't been released.

We've kind of been relying on his word.

But also, you know, there are complainants here that, you know, want their identities protected.

And, you know, involves, uh, you know, people and you have to protect people's identities.

And, uh, so, so there is a bit of a balance.

And then obviously Representative Ammons, um, you know, again, innocent until proven guilty.

Uh, you know, we saw, you know, even in the other chamber in the Senate, uh, you know, state Senator Emil Jones, uh, the third, uh, basically, uh, after years of fighting a federal indictment, uh, I believe he agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement that where the charges later this year will essentially go away.

So, like, that kind of goes to show, like, just because you're indicted doesn't always mean that you end up in prison.

And so there is some, uh, some, some merit to the case of, you know, you let them defend themselves even as you take some precautions, such as, you know, stripping them of committees and leadership posts and things of that nature.

Um, and I think we have to remember too, as Jason said, I mean, this is the legislature kind of trying to police itself.

And you kind of have to take that with a grain of salt.

Um, but also people have to remember that.

Yeah.

Like I think, I think generally, you know, I think, you know, we all want more transparency, you know, more ethics, more safeguards.

Uh, but also, I mean, the speaker In addition to, to answering to, to, to his constituents in his legislative district, uh, he also has to win a second vote, which is the vote to get the gavel over.

Speaker.

So, uh, his constituents are his, uh, is his caucus, uh, his now, I believe it's a 75 member caucus, uh, given a couple of members were booted and, uh, resigned.

Uh, and so, uh, you know, it's a, it's a balance in that respect to that, you know, you're, you're, you're, you're trying to manage a caucus that, um, you know, again, these are legislators that, that don't necessarily want to be policed.

Uh, and so, uh, again, balance is the right word.

And I think it's just a question of, is he striking the right balance?

Yeah.

>> At this point, does it matter if, if the legislative inspector general report is is released?

I mean, Benton's resigned.

Is there any precedent or need for this to do you think, to to be released at this point?

>> Yeah.

I mean, I guess I'll just say as as a reporter, I think it should be, uh, I think just as a transparency, uh, from that angle of, uh, this, this report essentially forced Representative Benton to resign.

Uh, we should know why.

>> And on top of that, he's still holding a public position as well.

He's an elected highway commissioner up in the Joliet area and still pulling down, uh, $72,000 a year position related to that.

Um, he hasn't resigned from that, even though their board has urged him to consider it.

>> Yeah.

yeah, it is, uh, shifting focus just a little bit.

It's that time of year in the legislative process.

The governor signed, I believe, 31 new laws on Friday, ranging from property taxes to AI safeguards to voter registration and a lot of other things.

Gentlemen, one of you highlights of of what you think are highlights, high points of what's, uh, what's been signed into law in the past week.

>> Yeah, I think, uh, the one that's maybe grabbed the most headlines if anything's been able to grab headlines amid all the stuff over the past week, uh, the governor signed a bill that, uh, allows minors to have access to birth control without the permission of a parent or an adult.

Um, it brings Illinois about about half the states already do this.

Uh, and there are some outdated language in state law regarding how this could happen, but, uh, but now it's clear in state law that minors can go to their doctor and request pills or shots or rings or, or, you know, whatever form of birth control they want for themselves without having to get permission from a parent.

Uh, obviously some opposition to that, uh, on the Republican side saying that, you know, parents should be involved in, uh, big decisions like this involving their children and children should be able to, uh, you know, go and do this on their own without some counsel from their, their parents or another responsible adult.

Uh, but that, that bill's going forward.

Uh, another one that, that got a few headlines.

As you mentioned, there's one related to, uh, property tax, uh, foreclosures.

Uh, basically if you don't pay your property tax, the state, uh, is, is able to take or the government's able to take over your property and then sell it.

Um, there's a, was a Supreme Court, US Supreme Court ruling a few years ago that said, uh, if that happens and the government then sells the property and then the proceeds from that are more than what was owed for property taxes.

The original owner can get that surplus back.

Illinois becomes the last state to actually pass a law to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.

So this does that.

So if you lose your home due to not paying your property taxes, uh, that original owner would get some money back if, uh, there's a profit made on the sale and then not part of those 31 bills last week, but this one was just signed.

Uh, this week, uh, is an interesting one that hits a little close to home here at UIS um, if you were wrongfully convicted of a crime and imprisoned and it's found that that you were innocent all along, uh, the amount of restitution you can receive for that, uh, has been increased.

It previously was a flat maximum amount of $300,000 that those people could receive.

Uh, now it can be calculated up to $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration.

Um, so it puts, uh, you know, again, Illinois in line with some other states that have, that have increased that amount over the years to, to pay back people for, for serving time for crimes that they were proven not to commit.

Uh, and it hits close to home here at UAS.

We're, uh, the innocence Project, which is housed here at UAS.

Uh, was in on the negotiations for that bill.

Uh, and they worked to, uh, you know, bring in students and others to investigate, uh, people who were imprisoned who, uh, claim that they didn't, uh, commit those crimes.

And the students and the staff at the Innocence Project helped help them with that and help them through the legal process.

And there's been quite a few, uh, really, you know, releases from prison because of those efforts.

>> Mhm.

Brenden, anything else you'd like to add to that list of new new bills that might be interesting?

>> Uh, I think Jason basically covered it.

>> Okay.

Fair enough.

In the seemingly never ending story of the bears and the mega projects bills understand there was a new House bill that might have been filed.

I think it was filed last week.

Do we do we have any idea what this does to kind of advance these these negotiations that have been seemingly going on for a long time?

>> Yeah.

There were a couple of proposals from from some House Republicans that would kind of be be amended versions of the, uh, mega projects bill that that failed to get across the finish line during the spring session.

Um, basically, uh, one from state Representative Danny Gasti, uh, would, uh, have a lot of the same provisions, but it would kind of raise the threshold for minimum investment in a mega project to 500 million, uh, which, you know, the original bill, uh, had tears that started as low as 100 million.

Um, and, uh, but obviously that wouldn't have much of an impact on the bears because the bears are promised to invest $2 billion into a project, you know, presumably for Arlington Park, the land that they own there.

Um, and there's also some protections in there for, uh, that would prevent, uh, you know, residential developments from qualifying for, uh, mega-project designation.

Uh, and, uh, you know, would in theory, help prevent, uh, money from being siphoned away from local schools.

Uh, so, so basically, it's kind of a way to address some of the concerns that, uh, were, uh, that led to the bill not getting, getting done in the spring.

Um, you know, just it's another way of, of, uh, another idea thrown out there, uh, amid this endless debate about the bears.

Um, uh, Republicans have been involved a little bit in discussions, uh, on, on the, on the mega projects, uh, you know, state Representative Brad Stevens, who represents Rosemont and kind of that northwest side of Chicago, northwest suburbs, kind of close to Arlington Heights, uh, met with the governor's folks and, and, uh, earlier in the spring.

So, uh, we will see.

And we saw in the original, uh, when the mega bill did pass the house in April, it did have some Republican votes on it.

Uh, so we will see if, uh, you know, when they come back, whether it's for a special session or just for the regular veto session, um, if they can get something done and if there will be Republican votes on it.

>> Yeah.

There's been awfully lot of prognostication going on in numerous editorials and blogs and other places.

Uh, not holding this to either one of you, but if you had to handicap this one, what's the chances of the bears staying in Chicago, do you think, or in Illinois?

And do you think.

Oh, goodness.

Um, in the 4.5 minutes or so that we've we've got left.

I just wanted to to throw kind of out there, each of you take a look.

What what are some things that you're watching are going to be taking a look at in the coming days and weeks ahead.

>> Uh, well.

>> Uh, obviously we're, we're in the kind of in the middle of summer right now.

Uh, a legislative session is over.

Uh, we're kind of transitioning into campaign season.

Uh, it's been kind of quiet in Illinois since that really bruising primary in March.

Uh, that had, we had so many competitive primaries in the Chicago area, uh, and for Congress, obviously for the US Senate.

Uh, but, but, uh, but now, you know, we have a general election in November that's only a few months away, which is kind of wild.

Uh, but we have a governor's race, Senate race.

Um, but, uh, one that I'm kind of looking at is a little, a little bit beyond, uh, so, uh, in a couple of weeks, candidates can start circulating petitions to get on the ballot for mayor of Chicago in the February election, uh, next year.

And so, uh, Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn't announced yet whether or not he's he's running for reelection, but there are a lot of folks lining up to challenge him, uh, already and include, uh, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, uh, Congressman Mike Quigley, and, uh, there's probably about ten to a dozen so far.

Uh, another name that could join very soon is Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

He released a few ads this week that, uh, you know, nominally for his reelection as secretary of state, uh, which, uh, we all kind of know is he's heavily favored to win that race.

Uh, his Republican opponent has basically raised no money.

Um, but so he kind of has the benefit.

Now he's running, uh, a reelection campaign, but he could also kind of double, as you know, highlighting his record and introducing himself to voters when he may be on the ballot for another race here pretty soon.

He's raised a ton of money, especially from the business community in Chicago, from the trade unions.

He's got over $20 million in his campaign account.

I can tell you that's not not to not to run for re-election as secretary of state.

Uh, so, so that's something I would I would be on the lookout for in the next few weeks as that race kind of develops.

>> All right.

Jason.

>> Yeah.

Also related to the election, uh, as we're taping this today on Wednesday, uh, today is the deadline for candidates to turn in their campaign finance reports for the quarter that just ended on June 30th.

Uh, so it's always interesting to sort of take the temperature of how certain campaigns are doing in terms of raising money, what they're spending their money on.

Obviously, we'll all be watching the governor's race.

Uh, governor JB Pritzker largely self-funded his own campaign.

So we know we're most, if not all of his money comes from.

But be interesting to see how much he's spending on TV ads and other media buys and and other campaign efforts at this point.

Uh, we know it's, you know, he's going to very much out, way out, you know, outspend and, and, uh, Outraise, uh, Darren Bailey for the most part, but Darren Bailey, we'll see if he's, uh, sort of collected any, any headway in terms of raising money and, uh, if he's planning to, to spend any big dollars on media at this point, uh, we haven't seen him on television yet for, for his upcoming November election against the governor.

But, but we'll see.

There's also an independent candidate in the race, uh, who's doing a fair bit of self-funding as well.

So, uh, again, by the time the show comes out, will some of those news stories will be starting to trickle out on Thursday and Friday?

Uh, so keep an eye on that.

And while, you know, I like to be idealistic and say that, you know, money does not indicate if you're going to win an election, um, you know, I think realistically, it tells us if you have lots and lots of money.

You have a pretty good chance to beat somebody who has very, very little money.

So.

So we'll be keeping an eye on that.

>> All right, Jason, I'll let you have the last word.

We are out of time for this edition of Capitol View.

Gentlemen, thank you both for taking part this week in the discussion.

>> Always a pleasure.

>> All right.

Brenden Moore, Capitol News, Illinois.

Jason Piscia, director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Thank you both for joining us.

And thank you at home for tuning in to this edition of Capitol View.

I'm Jeff Williams.

Have a good week.

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