MOORE’S SUMMARY: House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said it would be “premature” to call for indicted Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, to resign, arguing that “she’s entitled to due process” and, repeating a common refrain among Democratic legislative leaders, that “the court system is the proper place for that to happen.”
WHY IT MATTERS: A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Ammons on 10 counts of wire fraud, making a false statement to the FBI and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Prosecutors allege that starting in 2017, Ammons and her daughter “received financial benefits in excess of $100,000” via a scheme including illegal payments from the “Friends of Carol Ammons” campaign account and from payments made to Titianna Ammons from local nonprofits that received state grant funds arranged by the lawmaker.
Welch temporarily barred Ammons from House Democratic Caucus meetings and stripped her of committee assignments and access to Speaker’s Office staff and resources. But he stopped short of calling the six-term lawmaker to step aside.
Some, including House Republicans, argue that Welch hasn’t gone far enough holding members accused of wrongdoing accountable.
WELCH’S REASONING: Welch, speaking with reporters after reciting the Declaration of Independence in Springfield on Wednesday, repeated a version of what he and Senate President Don Harmon have said on several occasions: the courts are the best venue to adjudicate criminal wrongdoing by legislators.
“You guys have known me even before I was speaker, I’m a big believer in due process,” Welch said. “Just as my statement said earlier today, she’s presumed innocent until proven guilty. She has every right to due process, but these are some very serious allegations. Let’s not be mistaken by that.”
“I think the courts is the proper place for this,” Welch continued. “They have the tools available to them, and it’s the proper place. I think the court system, she’s going to have a right to a lawyer and to defend herself in that process, and that’s the place it probably should play out.”
DUE PROCESS: That said, House lawmakers have a form of due process via a special investigating committee. It only requires three members to file a petition with either Welch or House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, to initiate.
If that happens, Welch and McCombie would each appoint three members to the committee, who would be tasked with determining if there are “reasonable grounds” to authorize charges against a member.
If at least four of six members of the committee vote to authorize charges, another 12-member bipartisan select committee would be created. After a trial-like setting, they would determine if the member is at fault on the charges before them and, if so, recommend punishment. Both require a majority vote.
If discipline is recommended, the full House would decide, with anything short of expulsion, such as a censure, requiring 71 votes and expulsion requiring 79 votes.
McCombie on Thursday called for a special investigative committee to be created, but Republicans haven’t initiated that process.
While Welch said he won’t initiate that process, he said that “if they are invoked, we will use those processes,” acknowledging that “is the right of our members.”
CONTEXT: Former House Speaker Michael Madigan initiated the special investigative committee process against Rep. Luis Arroyo after the Chicago Democrat was indicted on bribery charges in 2019. Arroyo resigned before the committee met.
And then in 2020, Welch served as chairman of the committee formed to investigate Madigan’s alleged misconduct and role in a bribery scheme involving Commonwealth Edison. Welch and the panel’s two other Democrats voted to end their investigation without finding reasonable grounds for charges.
A MATTER FOR THE COURTS: Madigan was eventually indicted on federal corruption charges more than a year later. He was later convicted and is now serving a 7.5-year prison sentence. This was the statement Welch put out the day Madigan was charged:
“As Chair of the Special Investigating Committee, I made it clear that this matter needed to be handled in a court of law, completely separate from the legislature,” Welch said. “As is evident by this federal indictment, the full weight of the justice system was needed to ensure all charges are investigated properly and thoroughly.”
On this front, he’s been consistent.
DUE PROCESS II: And it worth mentioning too that Welch believes that the legislative inspector general process that led to the resignation of former Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, for alleged misconduct “worked.”
Welch booted Benton from the Democratic caucus in February, then spent months declining to answer questions about why he did so. In April, he divulged that there were “victims” involved when pressed by reporters, declining to say more while saying he wanted to give Benton “due process.”
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