SPRINGFIELD — A special Illinois House committee opened its investigation Thursday into Democratic state Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana, who was indicted last month on federal criminal charges alleging she orchestrated a scheme to enrich herself using taxpayer and campaign funds.
Thursday’s hearing lasted about 20 minutes, was sparsely attended and revealed few new details about the case. Neither Ammons, who has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, nor her attorneys appeared.
But the proceedings add to a recent rough stretch for Illinois Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly but have been unsettled in recent weeks. On top of the corruption charges against Ammons, the legislative inspector general’s office substantiated sexual harassment allegations against Democrat and now-former state Rep. Harry Benton — allegations that have also raised questions about how House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office handled them — and come about three months before the November general election.
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The Illinois House committee will not decide Ammons’ guilt but will determine whether the facts support disciplining her as a House member — a process that could range from no penalty to expulsion. Welch, a Democrat from Hillside, has already removed Ammons from her committee assignments and barred her from House Democratic Caucus meetings.
At an unrelated news conference Thursday in Urbana, Gov. JB Pritzker reiterated that he’s called for Ammons to resign.
“I think that people who have committed fraud against the people of Illinois, people who are taking from taxpayer dollars, are, frankly, shouldn’t be in public service, shouldn’t be in government,” he said.
The six-member panel, chaired by Democratic state Rep. Curtis Tarver of Chicago, has subpoena power. Members voted without opposition to consult U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore, whose office is prosecuting Ammons, on whether the House proceedings could interfere with the criminal case. No further hearing was scheduled pending those talks.
“When one of our members is the subject of a criminal indictment, based on allegations of … wire fraud, false statements to the FBI, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, there is a direct threat to the public trust in this very institution,” Tarver said. “As serious cases such as this, the House rules provide for a disciplinary process that begins with the creation of a special investigation committee, such as this one. We should not take this process or the discipline of a member lightly. Precedent has shown that this process is reserved for actions so egregious, so contrary to the core values of this institution, that we must act immediately to restore public trust.”
Ammons will have the right to attend the hearings with her lawyers, and she will be given the opportunity to provide evidence.
Republican state Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva, the panel’s temporary GOP spokesperson, said that “politics has no role in these hearings.”
“It is a serious assignment that I do not believe any of us ever sought when elected to the House, but were willing to undertake when asked, both to make certain that Representative Ammons is treated fairly during the investigation, and at the same time, the integrity of the Illinois House of Representatives is protected,” Ugaste said.
Republican state Rep. Adam Niemerg of Dieterich, also on the committee, called Thursday “a difficult day” for the state.
“This committee cannot become another Springfield exercise in delays, doublespeak, excuses, and more political protections for insiders. Decades of scandal have destroyed the public’s trust in state government. This must end. We cannot allow Illinois to continue to be known for corruption and ethical misconduct,” Niemerg said. “We must follow the facts, conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, and hold Rep. Ammons accountable if she violated the public’s trust.”
Ammons, a six-term legislator, faces federal charges of making a false statement, wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Prosecutors allege the scheme dates to 2017 and involved directing state funds to organizations that then paid her daughter, along with cash kickbacks from state grant recipients and her campaign fund. Ammons and her daughter received more than $100,000 in improper financial benefits, according to the 12-page indictment. Her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, is charged separately with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction. He also has pleaded not guilty.
Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has at times prosecuted people seen as the president’s political foes, prompting concerns about fairness and justice from Democrats and other observers.
According to the indictment, Rep. Ammons had at least one interaction with a federal agent prior to the beginning of the second Trump administration. The false statement charge stems from an alleged interaction with an FBI agent around May 2024, but the indictment does not provide the full context of that interaction. In the indictment, Ammons is accused of lying to an FBI agent about her alleged scheme and conspiring with her husband to conceal the alleged misuse of campaign and public funds.
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The House committee on Thursday also entered into the record an amended petition of allegations against Ammons that focuses on the accusations dealing with state funds, instead of the campaign-related fund allegations, according to Republican state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville, who presented the petition.
According to House rules, if the six-member committee decides there should be disciplinary charges against Ammons, then a 12-member select committee would be formed — consisting of six House Democrats and six House Republicans — to hold further proceedings.
If this committee finds Ammons at fault on any charge, the committee would make a disciplinary recommendation, which could be a reprimand, censure, expulsion from the House or no penalty.
A resolution finding a member at fault on a charge may only be adopted with 71 votes, but 79 is required to expel a member.
Welch is familiar with the disciplinary process from 2020, when he led a special committee that Republicans triggered to investigate his predecessor, former House Speaker Michael Madigan, after Madigan was implicated in a federal bribery investigation involving Commonwealth Edison.
ComEd admitted in an agreement with federal prosecutors to a yearslong bribery scheme meant to curry favor with Madigan; Welch at the time accused Republicans of “political theater” in an election year. That committee adjourned without action, but Madigan was later convicted on corruption charges and is serving a 7 1/2-year federal prison sentence.
Tribune reporter Olivia Olander contributed from Chicago.