Ex-Illinois Lawmaker Pleads Guilty in Red-Light Bribery Case

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former Illinois state senator pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting around a quarter of a million dollars in bribes in exchange for protecting the interests of a red-light camera company, and promised to cooperate with federal prosecutors in ongoing public corruption investigations.

Martin Sandoval, 56, entered his plea during an initial hearing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, just one day after prosecutors listed charges against the recent chair of the senate's powerful transportation committee.

According to the plea agreement, Sandoval accepted some $250,000 in bribes, though court filings don't name the company or other individuals who might have been involved.

Sandoval is well connected in the Illinois Democratic Party. His decision to cooperate comes after more than a year of home and office raids against multiple Democrats, several of whom have been charged, and it increases the chances that more charges will follow.

In Springfield, the news cast an uneasy pallor over the first day of the General Assembly's spring session.

"I don't know if I've ever been more embarrassed than watching the federal government cart cardboard boxes out of the Capitol. It turned my stomach," newly elected Senate President Don Harmon said of the FBI's Sept. 24 raids of Sandoval's offices.

"The chapter is certainly not over but I think it's best that that Marty Sandoval is no longer a member of the Senate," Harmon said.

Sandoval faces up to 13 years in prison, though his cooperation could shave years off his sentence.

Charging papers say Sandoval "corruptly solicited, demanded, agreed to accept and accepted" payments for "continued support for the operation of red-light cameras in the State of Illinois."

The alleged bribery occurred between 2016 and 2019, when, as chair of the transportation committee, Sandoval wielded enormous influence in how state transportation funds were spent.

The prosecutors' filing offered few details, including which company or company officials paid bribes.

Sandoval, who announced his resignation effective Jan. 1, also pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. He is accused of misstating his income in a 2017 return when he indicated he made around $125,000. Sandoval knew his income "substantially exceeded that amount," the filing says.

In response to the Sandoval investigation and a federal bribery charge against then Rep. Luis Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat, the Legislature adopted greater reporting requirements  for lobbying in November and created a commission to identify other ethics remedies by March 31.

Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat who joined the Senate with Sandoval in 2003, said, "We cannot pretend this is not a problem," but cautioned against wide-ranging ethics resolutions with unintended consequences.

"We have to identify what the problem is that we're trying to solve," Harmon said. "I'm not afraid of tackling the tough issues, but I do want us to identify with some precision what problem we're trying to solve and whether or not the proposed solutions solve them."

___

By MICHAEL TARM and JOHN O'CONNOR Associated Press

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit