In a massive corruption probe, five key supporters of a Democrat-led “progressive tax” in Illinois have been caught in a federal investigation. Four have been formally charged over various crimes.
On Wednesday, State Sen. Terry Link, D-Ill. — a key supporter of the “fair taxes” initiative in the state — pleaded guilty to intentionally underreporting his income on his 2016 tax returns.
In an attempt to escape the very taxes he helped pass, Link admitted to the judge that his income “substantially exceeded” the $264,450 he claimed on his tax returns.
Link resigned his position on the Illinois state Legislative Ethics Commission immediately after his indictment last month, but held onto his state Senate seat until his resignation Sep. 12 — a day after the deadline to put replacement candidates on the upcoming election ballot.
That allows the chair of his county Democratic Party, not voters, to select the person that will serve the rest of Link’s term through 2022.
Link’s colleagues expressed disappointment at his decision to rob voters of their chance to choose his replacement.
“I want people to choose their elected officials, not a party,” said state Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake. “This just continues the distrust that is out there with the public.”
Link originally denied cooperating with federal investigators and wearing a wire while accepting a $2,500-a-month bribe from former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, also a Democrat, in August 2019. However, according to court papers that was also a lie.
His 18-page guilty plea describes in detail the evidence Link gathered for investigators when he wore a wire to accept the bribe from his former colleague. If convicted, Arroyo faces up to ten years in jail.
Link is just the latest Democrat in the state of Illinois to face charges.
“A federal bribery case in July revealed that the state’s largest utility provider, Commonwealth Edison, bribed state house speaker Michael Madigan with an estimated $1.32 million,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. “Federal prosecutors charged Democratic state senator Thomas Cullerton for an embezzlement scheme with a labor union in August 2019. Earlier this year, former state senator Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a red-light camera company.”
Link is not expected to face any prison time for his tax fraud. Instead, it’s expected he will receive probation in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation of Arroyo.
The Horn editorial team