(The Center Square) – An Illinois House of Representatives committee decided it will move forward with an investigation into a number of complaints against a central Illinois lawmaker, but only after the special committee receives input from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that brought charges against her.
The first hearing of the Special Investigating Committee held at the State Capitol Thursday was largely procedural.
Chaired by Assistant Majority Leader Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, committee members heard a complaint filed by 11 House Republicans regarding the federal indictment brought against Rep. Carol Ammons for an alleged kickback scheme involving state grant money.
Tarver said Ammons was federally charged, but hasn’t been convicted, and clarified the hearing and committee are to determine only if she should be punished or removed from the House.
“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,” Tarver said. “Given the extraordinary and serious nature of the disciplinary procedure, excuse me, process, it is our obligation to be as thorough as possible while conducting ourselves in a fair, bipartisan and objective manner at all times.”
Ammons was not present at the hearing, though the committee made Ammons aware of her right to appear with legal representation at all committee meetings.
The charged lawmaker pleaded “not guilty” in her initial appearance in federal court last month, and has maintained that she is innocent.
Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, served as the fill-in minority spokesperson Thursday and noted the hearings should remain non-partisan.
“This is not a task to be taken lightly. It must be done transparently and seek the truth as to whether the misconduct alleged in the petition occurred,” Ugaste said.
Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, addressed the committee regarding an amended version of the petition that led to the creation of the committee.
Davidsmeyer said four charges from the initial petition, which included the entire indictment against Ammons, were removed in an amended version, which was agreed upon by the 11 initial signatories.
“We thought it was important to focus on the state grants, the state dollars and how those were leveraged for her personal benefit, rather than going off on some of the other things,” Davidsmeyer said.
The last time a Special Investigating Committee convened in the statehouse was when the legislature sought to respond to charges that former House Speaker Michael Madigan faced in 2020.
Current Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch chaired the Madigan committee, but called it a sham political trial, denying Democrats were protecting Madigan.
Welch said in ending the committee without action that they were “guardians of the process” against Republicans looking to go after Madigan.
The former speaker was found guilty by a jury in February 2025 on corruption charges meant to be addressed by the previous committee, and is now serving 7.5 years in federal prison.
Davidsmeyer said he has more trust in the current committee investigating Ammons.
“I think Chairman Tarver will do a good job. I think I have a lot of respect for how he looks at things,” Davidsmeyer said outside the committee room. “It will be a little bit more robust than the committee that was kind of swept under the rug for Speaker Madigan. And so I think we’ll see a little bit more out of this committee.”
The committee voted to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office that brought the indictment against Ammons before moving forward with a second hearing.
“Consistent with the House’s practice in the investigations of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, former Rep. Derrick Smith, and similar to the investigation into former Speaker Madigan, it is my recommendation that before proceeding further into gathering information, this committee should consult with the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, Mr. Greg M. Gilmore, to avoid taking any action that he would consider an interference with an ongoing federal investigation,” Tarver said.
After the hearing, Ugaste told The Center Square he hopes the U.S. attorney doesn’t take too long, but he was uncertain of when the investigation could progress.
“The U.S. attorney, I mean, I don’t know what else he’s handling here within the district and depending upon how busy his office is, it could take a while or it could be fairly quick,” Ugaste said.
