A federal grand jury has indicted State Representative Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons.
The indictment charges the two with counts of wire fraud, obstruction of justice and false statements. It alleges Rep. Ammons created a scheme to “defraud the State of Illinois” and enrich herself and her family members.
The full indictment is included below.
The document claims the representative improperly used her political campaign fund to pay her daughter and filed “materially false” forms to the Illinois State Board of Elections to conceal an unethical use of campaign funds.
The indictment states Rep. Ammons also redirected state grant funding to organizations so her daughter could be paid from them. It also claims she took actions to receive illegal cash payments or “kickbacks” from other organizations.
The indictment also names her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. It states he misled witnesses and conspired with his wife to obstruct a federal investigation into the alleged fraud.
IPM News reached out to Rep. Ammons’ office for comment but has not heard back.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Clerk Aaron Ammons said he has no comment, citing the ongoing investigation in the federal legal case.
In a statement, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch called the allegations “extremely serious.”
“Every person under our system of justice is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process,” Welch said. “The U.S. Attorney will lay out evidence in court, where Representative Ammons will have the chance to defend herself against the allegations.
“In the interest of upholding the integrity of the House and ensuring we can continue our important work without distraction, I am taking the following actions immediately while this case is pending: I am temporarily removing Representative Ammons from any and all House Democratic Caucus meetings, from all House committees, and from accessing Speaker’s Office staff and resources. Additionally, I directed my staff to review the budget to determine whether any funds need to be paused or reconsidered.”
Editor’s Note: Rep. Ammons supported state funding for “Teen Summit 2.0: The Remix,” a youth media initiative partially produced by Illinois Public Media. The funding was not provided directly to IPM, and the initiative is not named in the indictment.