Democratic Senator resigns due to suspected bribery
After a September search by FBI agents, a rotten reputation could not be restored, and therefore Senator Martin Sandoval voluntarily resigned, reporting this in a letter to the office of the secretary of the Illinois Senate.
“’It is with a heavy heart, I, Martin A. Sandoval, do hereby resign the office of state senator’ effective Jan. 1 at 12:01 p.m. Respect for my constituents and the Senate convinced me that this action is necessary in order to proceed without distraction to the important work that needs to be accomplished for working families throughout the state of Illinois in the future,” written by Sandoval.
“With heavy heart” Martin Sandoval resigning his state senate seat effective January 1st. It comes two months after his offices were raided by the feds as part of a widespread corruption probe. @ABC7Chicago pic.twitter.com/vqsvj9AJWo
— Craig Wall ABC 7 (@craigrwall) November 27, 2019
It is worth recalling that the FBI suspected Sandoval, his daughter, McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski and Lyons Mayor Chris Getty of financial fraud and bribery. An investigation was opened against them and on September 24th, federal agents ransacked Sandoval's house in Springfield, after which they interrogated to investigate the theft of budget funds.
A few days after the search, the senator resigned as chairman of the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. According to official information, no evidence of Martin Sandoval's guilt was found. No charges have yet been filed.