Pritzker Says Ammons Should Resign, Doesn't Call for Ethics Reform
Governor JB Pritzker appeared on The Illinoize podcast in an interview taped Thursday.
Governor JB Pritzker says indicted Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana), who is accused of shifting state grants to agencies that paid her daughter and receiving kickbacks on grants and campaign dollars, should resign.
In a wide ranging interview with The Illinoize Thursday, Pritzker called on Ammons to leave the General Assembly.
“The allegations are outlined in the indictment against Carol Ammons are appalling. And honestly, there’s no place for that kind of conduct among elected officials,” Pritzker said. “I’m glad that she’s been removed from the caucus. I’m glad that she’s been removed from committees and I think she ought to resign while she’s fighting these charges. If she gets exonerated, she should run for the seat again. I think people would reelect her if she’s exonerated.”
A House Special Investigative Committee has been convened to look into the allegations against Ammons, which could lead to her expulsion from the House. That committee meets for the first time next month.
Between Ammons and the allegations against former Rep. Harry Benton, Pritzker said he’s frustrated at ethics problems in the General Assembly.
“I’m sick and tired of the behavior that we’ve seen from some of these elected officials and, personally, I expect a much higher standard to be lived up to by those who are doing public service,” he said. “I think the people of Illinois deserve that and they expect that from people [in elected positions]. And when they don’t see it, when I don’t see it, it’s more than just disappointing. It angers me.”
Pritzker, though, fell short of calling for significant ethics reform, saying lawmakers “should be working” on improvements, but didn’t lay out any specific proposals.
Here’s the video of our podcast:
