* Click here and here for yesterday’s coverage. Sun-Times…

State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. He faces an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly instructing a potential witness to “muddy the waters” for investigators tracing them. […]

The six-term Rep. Ammons “devised a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois, its taxpayers, and donors and contributors to her campaign” from 2017 through June 2025, the indictment reads. […]

Meanwhile, payments were made from the Friends of Carol Ammons campaign fund to herself and family members “that were not legitimate payments for services actually rendered.” Other individuals allegedly received inflated payments and were expected “to provide cash kickbacks to her, sometimes referred to as ‘gifts,’” according to the feds.

“I’m home now but can catch you before board at the county building at 6 to grab the gift,” Rep. Ammons allegedly wrote in a 2022 text message.

Rep. Ammons — who’s unopposed in the November election being overseen by her husband’s office — failed to report some $25,000 in other supposed campaign expenses that included kickbacks, prosecutors said. She allegedly paid her daughter about $600 per month, totaling almost $16,000.

* Tribune…

For the state’s 2020 budget year, Ammons directed a grant to an organization called Hood Vote Neighborhood Transformation, according to the indictment.

Hood Vote paid Ammons’ daughter more than $3,300 in salary from the state grant, the indictment alleges.

After the state told Ammons it was a conflict for her daughter to be paid with the state funds, Ammons helped another organization, Bridgewater Sullivan Community Life Center, secure grants for the next year “and assisted Bridgewater in drafting her daughter’s employment contract with Bridgewater,” the indictment alleges. […]

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, in a statement announcing sanctions that will continue for the duration of Ammons’ case, called the allegations against her “extremely serious,” while also noting her right to due process. Welch said he directed his staff to review the state budget “to determine whether any funds need to be paused or reconsidered.”

The indictment shows the state “identified and took steps to stop an impermissible conflict of interest with a state grant,” Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said, but in light of the “extremely concerning” allegations against Ammons, the governor’s office “will review all the other grants listed in the indictment to ensure we are taking all steps possible to protect taxpayer dollars.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

The indictment names one final nonprofit that benefited from Ammons’ help directing state grant funding. The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, which happened to employ Ammons before she was elected to the Illinois House, received more than $1 million in state grants in 2021 and 2022, “including a $700,000 member initiative funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act,” according to the charging document.

Titianna Ammons again received payments directly funded by the state grant facilitated by her mother — this time as a “digital marketing coordinator” for the IMC. From July to October 2022, while she was also working full-time at Bridgewater and as an “intermittent public service representative” with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, the IMC paid Titianna Ammons approximately $9,990.

The state budget for the fiscal that began last week includes a $750,000 reappropriation to the [Independent Media Center] for violence prevention programs and operational expenses, which may be flagged in the review Welch ordered for the state budget after Ammons’ indictment Wednesday.

* More…

* IPM Newsroom | Rep. Carol Ammons, Clerk Aaron Ammons indicted by federal grand jury for alleged wire fraud, obstruction of justice: 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. […] In a statement, a spokesperson for Clerk Aaron Ammons said he has no comment, citing the ongoing investigation in the federal legal case.

* Center Square | Illinois lawmaker, husband indicted over alleged kickback scheme: The indictment also reads that both the Carol and Aaron Ammons made false claims of not knowing there was a conflict of interest with one organization using a state grant to pay her daughter. The pair also allegedly advised a potential witness to communicate with them through code words about ongoing FBI investigations into their conduct. Arron Ammons was alleged to have engaged in conduct toward another person to mislead them and hinder their communication with law enforcement by knowingly directing the potential witness to “muddy the waters” when speaking to the FBI, according to the indictment.

* WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons indicted for wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The counts against Carol allege that she used donations and contributions to her political support committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, for personal use. They also allege Carol used state grants to fund organizations her daughter Titianna was involved in and to pay her a salary, which is an “impermissible conflict of interest” under Illinois law.

* WAND | State Rep. Carol Ammons, Aaron Ammons indicted on federal fraud, obstruction charges: “People are going to do what people are going to do, but if there’s enough holes they’re going to continue to do things like this,” said House GOP Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna). “I can tell you as the leader of the House Republicans, if this [were] my caucus, this would be handled immediately.”