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* Sen. Cullerton’s federal trial was supposed to start this month, but was postponed until perhaps April…
Rich,
I wanted you to hear from me that I just sent this email. It has been a pleasure to serve my constituents and the residents of this State.
Tom
* The letter…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The explanation…
Cullerton has a status hearing in 20 minutes in his criminal case, where they are expected to announce he plans to plead guilty. Trial was quietly delayed while this played out. https://t.co/fT2Q3HxsnI
— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) February 23, 2022
*** UPDATE 2 *** More…
A change of plea hearing has been set for March 8.
— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) February 23, 2022
*** UPDATE 3 *** Press release…
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon issued the following statement regarding the vacancy in the Illinois Senate created by the Wednesday resignation of Sen. Tom Cullerton.
“Tom Cullerton served his constituents in the 23rd Senate District for nearly a decade. I look forward to welcoming and working with a new senator from the district. We’ve got a lot of work to do for the people of Illinois.”
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:05 am
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Does this mean he is about to take a plea deal?
Comment by Dutch Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:07 am
Dutch, I asked him why, but haven’t yet heard back.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:11 am
Short and to the point in both communiques.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:17 am
Quiet and Quick.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:23 am
Wow, that took a couple of years. Mr. Cullerton was indicted as we know back in August of 2019.
Usually, the Federales give no choice but to have the elected official to resign. “Listen we got the goods, so you must resign now.”
From one day being a Hostess delivery driver to one day serving in the IL State Senate.
Comment by Pizza Man Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:26 am
Sad. Tom is a good guy. I wish him the best and I hope this difficult time for him and his family passes quickly.
Comment by ;) Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:32 am
A Daley and now a Cullerton, guilty of Federal charges within a week of each other?
Wonder how that makes other local political dynasties feel? (Looking at you Ed and Mike)
Comment by Henry Francis Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:32 am
The writing is pretty clearly on the wall in this case. A plea very likely saved him tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:34 am
=== Wonder how that makes other local political dynasties feel? (Looking at you Ed and Mike) ===
I am sure they don’t care.
Comment by Hannibal Lecter Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:34 am
===A Daley and now a Cullerton===
That little snippet there, it speaks to decades and *decades* of “Chicago”
My best to Cullerton, sincerely. OW
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:37 am
Parky lived down the block from us on Berteau . We could count on our street being plowed first . Good family but the beak got wetted I guess
Comment by Tom Clancy Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 9:45 am
Deny all pay to a hostess delivery truck driver for 13 months. Yeah that makes sense. Can we indict Rauner and Mendoza too?
Comment by andjusticeforall Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:09 am
Are the Teamsters also on the hook for the arrangement? Presumably if it was as has been described they knew as well?
Comment by DownStateAP Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:09 am
Great guy. This is unfortunate.
Comment by TradedUpForMitch Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:10 am
Senator Cullerton was the most genuine man I’ve ever met. Sad to see him go in this way.
Comment by AU Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:18 am
Quiet, brief and final. Sometimes it feels good when justice is served. This time it feels sad. I hope he and his family can put their lives back together after this.
Comment by froganon Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:20 am
With the guilty plea, the cooperation starts. Justice moves slowly while the feds put others into their sights…
POSTED ON AUGUST 01, 2019
Former Chicago Teamster power-broker John Coli pleaded guilty two days ago, and has agreed to cooperate in investigations in exchange for a sentence of less than two years in prison.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:24 am
Seems Mr. Cullerton made a nice impression on a lot of people
and this has got to be hard on his family. Sometimes good people make serious mistakes and acknowledging his guilt may be tough to do, but a good step in getting his life back in order.
Hopefully he will now cooperate with the DA of the Northern District.
The FBI, IRS Criminal agents, US Attorneys and the Judges that have to hear these cases are also good people and deserve some thanks for representing the interests of those of us that live in the Northern District.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:36 am
===…the cooperation starts. Justice moves slowly while the feds put others into their sights…===
We have no idea what is or is not in any plea.
If you do…
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:37 am
How ridiculous that Harmon fails to say anything critical. Fullerton being a so called “ good guy” is not the issue- he abused his office and his constituents
Comment by Sue Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:39 am
nice guy, sad. but re the public talk of it, so it’s all in a name. Not only is this Cullerton not a close cousin of the former Senate President, but neither of them is direct from the Parky line, the aldermanic line. and Parky was a nephew of the original…..1871 elected….Cullerton. but conflation continue. meanwhile, sad.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:40 am
“Tom Cullerton served his constituents in the 23rd Senate District for nearly a decade.”
I love how neutral this is. No positive or negative commentary on his tenure. Just: “He existed.”
Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:41 am
Sue, I actually thought Harmon did a good job there. It is not a time to kick the man nor a time to praise him, simply a time to state we look forward to working with whoever comes next.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:43 am
Yikes, when the Senate Prez sends you out the door with lukewarm praise. He ’served close 20 years…’ And???
Well, Mr. Cullerton is a good, decent man, but he, unfortunately, overstepped his ethical boundaries.
Comment by Pizza Man Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:44 am
Some of the comments would nearly suggest Cullerton is getting a raw deal… am I missing something?
Comment by Deputy Sheriff Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:45 am
“Well, Mr. Cullerton is a good, decent man, but he, unfortunately, overstepped his ethical boundaries.”
Do you see the dichotomy in your word choice there?
Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 10:51 am
Do good guys spend years stealing $275,000 in spite of supervisors complaining that he was not even showing up? I suppose the earlier comment calling him “genuine” is more accurate in that he didn’t even pretend to earn that money. He just stole it because he was powerful and greedy.
Comment by natty lite Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:05 am
-“He existed.”
It’s brutal in its neutrality
Comment by ArchPundit Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:15 am
“Sometimes good people make serious mistakes…” You know he is “good people” how? Have you ever met Cullerton?
“Hopefully he will now cooperate with the DA of the Northern District.” There is no “DA” in Illinois. The counties have State’s Attorneys, and the United States Attorney John Lausch is the federal prosecutor of the Northern District.
“The FBI, IRS Criminal agents, US Attorneys and the Judges that have to hear these cases are also good people…” You know this how? What’s up with the “back the blue” platitudes?
Comment by Payback Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:21 am
kind of gross he held on this long. such a shame for that district.
Comment by MaddyMoon Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:34 am
No condemnation of a guilty plea to serious Federal charges by an Illinois State Senator by Senator leader Harmon really speaks volumes to why the legislature’s inspector general has so little power to the job effectively
Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:46 am
===How ridiculous that Harmon fails to say anything critical.===
From the standpoint of how those statements are typically written something that is the equivalent of “Tom worked here for 10 years” isn’t exactly a glowing recommendation and is in of itself an insult and should be read as such. If the same were said about a person who was not resigning due to federal charges it would be universally interpreted as a slight.
===overstepped his ethical boundaries===
Federal law is not an “ethical boundary.” This is not a gray area. Tom Cullerton accepted payment for a job that he did not perform and from what has been presented publicly never really tried to perform. The reason why this is especially illegal is because the funds that paid Cullerton came from members’ union dues and federal laws were specifically passed to make it illegal for a labor union to ghost payroll people with money raised from the dues of their members.
We certainly do struggle with how to talk about the white collar criminals that have abused the public trust to enrich themselves while flouting state and federal law, but we have to start to recognize that the culture around Illinois Government has been “Don’t get caught” for far too long.
It needs to be “Don’t [redacted]ing do it. And if you do [redacted]ing do it, you can go get [redacted]ed.”
May the 2020s be the decade where white collar criminals holding public office suffer consequences for their illegal conduct so that the 2030s can be a decade where this nonsense is behind us.
Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:58 am
Do any of you believe Cullerton would have been afforded his lucrative no show Union job had he not been Senator Cullerton? What does being a nice guy have to do with one abusing their elected office. Harmon need not be neutral and isn’t doing his job by failing to be objective
Comment by Sue Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 11:58 am
Don’t think I ever met him.
I was commenting on what other people said.
I actually have a great deal of respect fir the US Attorney’s office and our FBI folks.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 12:12 pm
Agree with Candy Dogood.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 12:24 pm
This is what the feds are spending time on? Just seems like there are more serious issues they should focus on.
At any rate, any idea on frontrunners for replacement?
Comment by low level Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 12:40 pm
Low level-a state Senator ripping a union off of 100’s of thousands of dollars is exactly what the feds should be doing because our Own AG would never think of going after fellow Dem state office holders.
Comment by Sue Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 12:54 pm
@ low level: does this mean now that State Rep. Deb Conroy will make a U-turn (drop her bid for DuPage county chairmanship), and seek the appointment for Cullerton’s seat instead?
Hmmm…
Comment by Pizza Man Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 1:11 pm
Another Democrat is guilty of a crime while serving in office? I am shocked. Stunned. I gotta lie down.
Comment by Really Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 1:27 pm
Crime is non-partisan.
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 1:41 pm
“Shake down, take down, YOU’RE BUSTED” Another corrupt Illinois politician takes the plea deal perp walk. And he won’t be the last of any party to do so.
Comment by thisjustinagain Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 1:47 pm
=because the funds that paid Cullerton came from members’ union dues=
Were handed out to Cullerton with the blessing of Union leadership, namely Teamsters boss John Coli.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 2:59 pm
Sen Tom often voted pro-2ndAmendment while surrounded by RINOs. Good Luck Tom.
Comment by We've never had one before Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 3:04 pm
I really wish the doppelganger at 1:56 would get a different handle. I know I didn’t make that comment. I was on a work phone call.
Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 3:12 pm
Tom was always willing to go that extra mile for his constituents. Even after the indictment he never slowed down and continued to make a positive difference. He was an effective Senator and knew how to work with both sides of the isle. I’m sorry to see him go.
Comment by Flexible One Wednesday, Feb 23, 22 @ 4:34 pm