The Governor
says he’s worried that the people of Illinois won’t believe in the integrity of
a $45-billion dollar state construction program…..so….he wants the Chairman of
the Senate Transportation Committee to step down.
It seems
that the chair, Senator Martin Sandoval, recently was paid a visit by the FBI,
among others, raiding his offices with a search warrant from a federal judge.
They carted off files and computers and numerous cellphones. The search warrant
mentioned lobbyists, local government officials, five state department of
transportation employees and a spreadsheet entitled “friends of Martin
Sandoval.”
That makes
Governor J. B. Pritzker a little squeamish with Sandoval’s involvement in the
implementation of highway projects. Did I mention “billions----45 billion
dollars in road construction projects?”
Pritzker
knows what was going on. You and I can guess. Contracts were going to be funneled
to contractors---friendly contractors. Friendly contractors are also players at
election time.
Nobody’s
been charged…but Pritzker wants Sandoval to resign. He’s jaded.
But not so
fast…The President of the Senate, fellow Democrat John Cullerton, says he’s not
throwing Sandoval under the bus just yet. . He wants more information. In other
words, a full-on raid of his colleague’s offices does not raise the specter of
possible corruption inside Illinois government. I know the words “bribery and
fraud” seems shocking.
I’d be suspicious even without the raid.
The Governor
is right on this one. Sandoval needs to step aside until he’s exonerated.
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