Illinois Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in IL

Scandal Categories

Illinois Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals

  • Dennis HastertDennis HastertFmr. Speaker of the House
       
    4/10/16
    Sexually abused and molested four teenage boys -— the youngest being only 14-years-old —- during his time as a high school educator and wrestling coach while he was married
    According to court filings submitted by federal prosecutors
    6/01/15
    Illegally structured hush money payments of $1.7 million to elude federal bank reporting requirements in order to hide the fact he was paying the victim of his past sex crimes and then lied to Federal investigators about it
    He pled guilty and was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine
  • Aaron SchockAaron SchockFmr. U.S. Representative
       
    3/17/15
    Filed $50,000 in false expense reports to his campaign lying about driving 90,000 more miles than he actually did in reimbursement forms
    According to a report by Politico
    2/06/15
    Sold his home to a major Republican donor for $925,000 --more than three times its assessed value of $255,000 -- at the height of his reelection campaign
    According to an exclusive report by Blue Nation Review
    2/02/15
    Spent tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds on private jets, automobiles, tickets to the Super Bowl, massages and cigars and many other things over a five-year period
    According to a bombshell report by The Washington Post
    2/02/15
    Spent over $100,000 in taxpayer money renovating his Congressional office to resemble a room on the show "Downton Abbey"
    According to a report by The Washington Post

Illinois Republican State Legislator Scandals

  • Sam McCannSam McCannFmr. State Senator [R-IL]
       
    2/03/21
    Spent over $600,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses including his mortgage, paying off personal loans, multiple vehicles, a motor home, family vacations and a host of other things that had nothing to do with his campaign
    According to charging documents filed by federal prosecutors
  • Sandra PihosFmr. State Representative
       
    6/05/18
    Stole nearly $600 worth of clothes from a local department store and returned later that same day to try and return the stolen items for cash or store credit
    According to charging documents filed by local officials
  • Ron StephensFmr. State Representative
       
    3/16/10
    Crossed over the center line and ran into the curb and smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and had glassy eyes when police pulled him over
    According to charging documents filed by local police
  • Nick SauerFmr. State Representative
       
    8/02/18
    Shared nude images of his ex-girlfriend to eight men using a fake Instagram account under her name so that he could creepily "catfish" them by pretending to be her and sharing intimate details of her life
    According to a report by Politico
  • Randy RameyState Representative [R-IL]
       
    9/26/11
    Swerved in and out of his lane on a dark country road around 2am before getting pulled over and then submitted to a breathalyzer test that found he had a BAC over twice the legal limit
    According to charging documents filed by local police
  • Steve ReickState Representative [R-IL]
       
    8/30/19
    Drove 20 mph over the speed limit, ran his truck into a curb, failed a field sobriety test during which he told an officer "I have had too much to drink tonight" and failed a breathalyzer test with a BAC of .146
    According to charging documents filed by local police

Other Illinois Republican Scandals

  • Robert CzernekFmr. County Commissioner
       
    2/14/23
    Accepted over $280k in kickbacks from a local excavation company in exchange for approving over $700k in invoices for purported road work they never performed over an eight-year period
    According to charging documents filed by federal officials