In a Sept. 20 Facebook post, Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Sterling) drew attention to the federal bribery charges against state Sen. Emil Jones III (D-Chicago).
“Here we go again! Nothing worse than using your position for personal gain and destroying the trust of the people you serve! #whosenext #ethicsreform #reimagineillinois” McCombie posted.
McCombie included a screenshot from a Chicago Sun-Times article detailing the charges against Jones. The charges come three years after he “allegedly lied to the FBI about whether he’d agreed to protect the politically connected red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC in the Illinois General Assembly.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is demanding the resignation of both Jones and Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort) who has been accused of abuse by his estranged wife.
“Sen. Jones is accused of accepting bribes, and Sen. Hastings is accused of abusing women. They should answer the charges and have their day in court. But in the best interests of their constituents, these men must resign from their offices,” Pritzker said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Resigning only their leadership roles falls short of what the public should expect. I want to send a clear message to the people of Illinois: Corruption and abuse have no place here.”
McCombie was elected to represent the 71st District in 2016. She is a lifelong resident of Savanna, , and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University. She owns and operates Blue Appraisals and is a real estate broker with MelFoster Company. Her past political experience includes stint as the mayor of Savanna, and as a councilwoman on the Savanna City Council.
