Corrupt Chicago and Beyond: Eleven of the Most Corrupt Politicians in Illinois History

With all the media attention surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, perhaps it is time to revisit some of the corrupt pols of past and present in the great state of Illinois. While The state has been known to produce the occasionally clean and upstanding public servant (Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan were both born in Illinois), it is more often known to produce the filthy, greedy and dishonest sort.

Democrat Otto Kerner Jr. (1961-68) Governor

The strange scandal of Former Illinois Governor Otto Kerner began when a woman named Marge Lindheimer Everett filed her Federal Income Taxes in the late 1960’s to take deductions for bribery expenses incurred in the operation of her businesses. It seems that Mrs Everett, owner of the Arlington Park and Washington Park race tracks, had bribed Governor Kerner and his finance director Ted Isaacs.

The bribes were paid to gain favor in the form of better track dates and transportation department favor in the crafting of new highway exits and roads that would benefit her businesses. Supposedly, Linhdheimer-Everett actually held the belief that bribery was such a normal part of doing business in Illinois that she actually expected the IRS to sanction the activity.

Kerner was found guilty on seventeen charges, including bribery, conspiracy and perjury. At this point in his career he had already resigned his Governorship in favor of a seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He resigned this seat and was sentenced to three years in federal prison and a $50K fine.

Kerner died in 1976 after an early release from prison which was a direct result of a diagnosis of terminal cancer.

Democrat Dan Walker (1973-77) Governor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/3IbWm5TUoQU]

Former Governor Walker’s troubles began after he had left the the Governors Office of Illinois. As is often the case when high level bureaucrats enter the private sector and the rules of the game change for private citizens, they seem to have difficulty keeping up.

Governor Walker was convicted of receiving more than one million dollars in illegitimate loans from a pair of embattled savings and loans to which he was connected.

In a curious twist that perhaps was a precursor to our modern day economic situation, one of the Savings and Loans embroiled in the scandal was declared insolvent a short time later, with more than twenty million dollars in debt it was incapable of covering. The federal government soon bailed out the S&L.