Another Illinois lawmaker was contrite in federal court last week. Seems those caught only admit their “mistakes” in betraying the public’s trust after their guilty pleas.
Former Lake County state Sen. Terry Link must have breathed a sigh of relief as U.S. District Court Judge Mary Rowland sentenced him to three years probation after he pleaded guilty in 2020 to tax evasion and underreporting his income by thousands of dollars. The former Lake County Democratic Party chairman could have been sent to prison for a year.
Federal prosecutors, though, had recommended the probationary sentence because Link turned informant — something he denied doing for months — in two high-profile public corruption cases. His testimony resulted in convictions and prison time for two individuals, one a fellow Democratic state lawmaker from Chicago.
Link, according to a page-one News-Sun story, tearfully admitted in a Chicago courtroom on March 6 that he “made a mistake” for filing a false tax return and underreporting his income for several years, from 2012 to 2016. Nope, a mistake is when you make a subtraction error in your checkbook.
He knowingly broke the law. On purpose, he decided to underreport his income by $93,859 and dip into his campaign fund, Friends of Terry Link, and use more than $73,000 of that donated cash to spend on personal expenses. Under the plea agreement, he has to repay the Internal Revenue Service and the Illinois Department of Revenue for the crime.
Link had previously conceded he withdrew money from his campaign fund to help out a friend who had a medical emergency and, ironically, to pay for gambling. For years Link, who served as chairman of the Senate’s Gaming Committee, carried the water in the legislature for increased gambling venues in Illinois, including lobbying for a casino in Waukegan.
The bustling temporary American Place casino in the busy entertainment zone on the city’s far west side is doing quite well, according to state revenue figures. A permanent gaming palace is planned in the location a few years down the road, thanks to Link’s legislative work on gambling bills.
For the Vernon Hills resident, 76, who owns a home in Ft. Myers, Florida, his probationary sentence was the end to another sad saga involving an Illinois elected official. Link now has a place in the long line of Democratic officials — from Chicago aldermen, to state legislators, to governors — who have been snared by federal corruption probes.
State voters continue to put up with this display of greed by Democratic elected officials, despite dozens being put behind bars over the decades. Even the judge, while lecturing Link, noted the pervasiveness of corruption in Illinois, calling it “despicable,” according to the story by Jason Meisner and Ray Long.
“How do we send a message to the next generation of elected officials that this is not a way to do business,” Rowland said, noting in Springfield the bywords are, “What’s in it for me?”
Or, where’s mine? Both are frequent questions Democratic elected officials banter about when discussing legislation, their support for bills and eventually their votes in Springfield.
As the judge pointed out, Link’s tax crime wasn’t related to his legislative duties, so he’ll probably get to keep his lavish state pension, estimated at more than $95,000 a year. Yet, she said his tax evasion sends, “a terrible message to have taxpayers hear that someone in public service is not paying their taxes.”
I bet the judge pays hers. Bet most of us do as we look at the tax-filing deadline come about a month from now. But not a one-time state senator.
His guilty plea and sentence must have been a shock for those who over the years supported, with votes and campaign donations, the guy who grew up in North Chicago. Link began his political career in the Lake County Clerk’s Office under then Clerk Grace Mary Stern of Highland Park, and later became an aide to then-state Treasurer and Secretary of State Alan Dixon.
Link was head of the Lake County Democratic Party since 1992, and was elected to the state Senate in 1996 from the 30th District, representing Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Green Oaks, Lincolnshire, Mundelein, North Chicago, Park City, Riverwoods, Vernon Hills and Waukegan. After pleading guilty to the tax charge, he resigned from both posts.
During his legislative stint, he also was a member of the Legislative Ethics Commission, where he should have known to pay the correct amount of taxes. In the 2013 mayoral primary in Waukegan, he finished in last place, his only losing election.
Unfortunately, Link’s prodigious lawmaking accomplishments — anti-smoking legislation, procuring state funds for the historic Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, wetlands preservation and support for veterans — will be overlooked as his legacy.
Instead, he is yet another Illinois Democrat who became a felon.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
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