Prairie State Wire

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider is calling on state Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-Villa Park) to resign immediately after he was indicted this week on federal corruption charges.

“The criminal activity of Sen. Tom Cullerton brought to light by federal investigators is appalling,” Schneider said in a statement. “For too long, Illinoisans have been hurt by self-serving and self-dealing politicians. Sen. Cullerton is just another example of the insider class that makes money off their government positions and sticks taxpayers with the bill.”

In all, Cullerton was slapped with roughly 40 counts of embezzlement, conspiracy and making false statements. The indictment charges that he pocketed as much as $275,000 from a job he took from union bosses where he had no duties or even job description

The filing came just three days after former longtime Teamsters boss John Coli Sr. pleaded guilty to federal charges of corruption and agreed to cooperate with authorities going forward. Details in the filing allege that Cullerton and Coli were in cahoots as recently as four years ago with the veteran lawmaker walking away with the high-salaried post now at the center of the probe.

“Cullerton has betrayed the trust of the voters of his district and citizens of this state,” Schneider said. “He should do the right thing and resign immediately.”

Cullerton had been a member of Teamsters Local Union 734 before assuming his state Senate seat in January 2013. He is the seventh Illinois legislator to be hit with criminal charges over the last seven years.

Cullerton’s 23rd Senate District includes Addison, Bloomingdale, Bartlett, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Itasca, Roselle, Villa Park, West Chicago, Wayne and Wood Dale.