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* Mark Brown…
A search warrant of [Sen. Martin Sandoval’s] Springfield office made public Friday shows federal investigators appear to be looking into at least 10 distinct alleged schemes involving the newly resigned chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Red-light cameras, video gambling, road contracts, family businesses, real estate developments and the state’s largest public utility are all caught up in some way in Sandoval’s suspected mischief.
Not to mention several local governments, a member of the tollway board, IDOT, a trucking company, a “Countryside cigar lounge” and a body shop…
Also named in the warrant were Sebastian Jachymiak and Technicraft Collision Repair Experts, a body shop in Justice. Jachymiak, who is one of the managers of the company, according to a filing with the Secretary of State’s office, did not return a call to Technicraft seeking comment.
Technicraft has contributed more than $100,000 to political candidates and organizations since 2007, including Getty, who received $12,900, according to state Board of Elections records. Technicraft has also contributed $14,525 to Tobolski and $3,600 to Sandoval.
The body shop’s website is here.
* Back to Brown…
For Sandoval, the most troubling name on the search warrant may be Monarca Inc. That’s a company listing his wife Marina as the president.
I don’t know what Mrs. Sandoval’s company does, or how it might be mixed up in this. This is the first we’d heard of it.
But I can tell you when politicians put their family members in harm’s way through their own monkey business, federal authorities have a pressure point that can result in submission faster than any mixed martial arts hold.
Yep.
Boom.
* Rick Heidner isn’t the only video gaming exec named in the search warrant…
Mentioned with Heidner is Joe Elias, who runs about a dozen video gambling parlors around the state, all carrying Heidner’s gambling machines. Elias could not be reached for comment.
* I told you about this last week…
There is also a reference in the warrant to specific legislation, House Bill 173.
A measure from 2017 with the same bill number would have outlawed red-light cameras. The legislation passed the House overwhelmingly, but stalled in the Senate, at one point showing up in the Sandoval-led Senate Transportation Committee.
The bill is here.
…Adding… More on the bill history…
It was sent to the Senate Executive Committee and relegated to a subcommittee chaired by state Sen. Antonio Munoz, D-Chicago, a long-time ally of Sandoval’s and fellow member of the Hispanic Democratic Organization.
The Senate sponsors, after seeing the bill put into a subcommittee and not voted on, tried to amend the bill into a study “evaluating automated traffic law enforcement systems in this (s)tate.”
After being sent back to the catch-all Assignments Committee, the bill then was sent to the Transportation Committee, which was chaired by Sandoval, on May 13, 2016.
On May 24, 2016, Sandoval directed the amended bill to the Subcommittee on Special Issues, which had no members.
* Daily Herald…
Just months after joining the Illinois tollway, Director Cesar Santoy resigned Friday after his name surfaced in an FBI investigation involving Sen. Martin Sandoval, the chairman of the state Senate Transportation Committee. […]
Santoy, an architect and Berwyn alderman, was appointed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February amid an ethics reform push at the agency. The previous board was ousted by the General Assembly in January following Daily Herald reports of nepotism and patronage involving contracts and hiring. […]
In addition, investigators sought items related to Behnke Materials Engineering and to Michael Vondra and his company Bluff City Materials. Both businesses are tollway subcontractors.
Tollway officials said the agency “has not received a subpoena for any records related to this investigation. We use a competitive bid process for construction contracts and bid results are reported on the tollway’s website as part of our commitment to transparency.”
* And, of course, there’s this…
As we’ve discussed before, “CW” is often fed-speak for “Cooperating Witness.” The redacted McCook search warrant listed a “CW1″ and a “CW2.”
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:26 am
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What I find fascinating to this discussion of the ongoing investigation and it’s tentacles everywhere with Marty apparently at the center is how Marty seemingly is the one piece in his own missteps to connect so much.
Apparently Marty had no buffers for TEN type of things that may be deemed corruption.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:31 am
To paraphrase today’s Rock Hall of Fame nominee Depeche Mode, given the wide ranging activity we could be looking at federal counts in large amounts.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:34 am
HBO should do a documentary on Illinois corruption. Looks like Marty loved the cookie jar too much.
Comment by JennaM Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:39 am
every board should have some Joe/Josie average citizen on it. back in the day, this used to be a League of Women Voters type. Replace Santoy with some smart citizen who has worked on transportation issues, not some business person.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:43 am
I think many connected Pols and their “contributors” get so inured into the whole “this is how we do business” that they completely lose any perspective that regular people and LE view what they are doing quite differently. In other words, the pols and enablers become increasingly careless because they have become immune to even recognizing their own corruptionfor what it is.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:44 am
They are going to need charts and graphs to explain all of this when the time comes.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:49 am
“relatives”
And if it’s his wife’s company what are the odds that kids and other relatives might be involved?
Bottom of the Sea type of pressure….
Comment by Fav human Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:51 am
I hear Blagojevich is saving his commissary credits to buy his new roommate a housewarming gift.
Comment by Just Me 2 Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 11:54 am
Best part of this whole thing is that a one off relationship between Heidner and the Outfit is what is being questioned. Guess again, Heidner isn’t a business associate of the Outfit, he IS one of them.
The Gambling Board also conveniently overlooked the Feds’ investigation into James Cozzo’s “charity bingo” skimming racket in ‘98. Well take a look at where the racket was being run. Owner of record of that property? REH Enterprises. Anyone got a guess as to what REH stands for?
It’s a sham. The mob is as controlling of the slots machines as they’ve always been, if not more. If you think the gaming board wasn’t/isn’t on the take, you’re dreaming.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-05-08-9805080178-story.html
Comment by Ricky Rocket Again Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 12:17 pm
In light of this scandal, perhaps the GA should introduce a new bill outlawing red light cameras. I tend to avoid any town that has red light cameras which hurts those local businesses. Its not that I go around running red lights. I simply don’t trust the accuracy of the cameras. And in light of this scandal, my distrust seems to be well founded.
Comment by A Jack Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 12:42 pm
lobbyist A and/or B?
Comment by 32nd warder Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 1:09 pm
“Sandoval directed the amended bill to the Subcommittee on Special Issues, which had no members”
Brilliant. No need to slow walk legislation through the committee process anymore. Not when Marty can send it to a nonexistent committee to please his donors.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 3:07 pm
good old triangulation. ICC appointees must kiss the ring of tony munoz (on the front end) to win confirmation as a regulator. and of course, only those appointees who play ball (zalewski and oliva, im looking at you) get confirmation.
and marty squeezes the ICC and Com Ed safely from the other side (the back end).
and victor juggles both marty and tony separately.
such a racket.
Comment by dying HDO Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 6:26 pm
How does a Berwyn alderman get appointed to the board? Does he have any qualifications? Who recommended him?
Comment by IT Guy Tuesday, Oct 15, 19 @ 7:09 pm