The Illinois House is launching a special committee to investigate longtime state Rep. Carol Ammons after the Democrat’s recent indictment on federal wire fraud and obstruction charges, a move forced by members of the chamber’s Republican superminority.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said Rep. Curtis Tarver would chair the special investigating committee, with Reps. Jay Hoffman and Lilian Jimenez filling the other two Democratic seats on the six-member panel. Welch, a Democrat, described all three as experienced attorneys.

Across the aisle, House GOP leader Tony McCombie appointed Rep. Ryan Spain as the party’s spokesperson and Reps. Dan Ugaste and Adam Niemerg to round out the committee.

Ammons is accused of devising a scheme dating back to 2017 to defraud the state that included directing state and federal funds to organizations that then paid her daughter. The state representative also allegedly received cash kickbacks stemming from payments made through organizations that received state grants, as well as through her campaign fund, according to a 12-page indictment a federal grand jury in central Illinois handed up Tuesday.

In all, Ammons and her daughter “received financial benefits in excess of $100,000,” the indictment alleges.

In addition to eight counts of wire fraud, the indictment charges Ammons with making a false statement to a federal agent, stemming from an allegation that she told the FBI she had no knowledge of a conflict of interest with a community organization paying her daughter from state funds.

The indictment also charges Ammons and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Aaron Ammons was also charged with a separate count of obstruction of justice.

On Wednesday, a day after Ammons’ indictment, Welch temporarily removed the six-term lawmaker from legislative committee assignments, which included chairing the Energy & Environment Committee, and barred her from meetings of the House Democratic caucus.

It was the second high-profile shakeup in the House Democratic caucus this month after Rep. Harry Benton resigned July 3 following an investigation into his conduct. On Thursday, the board in southwest suburban Wheatland Township officially called for the Democrat to step down from a separate elected office there.

Ammons on Friday denied any wrongdoing in connection with her federal case.

“I strongly disagree with the allegations outlined in this indictment. I have complete confidence that the facts will determine my innocence, and I intend to vigorously defend myself through the judicial process,” Ammons said in a statement posted to social media.

Welch, meanwhile, defended the steps he’s taken since the charges against Ammons were made public.

“At my direction, we took immediate action to uphold the integrity of the House,” Welch said, “and the special investigating committee is another process to ensure the House responds appropriately and within our purview — while ensuring nothing we do interferes with the ongoing federal case.”

Welch is intimately familiar with the House process from his time heading a special committee Republicans triggered in 2020 to investigate his predecessor, Michael Madigan, after the longtime speaker was implicated in a federal investigation involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison.

While ComEd had already admitted in an agreement with federal prosecutors that it had engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” aimed at currying favor with Madigan, Welch accused the GOP of staging “political theater” in an election year. The committee adjourned without taking any action, but Madigan was later convicted on corruption charges and is serving a 7 1/2-year federal prison sentence.

According to House rules, the committee investigating Ammons’ conduct has subpoena power at the discretion of its chair and Welch, and its investigation could result in disciplinary action decided by the House.

“The courts should absolutely do their job, but the Illinois House has a responsibility to do ours,” McCombie said in a statement on the Republicans’ petition calling for the committee’s creation. “Accountability in the legislature cannot be outsourced to the criminal justice system. … This is not about politics; it is about ensuring no elected official is above accountability and that the people of Illinois can have confidence in their government.”

Ammons on Friday said she remains committed to serving her constituents “with integrity and transparency.”

“I ask for patience as the legal process unfolds, and I remain confident that the facts will ultimately speak for themselves,” Ammons said. She and her attorney, Mutaqee Akbar, released statements on one of her social media accounts saying she would not litigate the allegations “through the media.”

In total, 11 House Republicans signed the petition, nearly four times the number needed under House rules to force the committee’s creation. Republicans, including McCombie, had previously called for Ammons’ resignation.

Welch and Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker have noted that Carol Ammons has a right to due process. And major disciplinary action by the General Assembly against one of its members is rare.

Since Pritzker took office in 2019, 11 now-former state lawmakers have pleaded guilty to or been convicted of criminal charges, and another, Sen. Emil Jones III, reached a deal with prosecutors late last year to avoid a retrial in a bribery case after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in his first trial.

Nevertheless, the last time either chamber kicked out a lawmaker was in 2012, when the House voted 100-6 to expel then-Rep. Derrick Smith of Chicago after he was indicted on charges he accepted a $7,000 bribe. It was the first time in more than a century the chamber ousted a member.

Smith remained on the ballot that year and won reelection. When Smith was awaiting his criminal trial, Madigan supported his bid for another term in the March 2014 primary, but he lost, and was automatically removed from office when he was convicted of bribery and extortion later that year. He was sentenced to five months in prison.

Separately, the Wheatland Township Board passed a resolution Thursday calling on Benton to step down from his post as the township highway commissioner.

Benton resigned from his seat in the General Assembly July 3 after a legislative inspector general’s investigation into conduct that Welch described as “outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member.” But he had not stepped down from the $72,000-per-year highway commissioner position as of Friday afternoon, Wheatland Township Supervisor Michael Crowner wrote in an email.

Welch has not publicly detailed Benton’s behavior. A source familiar with the situation previously told The Chicago Tribune the allegations involved sexual harassment.

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