Villa Park senator Cullerton resigns, plans to change plea in embezzlement case

Democratic state Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park has resigned from office and appeared in court Feb. 23 for a change of plea hearing in his federal embezzlement case.

Cullerton was indicted in 2019. The case has been delayed multiple times because of the pandemic.

The outgoing senator will appear again in court March 8 to change his not guilty plea, Lissa Druss, a spokeswoman for Cullerton, said.

“While the case is still pending, we’re not going to comment until everything is over,” Druss said.

Cullerton is accused of accepting pay and health benefits from a Teamsters job where he “did little or no work,” according to court records.

According to the initial indictment, Cullerton gave up a Teamsters job when he was elected to the senate in 2012. Teamsters officials hired him back as a union organizer in March 2013. The full-time, salaried position included benefits from Teamsters Local Union 734′s health and pension funds.

From March 2013 through February 2016, the indictment alleges, Cullerton ignored union officials’ requests for him to do his work as an organizer but collected $188,320 in salary, bonuses and cellphone and vehicle allowances.

He also received more than $64,000 in health and pension contributions, according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges Cullerton obtained more than $21,000 in medical reimbursements from a Teamsters fund during the time he was on the union payroll and a state senator.

He was not eligible for those reimbursements because he was not regularly scheduled to work more than 30 hours a week, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also claim Cullerton “falsely omitted” income he was receiving from the union on his 2015 and 2016 statements of economic interest reports that legislators are required to file with the Illinois secretary of state’s office.

The government is seeking a forfeiture of $274,066 from Cullerton.

Cullerton faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if the case were to go to trial and he was convicted.

Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, said they are working on a replacement for Cullerton.

“Tom Cullerton served his constituents in the 23rd Senate district for nearly a decade,” Harmon wrote in an emailed statement. “I look forward to welcoming and working with a new senator from the district. We’ve got a lot of work to do for the people of Illinois.”