Martin Sandoval

Martin A. Sandoval (January 12, 1964 – December 5, 2020) was a Democratic politician and senator for Illinois who admitted guilt to corruption charges in 2020.[1][2] He sat in the Illinois Senate from 2003 to 2020.[3]

This article is about the American politician from Illinois. For the Mexican politician from Aguascalientes, see Martín Orozco Sandoval.
Martin A. Sandoval
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 11th district
In office
January 9, 2013 – January 1, 2020 (2020-January-01)
Preceded bySteven Landek
Succeeded byCelina Villanueva
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 12th district
In office
January 8, 2003 – January 9, 2013
Preceded byRobert Molaro
Succeeded bySteven Landek
Personal details
Born(1964-01-12)January 12, 1964
Chicago, Illinois
DiedDecember 5, 2020(2020-12-05) (aged 56)
Maywood, Illinois
Cause of deathCOVID-19
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Marina Sandoval

Early life

Sandoval was born January 12, 1964 in the Back of the Yards, a neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side.[4] He graduated from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South High School and went on to Loyola University, Chicago, where he received a bachelor's degree in psychology.[5]

Political career

By 2002 Sandoval was a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; he ran for election to commissioner and to state senator at the same time.[6]

Illinois Senate

Sandoval was elected in 2002 as state senator and was then sworn into office in 2003.[5]

Sandoval questioned the work ethic of Governor Rod Blagojevich during the 2007 budget crisis, as Blagojevich returned to Chicago rather than staying in Springfield for the remainder of the session.[7]

Sandoval was part of the Illinois Senate leadership.[8] As of 2019, Sandoval was the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and of the Special Committee on Supplier Diversity; Sub-Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Capital; and a member of the Energy and Public Utilities, Higher Education, and Licensed Activities committees and the Special Committee on Pension Investments.[5]

After a Sandoval fundraiser held on August 16, 2019, at the Klein Creek Golf Club in DuPage County[9] for donors who paid a minimum of $250 to attend.[10] Photos from the event were posted on Facebook the next day showing a mock assassination of President Donald Trump. In the photo, a man wearing the Trump mask appears to grab his chest and lean back as if being shot by a man holding an ersatz assault rifle. Also posted were separate images of Sandoval standing with the man who held the gun in the contentious photo. The pictures sparked outrage online and condemnation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; Sandoval released a statement apologizing for the "unacceptable" actions of the guests at his event.[11][9]

In May 2019, Sandoval introduced legislation that proposed to increase the annual registration fee for electric vehicles from $17.50 to $1,000.00, which would have raised about $2.4 billion in annual funding.[12]

Corruption

On September 24, 2019, Sandoval's offices in the Illinois State Capitol building and his regional office in both Springfield and Cicero were raided by federal agents from the FBI and IRS. The same day two officials were seen exiting Sandoval's house to get hand trucks to take inside. Sandoval at first refused to comment on the situation.[13] Federal agents involved in the raid were seeking a vast array of information involving construction, transportation and power company officials, lobbyists, gambling interests, a red-light camera company, and at least three suburban mayors.[3] Agents also came to both his Cicero office ands home.[3] The initial Sandoval raid was quickly followed by federal law enforcement actions in McCook, Lyons, and Summit — all towns in the senator's district.[3]

On November 28, 2019, in the wake of the ongoing probe, Sandoval announced he would resign from the Illinois State Senate effective January 1, 2020[3] and he had already resigned as chair of the State Senate's Transportation Committee in advance of his complete departure from the legislative body.[3]

On January 28, 2020, Sandoval agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of bribery and filing a false tax return, both of which he had been charged with earlier in the week.[2][8][14][15][16] He confirmed that he had taken more than $250,000 in bribes,[8] dating back to at least 2016.[16] At least $70,000 of that money was to obtain benefits for SafeSpeed, LLC, a red light camera company which has been identified as "Company A" but Sandoval identified during his allocution,[8][15] in exchange for Sandoval being the company's "protector" in the Senate and blocking legislation that would harm the red-light camera industry.[16] SafeSpeed received a portion of the money collected from traffic tickets, and Sandoval began receiving a monthly bribe after complaining that he was not receiving kickbacks on SafeSpeed's ticket revenue.[16] He also agreed that he had accepted bribery from other people in exchange for using his Senate position, involving at least 5 other participants and with Sandoval directing at least 2 other people.[16] Sandoval also agreed that he had falsified federal and Illinois tax returns, including claiming 2017 income of $125,905 when his income was at least $259,255, and also underreporting his income for 2012 through 2016.[16]

As part of his plea agreement, Sandoval agreed to cooperate with federal investigations.[14] At his plea hearing, he was released on $10,000 bond and banned from leaving the state, and was scheduled for sentencing in July.[8]

Personal life

Sandoval and his wife Marina had three children.[5] On December 5, 2020, Martin Sandoval died at Loyola University Medical Center of COVID-19 at the age of 56.[17][18]

References
  1. "Former Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval Pleads Guilty To Bribery, Tax Evasion". NPR (web ed.). 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-11-21..
  2. "Read the 27-page plea agreement and charging documents against ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval". Chicago Tribune (web ed.). 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-29. Contains PDF and text links to the plea agreement and charges against Sandoval.
  3. "Sen. Martin Sandoval resigns amid federal corruption investigation". Chicago Tribune (web ed.). 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. Illinois Blue Book 2003-2004. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 80. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  5. "Senator Martin A. Sandoval (D); 11th District; Majority Caucus Whip". Illinois General Assembly. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05.
  6. "Sandoval's bait-and-switch". Chicago Tribune (web ed.). 2002-02-22. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  7. "Eight trips = $76,000". Dan Rutherford official campaign site. Associated Press. 2007-06-21. Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  8. McKinney, Dave; Arnold, Tony (2020-01-28). "Former Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval Pleads Guilty To Bribery, Tax Evasion". Chicago, Illinois: WBEZ Chicago. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  9. Marie, Wilson. "Political leaders condemn mock assassination during fundraiser in Winfield". Daily Herald. Paddock Publications. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. Illinois state senator apologizes for mock Trump assassination at fundraiser, Allan Smith, NBC News, August 19, 2019
  11. [Democratic Illinois state Sen. Martin Sandoval blames fundraiser entertainment vendor for mock Trump assassination photos, Dan Petrella and Jamie Munks, Chicago Tribune, Aug 19, 2019
  12. Channick, Robert. "Illinois might start charging $1,000 per year to own an electric vehicle: 'It's outrageous'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  13. Meisner, Jason; Munks, Jamie; Long, Ray (24 September 2019). "Federal agents raid Springfield, Cicero offices of Illinois Sen. Martin Sandoval, says source". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  14. Dwyer, Meghan (January 27, 2020). "Former IL Sen. Martin Sandoval pleads guilty to bribery, will assist corruption probe". WGN-TV Web Desk. Nexstar Broadcasting. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  15. Meisner, Jason; Crepeau, Megan; Mahr, Joe (2020-01-28). "Guilty plea lays bare ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval's greed in red-light camera bribery scheme. 'So why don't I get that offer?'". Chicago Tribune (web ed.). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  16. "Plea Agreement" (PDF). United States of America v. Martin A. Sandoval (No. 20 CR 56). 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  17. Seidel, Jon (December 5, 2020). "Martin Sandoval dies of coronavirus amid Illinois public corruption probe". Chicago Sun Times (web ed.). Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  18. https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-martin-sandoval-dead-covid-19-federal-investigation-20201205-6dqdt4kfjrhdfbf5cp2pwx6rmi-story.html
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