For Immediate Release
Lake County ILDem Chairman Charged with Tax Evasion: Casten Says Nothing
“Standing up to corruption is standing up for the taxpayer.”
August 15, 2020 – On Thursday, State Senator and Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Terry Link was charged with tax evasion by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Link cut a plea deal in return for his promise to cooperate with the multiple ongoing federal investigations into the entrenched corruption in the upper ranks of the Illinois Democratic Party.
“These charges make Link the third high-ranking Democrat official this year to be investigated and charged with a crime,” said Ives. “This corruption comes at a real cost to Illinois taxpayers. Corruption not only impacts residents’ faith in government, it decreases economic growth and disincentivizes investments in the state.
“According to an Illinois Policy Institute study, Illinois’ public corruption convictions cost the state economy an estimated $550 million every year from 2000-2017. That’s a total of nearly $10 billions over those 17 years.
The annual loss of economic activity means Illinoisans actively seeking employment find it harder to land a job, and that the state economy will likely continue to lag the rest of the nation.
“Standing up to corruption is standing up for the taxpayer. And we are hard pressed to find an organization more corrupt than the Illinois Democrat Machine. Sean Casten, however, refuses to call for reforms to his party, or even to denounce Mike Madigan, Terry Link or other corrupt leaders. This is not leadership
“The Democratic Party of Illinois’ corruption is indefensible. It is hurting the people of this district in a real way. And once again, Sean Casten says nothing.
“As a state legislator, I stood up to both parties against tax hikes, unbalanced budgets and crony bailouts. I am running for Congress because Illinoians have had enough of politicians like Sean Casten who protect their parties over the pocketbooks of the taxpayers they represent.”
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For more information or to book Jeanne Ives contact Kathleen Murphy, Director of Communication at 630-329-4680 or kathleen@jeanneforcongress.com.
