Illinois Policy Institute - Blog
by Lee Williams[1]
Download a PDF version of this story here.[2] An updated statement from the Illinois Policy Institute about this report is available here[3].
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—State Rep. Robert Rita is a convicted felon, a long-hidden fact that election law experts say should have barred him from ever holding public office.
Rita, D-Blue Island, is currently serving his fifth term in the House.
The Illinois Constitution prohibits convicted felons from seeking elected office, absent a pardon.
“You can’t run for office if you’re a convicted felon,” said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
As to how this could happen, Canary said, “Usually, it’s up to the party or the opposition to vet the candidate.”
According to a staff attorney at the Illinois State Board of Elections, Rita could be removed from his House seat by the Attorney General, or even a state’s attorney. He could also face perjury charges, because all candidates must attest in writing and under oath that they meet the legal requirements for office, each time they run.
Because of a 1991 felony conviction from Nevada, Rita didn’t meet the requirements of office for any of his five terms representing the 28th House District.
Rita was not willing to be interviewed for this story. He hung up during a phone interview after he was asked about his felony conviction. Dozens of phone calls, e-mails and messages left with his staff could not convince him to answer questions about the Nevada arrest, which occurred when he was 22 years old.
The Illinois Policy Institute first learned of Rita’s felony record from a tip made to the Last Honest Man tip line[4], an anonymous hotline for reporting waste, fraud and abuse within all levels of Illinois government.
The tipster said Rita had been arrested in Nye County, Nevada, and that one of the charges was a felony.
Jamie Kostiuk, a records clerk for the Nye County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Rita had been arrested in 1991, charged with both DUI and bribery.
She was unable to locate hard copies of the files, saying the case may have been “expunged.”
“It was either ordered to be sealed by the court or it was destroyed due to age,” she said in an e-mail exchange.
Clerks at the Nye County courthouse were likewise unable to produce written copies of the arrest reports and court files.
A law enforcement agency told the Institute that the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer indicates that Rita was arrested for bribery and DUI in Nevada.
According to court documents obtained by the Illinois Policy Institute, Rita was convicted of Nevada’s “obstructing officers in service of process” statute—a felony.
He could have been sentenced to imprisonment, but instead received two years of probation. He was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, pay a $2,000 fine and participate in drug and alcohol counseling.
Rita was allowed to serve his probation in Illinois, which began in 1992.
He performed his community service at St. Donatus Church in Blue Island, under the supervision of Father Robert Kleiner, who has since left the church.
By August 1992, Rita had paid his entire $2,000 fine and participated in drug and alcohol counseling. By January 1993, he’d completed his community service. He was discharged from probation in January 1994.
Ineligible for office
Ken Menzel has worked as a staff attorney at the Illinois State Board of Elections for five years. He has more than 27 years of election law experience.
Ken Menzel has worked as a staff attorney at the Illinois State Board of Elections for five years. He has more than 27 years of election law experience.
“Article XIII, Section 1 of the State Constitution indicates that a person with a felony conviction should be ineligible from holding public office, in the absence of a subsequent pardon,” Menzel said, adding that the pardon must be issued by the governor of the state where the conviction occurred.
Brian Campolieti is executive secretary of the Nevada Board of Pardons.
Campolieti said Rita neither applied for nor received a pardon for his Nevada felony conviction.
“As far as the Board of Pardons is concerned, we’ve got no records on him,” Campolieti said. “He’s never applied for a pardon, nor has he come before the pardons board for any reason.”
While not commenting on Rita’s case specifically, Menzel said there are several legal methods to remove a convicted felon from the legislature.
“A state’s attorney or the Attorney General could bring an action to have them removed,” Menzel explained.
Additionally, a voter in Rita’s district could petition the court to have him removed from office.
Rita could also face criminal charges.
“Part of a candidate’s Statement of Candidacy is a statement that they’re qualified for office,” Menzel said. “If they knew they were ineligible when they signed the statement, they would have a technical perjury violation. Whether the Attorney General would see fit to prosecute that, I don’t know. Most likely they’d be removed from office.”
Chicago attorney John Fogarty, Jr. is an election law specialist who researched the legal questions raised by Rita’s felony conviction for the Illinois Policy Institute.
“I have looked into the issue of whether a felony conviction in a sister state will function as a bar to holding office in Illinois,” Fogarty said. “Without doubt, a felony conviction in another state will disqualify an official from holding office, as would an in-state conviction.”
Domestic violence charges
Rita has worked as a heavy equipment operator for the Cook County Highway Department since before his 1991 arrest.
Domestic violence charges
Rita has worked as a heavy equipment operator for the Cook County Highway Department since before his 1991 arrest.
His parents are politically powerful. His father is a former mayor of Blue Island. His mother currently serves as an alderman.
Despite his influential parents, Rita’s first campaign for office was nearly derailed by another encounter with police.
In 2002, Rita was charged with domestic battery and criminal trespass after an ex-girlfriend told police he forced his way into her home and assaulted her.
At the time, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who was also a first-time candidate for office, said Rita should withdraw from his House race because of the domestic violence charges, which put her at contretemps with her father House Speaker Michael Madigan, who had supported Rita.
Rita won the election, and in April 2003, a jury found him not guilty of the charges.
Lisa Madigan did not immediately return calls seeking comment about what, if anything, she now intends to do regarding Rita’s fitness for office.
Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at (217) 638-8054 or lee@illinoispolicy.org[5].
References
- ^ Lee Williams (www.illinoispolicy.org)
- ^ Download a PDF version of this story here. (www.illinoispolicy.org)
- ^ here (www.illinoispolicy.org)
- ^ Last Honest Man tip line (www.illinoispolicy.org)
- ^ lee@illinoispolicy.org (www.illinoispolicy.org)
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