Former Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval (D) has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and filing false tax returns and is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in an ongoing corruption investigation that involves construction companies and the use of recycled material in highway pavement projects.
In Sandoval's Jan. 28 plea agreement in federal court in Chicago, the one-time chairman of the Illinois Senate's Transportation Committee admitted to taking more than $70,000 in bribes from a red-light camera company, identified in court as SafeSpeed, which operates red-light cameras in several Illinois municipalities. Sandoval admitted that in July 2018 he requested $5,000 per month from an unidentified cooperating witness. He also admitted taking $180,000 in bribes from five other unidentified individuals or entities.