Mel Reynolds Locked Up on Tax Charges

CHICAGO, IL - Former Illinois U.S. Congressman Mel Reynolds is now behind bars.

A judge said he has “no other option” than to take the former U.S. House of Representatives member into custody, citing the fact that Reynolds has no place where he could be placed on electronic monitoring, a Chicago Tribune reporter tweeted first Wednesday morning.

Jason Meisner reported Reynolds, who served the political post in Illinois from 1993 to 1995, begged the judge for more time to find a place to live, but the judge responded, “I have ruled.”

Labeled a flight risk, Reynolds previously skipped out on a court arraignment on misdemeanor tax charges by claiming his daughter was sick in Africa and that he was needed there. The judge on Wednesday cited social media posts from the supposedly ill daughter “galavanting in Germany.”

Reynolds opted to represent himself in court Wednesday, having severed ties with prominent defense attorney Richard Kling, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Reynolds’ difficulty in finding an acceptable place to live comes from lifetime restrictions placed on him from a 1990’s conviction for having sex with a 16-year-old campaign worker.