State Sen. Terry Link Charged With Tax Fraud

CHICAGO — State Sen. Terry Link, the longtime leader of the Lake County Democratic Party, was charged with tax fraud Thursday in federal court in Chicago, according to court records.

Link, 73, of Indian Creek, lied on his 2016 tax return, reporting $264,450 in total income when he "knew that the total income substantially exceeded that amount," according to federal prosecutors.

Link, his office and his listed private defense attorney Catharine O'Daniel did not immediately respond to request for comment about the allegations.

The felony fraud charge casts doubts on Link's denials that he was the state senator who wore a wire last year to secure evidence of a gambling-related bribery scheme by former State Rep. Luis Arroyo.

Link, the chair of the county party since 1992 and a state senator since 1997, sponsored last year's legislation that expanded gambling in Illinois and earmarked a casino license for Waukegan, his hometown.

At the time of Arroyo's August 2019 arrest, the FBI said an unidentified senator had become a source for feds in 2016, the same year the FBI learned he had lied on his IRS filings.

FBI Agent Curtis Heide alleged the senator, identified at the time only as "Cooperating Witness 1," was cooperating in the hopes of a reduced sentence after admitting to lying on his taxes. He expected to be criminally charged.

The cooperating senator described himself as "in the twilight" of his political career and met with Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat, at restaurants in Skokie and Highland Park, according to the agent.

RELATED: State Rep Accused Of Bribing State Senator To Benefit Lobbyist

Link becomes the third Democratic Illinois state senator charged with federal crimes in the past year.

Last August, Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park was indicted on 41 counts of being on the "ghost payroll" of the Teamsters Union. He pleaded not guilty.

Then in September 2019, former Sen. Martin Sandoval was accused of taking bribes in an ongoing red-light camera bribery scandal. He resigned his seat and earlier this year pleaded guilty, pledging to cooperated with the investigation.

The method federal prosecutors chose to charge Link Thursday, a one-page, one-count information, is common in cases where a guilty plea is anticipated.

The offense carries a maximum fine of $100,000 and a three-year prison term. However, federal sentencing guidelines mean Link has a decent chance of avoiding time in federal prison — especially if he did, in fact, lie about wearing a wire on a fellow lawmaker.

During the time period when he would have been working with the FBI but before the charges against Arroyo were revealed, Link ran unopposed in the March 2018 Democratic Party primary and defeated his Republican challenger that fall with 68 percent of the vote.

And even after multiple sources told reporters Link was indeed Cooperating Witness 1 — the state senator who expected to be charged with tax fraud — his fellow Lake County Democrats reelected him for another term as chair.

Any response the state senator provides to written questions about whether he was lying last year and whether he plans to resign from the Illinois General Assembly or the Lake County Democratic Party will be added here if and when received.