Thomas E. Cullerton | Illinois Secretary of State
Thomas E. Cullerton | Illinois Secretary of State
Former state senator Thomas E. Cullerton has been spotted at the state capitol just after being released from prison on an embezzlement conviction.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Cullerton was released on April 14.
Cullerton registered as a lobbyist for the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office on April 26, only 12 days after his release. He is registered under the banner of lobby firm Strategia Consulting, LLC.
Cullerton was indicted on embezzlement charges in 2019 after pocketing $248,000 from the Teamsters union on a ghost contract.
He was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty in 2022. Prosecutors had argued for 18 months. He was set to begin his sentence in September 2022.
“I’m not going to say I didn’t take advantage of the situation. I did,” Cullerton said of his conviction, according to NBC Chicago.
Of the $5.5 million Cullerton raised in campaign funds over three campaigns in the state senate, $2 million came from labor unions.
Cullerton spent nine years in the state senate after having served as the President of the Village of Villa Park prior to being elected to higher office in 2012.
In 2015 he was a candidate for Illinois' 8th Congressional District before dropping out of the race.
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