Urbana, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Far from the first and unlikely to be the last Illinois politician to be accused of turning public service into a personal ATM, a lawmaker from Champaign-Urbana has been indicted on charges related to using campaign money for personal gain.

A federal indictment shows State Representative Carol Ammons and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, were formally charged Tuesday with eight felony counts of wire fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Representative Ammons (D-Urbana) allegedly helped obtain state grants for Champaign-area organizations that she and her husband then profited from, between 2017 and last year.

They’re also accused of lying to the FBI about it.

Ammons’ daughter Titianna is also under federal indictment for allegedly committing unemployment fraud during the COVID pandemic.

Carol and Aaron Ammons are scheduled to be in federal court in Urbana on first appearances July 16.

Carol Ammons has been a State Representative in the 103rd District since 2015.  Aaron Ammons has been Champaign County Clerk since 2018, and was an Urbana alderman before that.