No one but an Illinoisan understands the particular type of embarrassment that comes with having to admit you live in the most corrupt place on earth. Especially when a disgraced former Illinois Congressman, Mel Reynolds, is arrested in a foreign country for yet again having illegal pornography in his possession. Last time, he served time in prison for child porn and we all know a tiger doesn’t change his stripes. This is a guy who was luring school girls into his car and taking them home for photo shoots. You have to wonder who Bill Clinton’s other choices for pardon were when he selected Reynolds for reprieve. It must have been a pretty terrible list.
He was elected to Congress in 1992, and was indicted on charges of criminal sexual assault, obstruction of justice and child pornography in his first term.
He was convicted and jailed in that case in 1995 and was later convicted of misusing campaign funds and defrauding banks, federal crimes that earned him an additional prison sentence.
And then, my favorite part of Reynold’s story is shared (one that could be repeated for almost all of our disgraced politicians the minute they trade in their orange jumpsuit for street clothes),
After his release, Reynolds tried repeatedly to regain his congressional seat, including an attempt last year to succeed disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
It’s hard to choose between two disgraced scumbags public servants.
We can only hope Zimbabwe justice might be a little more creative than ours. Castration anyone?
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