Tuesday is Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock’s final day in office. He resigned amid accusations he misspent taxpayer money.
IPR’s Rich Egger talked about the claims against Schock with the co-author of a book about Illinois’ shady political history.
Schock is the latest in a long list of Illinois politicians accused of wrongdoing. Some of their stories are included in the book “Corrupt Illinois” by Dick Simpson and Thomas Gradel.
Simpson says he was surprised Schock resigned only about a month-and-a-half after reporters started looking into his spending.
“Corrupt Illinois” is published by University of Illinois Press. Simpson says the culture of corruption in Illinois dates back around 150 years.
He recommends several steps to end it. They include requiring schools to teach civics, extending the period for early voting, and imposing term limits.
