CHICAGO (AP) - Former Illinois Congressman Mel Reynolds is expected in federal court to enter a plea to charges he failed to file income tax returns from 2009 to 2012. Thursday's arraignment in Chicago comes a day after he told a news conference and said he'll plead not guilty and fight the charges. He said he'll go to trial "to set the record straight."
Reynolds claims the majority of the money the government claims he didn't pay taxes on was expense money given him by Chicago businessman Elzie Higginbottom to find business opportunities in Africa. He said some of the money was a donation by the real estate developer to pay for his children's schooling. Higginbottom did not return telephone calls seeking comment on Reynolds' assertions.
