A federal judge sentenced former state Rep. Edward "Eddie" Acevedo on Wednesday to six months in prison for cheating on his taxes in a prosecution that resulted from the same investigation that led to the indictment of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Before he announced the sentence, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said "there’s a particular responsibility" of people who make laws and enforce laws "to comply with those laws," the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
"And Mr. Acevedo didn’t do that," Kennelly said.
Acevedo, 58, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in December, admitting he failed as a self-employed consultant to keep sufficient accounting records and shorted the government by $37,000 in taxes for 2015, 2017 and 2018. He must pay that amount in restitution, the judge said.
Acevedo is also a former police officer. Before he was sentenced, Acevedo told the judge, "I deeply regret my actions." He said this was "not the way I brought my boys up to be. … They expected better from me, and I let them down."
Acevedo’s sentencing is the latest in a series of notable public corruption moments in recent weeks.
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