Weller won't seek re-election to Congress
Republican U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, will announce he will not seek an eighth term, a spokesman said Friday.
Weller was to make the announcement at a Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce luncheon, citing family reasons.
"I need to give my family the time needed to be a full-time father and husband," Weller said in a copy of his speech, provided to The Associated Press.
Weller's announcement comes amid a swell of scrutiny. A watchdog group recently declared him one of the most corrupt members of Congress. He's fighting a subpoena in a former colleague's bribery trial, and he faces criticism that he did not reveal to Congress the extent of Nicaraguan land purchases.
His troubles began when a Chicago Tribune investigation showed Weller did not report several Nicaraguan land deals in congressional ethics statements, and that Weller reported higher purchase prices on other transactions in the U.S. than were reported in Nicaragua.
The Tribune then reported that Weller's wife, Guatemalan congresswoman Zury Rios de Weller, had set up a nonprofit corporation in Illinois whose board also included Jerry Weller's mother, brother and business associate.
That led to questions about whether Weller should report his wife's finances to Congress. He has claimed an exemption from the rule, saying he knows nothing about her economic situation and doesn't contribute to or benefit from it.
"My husband never would do something illegal," Zury Rios de Weller told the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre this week.
In part because of the Nicaraguan land deals, a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Weller one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress. The same day, Weller was among 13 congressmen served subpoenas to testify for the defense in a case against a contractor accused of bribing jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a Republican from California. None of the members served, including Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, plans to comply.