Former Chicago alderman admits taking payoffs

CHICAGO -- A 17-year veteran of Chicago's City Council has pleaded guilty to taking payoff money and cheating on her taxes.

Former Alderman Arenda Troutman acknowledged Wednesday that she'd taken money for helping real estate developers in her South Side ward.

She pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax fraud charges. Eleven other counts were dropped in exchange for her plea.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo set December 3rd for sentencing the 50-year-old Troutman, who lost her re-election bid last year after the charges became public.

Defense attorney Sam Adam Junior says other than the payoffs, Troutman had "an impeccable record" of working her way up after a poverty-stricken childhood "in the coal fields of West Virginia."