Rep. Robert Martwick's (D-Chicago) failure to disclose $170,000 in income from his political consulting business illustrates how little he knows about the common person, Ammie Kessem suggested during a recent edition of "Illinois Rising."
“It’s goes to prove the type of elitist mentally that this career politician has,” Kessem, who plans to run against Martwick in 2018, said. “He is out of touch with the general public. This is the type of thing that causes people to not trust our politicians, not trust our government officials when have this mentality of, ‘Oh, this is no big deal.’"
A recent investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Martwick allegedly failed to list $170,000 in income from his consulting firm, First Tuesday Inc. Since 2005, the firm has allegedly received $673,000 from various Illinois politicians.
Ammie Kessem is an 18-year police veteran challenging Rep. Robert Martwick.
Kessem, an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, said she found it scary that an attorney like Martwick ignores the conflict of interest between his firm and his position as a state representative.
“I would think at the very least you would have a fiduciary responsibility to disclose to your clients that you are getting money from the very politicians that are in charge of assessing your properties,” Kessem said. “Don’t you think he should disclose that?”
According to the Sun-Times, Martwick asserted that income forms were poorly written and hard to understand. Kessem didn't buy the assertion.
“I can’t imagine forgetting about a $170,000 that I was paid,” she said. "It proves how out of touch he is with his constituents. If I were to do something like this, I would get into a lot of trouble with my current position in the police department. I would get into a lot of trouble, and I think he should be held to the same standard.”
Kessem also criticized Martwick’s vote on this summer's 32 percent permanent tax increase, arguing that it adds another burden to an already overtaxed district.
“As I am out here and I’m talking with the people in this district, they are very upset about this,” she said. “They are very angry. When you look at it from a financial standpoint, the amount of money that people are paying to Matrwick might not seem like a whole heck of a lot of money … but to the average family in the district? It’s a heck of a lot of money. People are already struggling. We live in an area that has some of the highest sales tax, income taxes and these silly bad taxes. People are upset, and they are tired of it.”
Kessem concluded by saying she sees changes in their district and that Martwick will find himself in a “world of hurt when election time comes around.”
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