Members of the House of Representatives have voted to sanction Illinois Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for what critics call a Machine-style effort to install his former chief of staff in his seat.
Members of the House of Representatives have voted to sanction Illinois Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for what critics call a Machine-style effort to install his former chief of staff in his seat.
The House voted 236-183 on Tuesday afternoon in favor of a resolution of censure against Garcia (D-4th District), who's been publicly criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for his decision to end his re-election campaign after the filing deadline had passed for next year's ballot.
The late announcement appeared to give an edge to his unrelated former staffer Patty Garcia, who was the only other Democrat to file petitions before the deadline.
Among Garcia's fellow Illinois Democrats, only west suburban Congressman Bill Foster (11th District) and Quad Cities-area Representative Eric Sorensen (17th District) voted with majority Republicans in favor of the resolution of censure ... which is more strict than a letter of reprimand. The only punishment more severe would be expulsion from the House.
Before the vote, the Congressman's office released a statement which in part repeats his statement that he decided to end his re-election bid after talking to his doctor and his wife, that he broke no laws, and that any serious candidate could have filed petitions if they wanted to.