A federal judge sentenced former Illinois Sen. Annazette Collins to a year in prison Friday for cheating on her taxes in a case with ties to the same investigation that snared indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

A jury in February convicted Collins of filing false individual tax returns for the years 2014 and 2015, failing to file one for the year 2016 and failing to file a corporate tax return for 2016.

“Her offenses were driven by greed,” U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso said. “She doesn’t want to hear that, but it’s absolutely true.”

Prosecutors say she ultimately dodged more than $150,000 in taxes, and they asked the judge to sentence Collins to roughly two years in prison. Collins’ attorney argued she dodged closer to $30,000 in taxes and sought probation.

The feds argued that Collins refused to accept responsibility and has instead been “hiding behind vitriol and recrimination.” Even though she was indicted in 2021, prosecutors say Collins owes more than $68,000 in tax, interest and penalties for the years 2020 through 2022.

In a letter to the judge, Collins said she “let the voters down” and is “determined to never be in this situation again.”

“I am embarrassed and humiliated that my name has been tarnished and my legacy ruined,” Collins wrote.

Collins’ name has surfaced repeatedly at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse over the years, including in two 2023 corruption trials. Her own trial revealed that she was caught while working at an insurance company submitting bogus policies for people who did not apply for them or “did not exist.” The allegations did not lead to criminal charges.

Testimony Friday revealed that the alleged fraud steered more than $12,000 to Collins. None of it triggered criminal charges, though, and her attorney suggested Collins had been trying to help people without bank accounts secure life insurance.

Meanwhile, the case brought by prosecutors revolved around her work with her lobbying firm, Kourtnie Nicole Corp., following her years in the legislature. That firm wound up collecting hefty sums from politically connected firms and utilities.

They included ComEd and AT&T Illinois, both of which were caught up in the Madigan investigation and faced criminal charges.

The jury learned that ComEd paid Collins’ firm $207,000, and AT&T Illinois paid it $95,343. A firm tied to former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker — among four political insiders convicted last year of scheming to bribe Madigan — paid Collins’ firm $11,000. And the Roosevelt Group lobbying firm tied to Victor Reyes — who figured prominently in Hooker’s trial — paid $2,500.

Meanwhile, the jury also heard that Collins used money from her lobbying firm to make car, tuition and mortgage payments, and to fund a 2015 trip to Punta Cana, all while filing income tax returns that made it seem she earned paltry sums of as little as $11,000 a year after leaving public office.

During last year’s separate trial of Hooker and three others convicted of a nearly decade-long conspiracy to bribe Madigan, jurors saw a handwritten list of favored lobbyists that included the name “Annazette.”

The list appeared on stationary from the Talbott Hotel and was purportedly dubbed the “magic list” by Madigan confidant Michael McClain, who was among those convicted with Hooker.

Then, jurors in the separate trial of businessman James Weiss heard that Collins also worked as a lobbyist for Weiss’ company, Collage LLC. Weiss was convicted of bribing then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo and then-state Sen. Terry Link, and he is now serving a 66-month prison sentence.

Illinois is already a safe haven for those seeking gender affirming care — and the Democrat-led legislature this year passed a pair of bills to further protect the privacy of those coming to the state for care and to make it easier for transgender people to correct their name and gender on IDs.

Those measures are awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature. But advocates say there’s more the state can do to help the LGBTQ+ community, including a push to require school districts to teach sex education and other calls to help support youth and seniors.

An effort is also underway to waive or minimize filing fees for transgender people as they request a legal name change — and allow the petitioner to request that a court seal the name change if public disclosure may harm their health or safety. The bill is aimed at protecting other vulnerable populations, including survivors of violence and refugees. Legislation stalled in the Illinois Senate this spring.

“Obviously, we have to think about the whole state. And here in Chicago, you can live relatively anonymously. But, you’re living in a small town and you have to publish in your local newspaper that you’re transitioning, that’s going to put you at significant risk,” said the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago. “So, similarly, we provide the safety waivers for folks who have other risks, whether it’s somebody fleeing a domestic violence situation, somebody coming out of a trafficking situation, things like that. We’ve created these bypasses for folks, and this would have added to it.”

Cassidy is also pushing for a measure that would give a $500 tax credit to people and health care providers who are fleeing states that limit access to abortion or gender affirming care.

Equality Illinois is leading a push for the state to require sex education in public schools. The state provides districts with a “medically accurate, evidence-informed, response and trauma-informed guide” for sex education — but it is optional for districts to provide. Parents can also opt their students out of it.

Pritzker in 2021 signed two bills that updated sex education for K-12 schools. Republicans said they didn’t like that the curriculum was guided by the National Sex Education Standards, and didn’t necessarily agree that the topics covered were age-appropriate.

But advocates say the lack of sex education has led to bullying of LGBTQ students and people of color.

“There’s just no reason in a state with a governor in both chambers as supportive of reproductive health of LGBTQ+ people on kids safety that we have in Illinois, that we should be living in a state where 72% of school districts don’t teach this to kids,” said Equality Illinois CEO Brian Johnson. “It’s not safe.”

Pritzker told the Sun-Times in a statement that while he’s proud of his accomplishments over the last five years in making Illinois “the most LGBTQ+ friendly state in the country,” there’s more work to be done. Earlier in June, the state announced a new Transgender and Gender Diverse Wellness and Equity Program, which will provide organizations with medical care for transgender, gender-diverse and LGBTQ+ people.

“While we have a great deal to celebrate, we can’t stop there. Not when you have a Republican Party that is crystal clear about their goal of infringing upon the rights of those who they deem different,” Pritzker said. “A person’s right to live and love and learn should never be questioned and for as long as I’m governor, I will continue to shape an Illinois that is safe and welcoming for all.”

Affordable housing for the LGBTQ+ community remains a concern — for youth that are coming out of care from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, as well as seniors. And just like with other populations, safety on public transportation remains an issue, according to Tracy Baim, co-founder and owner of Windy City Times.

“Nursing homes in America, aftercare in America is extremely limited, but also a lot of it is very homophobic and transphobic and a lot of people go back into the closet in their elder years,” Baim said. “I think housing to me has always been near the top of the needs of LGBTQ people that I cover.”

Still, Baim said she’s heartened by representation in the state, especially with a record-setting nine City Council members who identify as LGBTQ+. Another measure awaiting Pritzker’s signature will require nonprofits that report grants of $1 million or more to other charitable organizations to disclose diversity information about their boards on their websites.

“Because we have more people in powerful positions, we are listened to more and we are, our allies in government, especially Gov. Pritzker and [Lt. Gov.] Juliana Stratton are seen as huge allies of the LGBTQ community. And that visibility, that outward support, whether it’s Pride Month or other times of year is critical to sending a message to the rest of the Democratic Party that the administration is supportive,” Baim said. “I don’t think those are token gestures.”

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC/Gray News) – A 10-year-old boy accidentally drowned Monday at Lake Potter in Rock Island, officials say.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson identified the child as John Moo, 10, of Rock Island.

At 1:24 p.m. on Monday, the Rock Island Fire Department responded to Lake Potter, 1800 Sunset Lane, for a child missing in the water, according to a media release from the department.

Responding crews learned that four children were swimming in the water and became distressed.

Officials say two children were able to get back to shore unassisted before crews arrived, and one child was assisted to the shore by a bystander.

The Rock Island Fire Department said three children, including Moo, were taken to UnityPoint-Health Trinity Rock Island.

Moo was pronounced dead at the hospital, Gustafson said Monday.

The conditions of the other children were not known Tuesday morning.

The fire department was assisted by Rock Island Arsenal and Moline fire departments. Big River Rescue and Christian Aid Ministries assisted with underwater divers and scanning equipment used in the rescue, fire officials said.

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