From the Chicago Sun-Times

Legislator indicted on charges she ran using bogus address
September 9, 2004
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD -- A Cook County grand jury Wednesday handed up a three-count
indictment against state Rep. Patricia Bailey on charges that she ran for
office using a phony South Side address, Attorney General Lisa Madigan
announced.
The disclosure by the attorney general follows last month's ruling by Cook
County Judge Edna Turkington to preserve Bailey's spot on the November
ballot despite a challenge over whether she actually lived in the 6th House
District that she represents.
Bailey, a Cook County probation worker, won the March primary with support
from the 11th Ward political organization headed by John Daley, Mayor
Daley's brother. She beat back challenges by former state Rep. Jerry
Washington and ex-Death Row inmate Aaron Patterson. She faces no Republican
opposition this fall.
She does face, however, two counts of perjury for allegedly misstating her
address in election documents. She faces an additional charge of mutilating
election materials. Both are felonies that could result in jail for the
freshman lawmaker if she is convicted.
"This indictment alleges a serious breach of the public trust," Madigan said
in a prepared statement. "Voters who voted for or considered voting for Ms.
Bailey believed that she lived in the Sixth District. Such alleged conduct
is unethical and illegal."
A conviction would strip Bailey of her office and bar her from holding a
government job for five years following completion of her sentence. The
committeemen in her district would choose a successor if she is convicted.
But unless a conviction occurs, Bailey can remain on the ballot.
"I'm a little upset and I don't have a comment. Maybe I can talk with you in
a day or so," Bailey said, when asked for reaction to Madigan's
announcement. "I just heard about it, and I'm kind of like numb right now."
Washington, one of Bailey's primary challengers, had pressed Turkington to
invalidate Bailey's candidacy on the basis she had voted from vacant lots
and not lived in the 6th District before the spring election. The judge
ruled against Washington's challenge, saying it had been filed too late.
Last March, the Chicago Board of Elections recommended criminal charges be
filed against Bailey over the residency question. Cook County State's
Attorney Richard Devine turned the case over to Madigan because Bailey's
mother works in his office.
After the city election board concluded charges were warranted, Bailey
attributed the controversy to a mere snafu and demanded an apology from the
board. She said she notified the board before the election she had purchased
a new building on 55th Street in Englewood and that the board had simply
failed to "check their records."
City election officials, however, said they had checked their records and
determined the Back of the Yards two-flat at 4538 S. Hermitage she had
listed in pre-primary election documents was not her residence. Bailey is
set to be arraigned Sept. 27.