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Weller Won't Seek Eighth Term in Office
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[September 22, 2007]
JOLIET, IL (AP) --
Republican U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, announced Friday that he will not seek an eighth term.
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 "I need to give my family the time needed to be a full-time dad and full-time husband," Weller said during a Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "I'm 50 years old; I've given half of my life to public service."
Weller's announcement comes amid a swell of scrutiny. A watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington recently declared him one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress. He's fighting a subpoena in a former colleague's bribery trial, and he faces criticism that he did not reveal to Congress the extent of Nicaraguan land purchases.
Weller refused to take reporters' questions after his speech.
His troubles began when a Chicago Tribune investigation showed Weller did not report several Nicaraguan land deals in congressional ethics statements, and that Weller reported higher purchase prices on other transactions in the U.S. than were reported in Nicaragua.
The Tribune then reported that Weller's wife, Guatemalan congresswoman Zury Rios de Weller, had set up a nonprofit corporation in Illinois whose board also included Jerry Weller's mother, brother and business associate.
That led to questions about whether Weller should report his wife's finances to Congress. He has claimed an exemption from the rule, saying he knows nothing about her economic situation and doesn't contribute to or benefit from it.
"My husband never would do something illegal," Zury Rios de Weller told the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre this week.
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 Weller is among 13 congressmen who were recently served subpoenas to testify for the defense in a case against a contractor accused of bribing jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a Republican from California. None of the members served, including Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, plans to comply.
Weller's wife, whom he married in 2004, is the daughter of and political adviser to former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Weller's opponents criticized the engagement because Rios Montt, a retired general who seized control of Guatemala for 18 months in 1982-83, is accused of leading one of the bloodiest campaigns in the nation's 36-year civil war, which killed 200,000 people.
Weller spokesman Andy Fuller said the decision had nothing to do with the criticism the congressman was facing. Fuller said the decision was made in late spring or early summer and that Weller planned to make the announcement in September or early October to give other candidates time to campaign for the seat before the February primary.
Weller's retirement means the GOP will have to fight next year for three seats in the Illinois delegation currently held by long-serving Republicans. Hastert, of Yorkville, and Rep. Ray LaHood, of Peoria, announced earlier this year they will step down.
[Associated Press;
By CARLA K. JOHNSON]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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