A legislative panel voted to end the pension payments that Farnham, 67, an Elgin Democrat, has received since he quit shortly after his March 2014 primary victory.
The move followed the recommendation of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who contended the case was clear cut because Farnham had used state equipment while as a lawmaker — a point federal authorities outlined in court.
Federal prosecutors alleged that, while theIllinois Housewas in session, Farnham logged on to the Yahoo account he used to trade pornography from a hotel in Springfield as well as a network used by a House committee. Authorities also found numerous pornographic images on a Dell desktop computer in Farnham’s office. The desktop was labeled “Property of the State of Illinois.”
In her five-page recommendation to the General Assembly Retirement System, Madigan said that Farnham forfeited his pension by “clearly violating” his duty to use state-owned equipment only for lawful purposes.
The Tribune reported last year that, although he resigned amid a federal investigation, Farnham sweetened his pension by paying the pension system $6,740 to purchase credit for the final nine months of 2014. That allowed him to count a full six years toward his legislative pension, a maneuver worth roughly an extra $2,000 a year to push his annual taxpayer-subsidized retirement income to $14,850.
Farnham has a terminal lung condition that has reportedly left him only months to live. He’s scheduled to report to prison May 19.
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