State Sen. Donne Trotter Pleads Guilty To Bringing Gun To O'Hare
CHICAGO (STMW) -- State Sen. Donne Trotter was sentenced to one year of court supervision Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct for trying to bring a gun onto an airplane at O'Hare, the Sun-Times is reporting.
Trotter, considered one of the front-runners in the race for Jesse Jackson Jr.'s 2nd District U.S. House seat until he dropped out, made no comment before Cook County Judge Charles Burns or after the hearing.
As part of the plea deal, Trotter has to perform 60 hours of community service. He also plans on talking about gun safety while serving his sentence, Trotter's attorney, Thomas Durkin, said.
Durkin said the state's attorney's disposition to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor was "fair and appropriate."
"We're very happy this is behind us," Durkin said as the bow-tie-wearing Trotter, 63, looked on.
Trotter was caught with a .25-caliber gun in his luggage at O'Hare on Dec. 5.
Authorities said the weapon and ammunition was inside a black leather suit bag. Trotter explained he'd worked a security job the night before and had forgotten the gun and ammunition was in his bag.
The misdemeanor will have no affect on his state Senate job.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
