
State Sen. Emil Jones III pleaded not guilty Friday to federal bribery charges after he was accused of agreeing to protect the politically connected red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC in the Illinois General Assembly.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood took place by phone, making Jones the latest federally charged Illinois politician to avoid the traditional walk-of-shame through the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Remote hearings became routine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.