FBI raids offices of Dem Illinois state senator as part of 'ongoing criminal investigation'

The offices of Illinois state Sen. Mark Sandoval (D) were raided by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Tuesday, as part of an "ongoing criminal investigation."

What are the details?

The FBI did not disclose any details of the investigation, but told the Chicago Tribune that the raids on Sandoval's district office and at the Illinois State Capital Building involved agents conducting "authorized law enforcement activity."

According to the Associated Press, "Several men in dark suits and ties could be seen walking from the Senate Democrats' side of the Capitol, carrying the bags and boxes of materials. The word 'evidence' could be see written across at least one of the bags." The Tribune reported that one agent appeared to be carrying a desktop computer wrapped in plastic.

FBI raids Senator Sandoval's Springfield Officewww.youtube.com

Federal agents were also seen at Sandoval's residence later in the day, and one reportedly identified himself as a member of the Internal Revenue Service criminal division.

The Daily Mail reported that the "new investigation comes off the heels of a string of alleged corruption at Chicago's City Hall," citing a number of ongoing federal probes launched against Illinois officials.

Sandoval has served in the Illinois Senate since 2003, and currently serves as chairman of the Transportation Committee. The senator was also behind pushing through an initiative that doubled the state's gas tax to 38-cents a gallon this year. The new tax went into effect in July as part of an effort to raise $45 billion for an infrastructure plan.

Anything else?

If Sandoval's name sounds familiar, it might be because he faced national scrutiny last month after photos surfaced from one of his fundraisers showing attendees participating in a mock assassination of President Trump.

The Illinois Democrat later apologized, saying, "The incident that took place is unacceptable. I don't condone violence toward the President or anyone else. I apologize that something like this happened at my event."