Double Trouble

Illinois' attorney general is sentenced to jail

He was the most popular Republican in Illinois, winning re-election three times by more than 1 million votes. First elected attorney general in 1968, William J. Scott, now 53, established a solid record as a foe of industrial polluters and a defender of the consumer. In 1977 Scott accused General Motors of using Chevrolet engines in higher-priced Oldsmobiles; the giant auto company settled by agreeing to pay $34 million to customers. Last fall, after he decided to run for the G.O.P. nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Adlai Stevenson, Scott had a 4-to-l lead in the polls over his nearest G.O.P. rival.

Then Scott's world fell apart. In January the Federal Government took him to court for filing false income tax returns from 1972 through 1975. The Government charged that he had failed to report at least $52,000. The prosecution claimed that Scott had led a "secret life" in those years, drawing thousands of dollars from campaign contributions stashed in safe-deposit boxes to finance personal trips around the world. In March, while the trial was in its tenth week, Scott lost the primary election to Lieutenant Governor Dave O'Neal by 71,363 votes. The next day, the jury found Scott guilty of filing a false return for 1972. His motion for a new trial was turned down in late June.

In court last week, Judge John Powers Crowley told Scott that he had long admired Scott's record as attorney general but that Scott had not lived up to his "high responsibilities." The judge sentenced the attorney general to a year and a day in prison. Scott maintains his innocence and plans to appeal his conviction. But it will be as a private citizen. Less than two hours after the sentencing, Illinois Governor James Thompson appointed Chicago Lawyer Tyrone Fahner to replace Scott as the state's top law-enforcement officer.

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