JOLIET - Republican U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, announced Friday that he will not seek an eighth term.

"I need to give my family the time needed to be a full-time dad and full-time husband,'' Weller said during a Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "I'm 50 years old; I've given half of my life to public service.''

His announcement comes amid a swell of scrutiny. A watchdog group recently declared him one of the most corrupt members of Congress. He's fighting a subpoena in an ex-colleague's bribery trial, and he faces criticism that he did not reveal to Congress the extent of Nicaraguan land purchases.

Weller refused to take reporters' questions after his speech.

His trouble began when a Chicago Tribune

investigation showed the congressman did not report several Nicaraguan land deals in congressional ethics statements. Then the Tribune reported that Weller's wife, Guatemalan congresswoman Zury Rios de Weller, had set up a nonprofit corporation in Illinois whose board also included Jerry Weller's mother, brother and business associate. That led to questions about whether Weller should report his wife's finances to Congress.

In part because of the Nicaraguan land deals, a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C., named Weller on Tuesday one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress.

Weller is among 13 congressmen who were recently served subpoenas to testify for the defense in a case against a contractor accused of bribing jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke'' Cunningham, a Republican from California.

Weller's retirement means the GOP will have to fight next year for three seats in the Illinois delegation currently held by long-serving Republicans.

Spokesman Andy Fuller said the decision had nothing to do with the criticism Weller was facing. Fuller said the decision was made in late spring or early summer and that Weller planned to make the announcement in September or early October to give other candidates time to campaign for the seat before the February primary.

After the announcement, a television reporter said he would press criminal charges against a Weller aide after allegedly being shoved in a stairwell as he tried to pursue the congressman and ask questions about the Nicaraguan land deals.

The CBS reporter said the aide knocked him into a woman, who also fell.

Joliet Junior College Police Chief Pete Comanda said a man came in voluntarily to talk about the incident but was not arrested or charged. He said the office would not decide whether charges were necessary until after an investigation.

A Weller spokesman did not immediately return a telephone call after business hours Friday.

---

Local reaction

"He shouldn't run again. I'd like somebody to address the issues like the economy and the war in Iraq and not their own bank account."

Mike Grosso of Bloomington, a lawyer

"Based on his past ethical behavior, it's better for someone else to take over, someone without clouds hanging over them."

Vic Henson of Bloomington, a banker

"He didn't seem like his own man. I'd like someone with reasonable views, not extreme, and not just carrying out the party line."

Laurie Bergner

of Normal, a clinical psychologist

"He's doing the right thing by stepping down. There are just too many questions."

Marc Toulon of Normal

"I don't follow politics that much, but it seems typical of Congress now - corrupt."

Casey Doran of Bloomington