A plea hearing will be held today for a former state senator accused of numerous felonies stemming from a campaign-scandal investigation.

Former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, and his legal counsel reached a plea deal with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office Monday, which will bring his portion of the Capitol corruption case to an end.

"Obviously Sen. Chvala has decided that the case that prosecutors have against him is a solid one and he doesn't want to risk going to trial because he could end up going to prison for a much, much longer time than if he didn't," Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe said.

Chvala was accused in 2002 of 20 felony counts, including extortion, misconduct in public office and several different charges relating to fraudulent campaign practices. The charges, which were reduced to 19 counts, relate to illegal actions taken by Chvala dating as far back as 1997, and through 2001.

"In the grand scheme of things, this is just another black eye for the Capitol bosses," McCabe said. "It speaks volumes about the corruption that has been allowed to take root in our state Capitol."

The charges came about in what is known as the "legislative caucus scandal" that left Chvala and other state legislators from both parties accused of improper use of their public offices and using state employees to further political campaigns. Former Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee; former Rep. Steve Foti, R-Oconomowoc; Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Brookfield; and a Foti aide were also charged with felonies in the investigation.

"The charges against Chvala were perceived to be the most serious of all the legislators charged because it included extortion," Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said.

Burke pled guilty earlier this month to one felony count of misuse of public office and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. The plea agreement required Burke to pay restitution to the state and to likely serve no more than six months in jail.

Heck said the terms of Chvala's plea agreement will not be known until Dane County Circuit Court Judge David Flanagan hears the plea in court today, though the plea deal may be similar to Burke's, but somewhat stiffer.

"The expectation is that the plea deal would result in a conviction of one or more felonies and that the recommended penalty would be at least as strong as what was recommended for Burke," Heck said.

McCabe said significant modifications need to be made to reform campaign-finance policies in the state to avoid this type of scandal in the future.

"We have a system that's rotten to the core," McCabe said. "And it's producing corrupt behavior, and that system needs to be changed or we're going to have more scandals."