High-ranking official in secretary of state’s office under investigation

The details of an investigation into Candace Wanzo, an official in the Illinois secretary of state’s office, are not yet known, but she pleaded guilty to embezzlement before working for the secretary of state’s office.

A high-ranking employee in the Illinois secretary of state’s office is under investigation, for reasons not yet revealed, and has been placed on administrative leave.

Candace Wanzo, whose position is listed as “executive five,” was placed on leave May 2, though the office did not specify as to why. Illinois Inspector General Jim Burns is conducting the investigation. A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office told the Illinois News Network they cannot comment further until the investigation is complete.

While details of the current investigation are still unknown, Wanzo pleaded guilty in federal court in East St. Louis in 1991 to embezzling $234,000 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she worked in the bursar’s office at the time, according to Belleville News Democrat reporting both now and in 1991. She was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison then, but the secretary of state’s office hired her in 1999 as a secretary. She eventually worked her way up to her current position, in which she makes nearly $90,000 a year.