Illinois corruption watch: January 2016
In January several instances of corruption, influence peddling and mismanagement across Illinois were brought to light, from the College of DuPage’s expense-account mismanagement, to Chicago’s red-light-camera bribery case.
The College of DuPage, or COD, was in the spotlight in January as three COD trustees have boycotted attending board meetings since December 2015 when the board’s chairwoman suddenly resigned. The boycott continued into January, preventing the college from carrying out routine business, such as paying bills and approving new hires. This happened after the college was put on probation by its accrediting agency, which cited the trustees’ inability to govern the college.
COD was also a focus of the IRS, which uncovered several thousand dollars worth of unauthorized transactions billed to the college tax-free. These were primarily expenses that covered meals, appetizers and alcohol for college employees and trustees; the IRS determined the meals in question had no legitimate business purpose. The college will pay over $7,000 in taxes to the IRS for certain meal expenses incurred from 2013 to 2014. This means the taxpayers of DuPage County not only had to cover the cost of the meals, but now also have to pick up the cost of the taxes on the meals.
The influence-peddling scandal surrounding Chicago’s former red-light-camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., and John Bills, the city’s former managing deputy commissioner of transportation, also made headlines in January, as Bills was convicted of 20 counts of mail and wire fraud, bribery, extortion, conspiracy and tax evasion. Prosecutors charged that Bills took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Redflex in exchange for ensuring the company would win and maintain Chicago city contracts for Reflex’s red-light-camera system. The city’s red-light-camera system itself has come under fire for aggressively and erroneously ticketing drivers, amounting to a money-making scheme for the city of Chicago, rather than a traffic-safety program.
Whether it is many small instances of theft, or major occurrences, the cost of corruption and mismanagement ultimately falls on the backs of Illinois taxpayers. In addition to the College of DuPage and Redflex, here are other corruption and mismanagement stories from Illinois for the month of January:
1. Jan. 11, 2016 – The Doings Hinsdale: Legislator says District 181 information release may prompt review of state code
A provision in the state’s administrative code that allows schools to release personal information about students and their parents may be revisited after some parents expressed concern in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181.
State Rep. Ron Sandack, R-81st, Downers Grove, said Monday he planned to take another look at the code and possibly suggest some revisions after he was made aware names, phone numbers and emails were shared with a campaign committee.
“Maybe it merits a review of the statute and there possibly should be some tightening up,” Sandack said. “And maybe this should be an opt-in, rather than an opt-out to have information released.”
The school district released directory information requested by Citizens for a New HMS, a group formed to get voter support for a $65 million bond sale referendum to fund a new Hinsdale Middle School.
2. Jan. 12, 2016 – Park Ridge Herald-Advocate: Trial delayed for Park Ridge police officer accused of beating teens
The trial of a Park Ridge police commander charged with beating two teenage suspects in 2006 has been postponed.
In court Tuesday, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Fleming requested a continuance of the case against Park Ridge Cmdr. Jason Leavitt, citing the absence of a witness for the prosecution.
The witness, Fleming told Judge Nicholas Ford, was attending a funeral and unable to be present for the start of the trial, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.
Ford rescheduled the trial date to March 9.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Leavitt with aggravated battery and official misconduct in 2010 in connection with the alleged beating of two 15-year-old boys near Park Ridge’s Town of Maine Cemetery on Oct. 28, 2006.
3. Jan. 12, 2016 – The Doings Hindsdale: Survey says District 181 employees have trust issues
Survey results being used in creating a new strategic plan indicate that a majority of employees of Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 don’t have a strong sense of trust in the district.
Many topics were covered in a survey of employees, parents and community members who don’t have children attending district schools. The results will be used in creating a new strategic plan.
Responding to the statement, “There is a strong sense of trust in the district,” 32 percent of all employees “agreed” or “strongly agreed,” including a breakdown of 28 percent of support staff, 34 percent of teachers, and 45 percent of administrators.
4. Jan. 14, 2016 – Naperville Sun: Zaruba requested DuPage County audit of his department in November
At his request, DuPage County officials are conducting an extensive audit of Sheriff John Zaruba’s department, after months of tension between him and County Board members.
While DuPage officials audit the sheriff’s department on a day-to-day basis through different county channels, including the treasury department, this review is likely the first time in which all of the sheriff’s accounts will be examined simultaneously, said county auditor Bob Grogan.
“We’ve looked at every one of these accounts in the past,” he said. “This is probably the first time we’ve looked at everything at the same time though.”
Zaruba requested a review of his books in November. Both Grogan and sheriff’s officials said the request was made before County Board Chairman Dan Cronin formally called for an audit of the department to answer questions about Zaruba’s spending proposals for the county’s 2016 spending plan.
Zaruba approached Grogan about the review after determining previous audits by third-party firms hadn’t been as comprehensive as the sheriff desired, said sheriff’s Chief James Kruse. Outside auditors, he said, tended to concentrate their efforts mostly on accounts with previous issues, to ensure those issues had been corrected.
5. Jan. 14, 2016 – Lake County News-Sun: Trial postponed for probation officer accused of padding service hours
The trial for a former Lake County probation officer accused of trading time-credit rewards to adults on probation for money and sexual favors was delayed Thursday, and a possible plea deal is being explored, according to his attorney.
A grand jury indicted Anselmo Magana, of Lindenhurst, in June on 11 counts of official misconduct. He allegedly had been unlawfully awarding court-ordered service hours to probation clients, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the indictment, Magana received money in exchange for service hours on nine occasions, and received “sexual favors” from the same woman in two separate incidents.
In all, four women and two men on probation received the credits, officials said.
On Thursday morning, a trial scheduled for next Tuesday was rescheduled to April 18. Before that date, a prosecutor from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Magana’s defense attorney, LaTonya Burton, plan to attend a closed meeting with Rossetti to discuss a possible resolution to the case without a trial, Burton said.
6. Jan. 15, 2016 – Illinois Policy: Court testimony: Center of Chicago red-light-camera scandal ordered donations to Madigan’s political organization
John Bills – the former Chicago transportation official indicted on corruption charges in August 2014 – knows this as well as anyone.
Federal prosecutors allege Bills received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and perks from Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. in exchange for bringing the company’s red-light cameras to Chicago.
Now, the admitted bagman for Bills’ scheme with Redflex, Martin O’Malley, said Bills ordered him to cut checks totaling $5,500 to Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Mike Madigan’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization, according to the Chicago Tribune.
7. Jan. 16, 2016 – BGA public eye: CPS doesn’t know what happened to equipment from 50 closed schools
Two years after Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed a record 50 schools over low enrollment, officials say they don’t know where many of the computers, desks, books and other items from those buildings ended up.
After being pressed for more than six months on what happened to the classroom equipment, Chicago Public Schools officials now say they don’t have an answer.
They blame bad record-keeping under Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Emanuel’s disgraced former schools chief, who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in October to steering millions of dollars in CPS contracts to her former employer in exchange for what prosecutors said were promises of kickbacks.
8. Jan. 18, 2016 – Skokie Review: District 219 passes amended budget, talks ‘financial oversight’
Three months after it passed its original 2016 budget, the Niles Township High School District 219 board of education reluctantly passed an “amended 2016 budget” while also promising more financial oversight in the district.
“I don’t think anyone’s happy with the budget, the way that it is,” said School Board President Mark Sproat. “We also have our backs against the wall with having to do our next budget.”
“I think for the next budget what we definitely have to do is have more financial oversight,” he said. “We need to form a committee to go over monthly expenses and have that information brought back to us.”
The board passed the original 2016 budget in October in order to meet state mandated deadlines, but at the time promised to revamp the financial document after a backlash from residents who complained that it contained across the board cuts to various educational programs and other items. Some residents also complained that the “operating expense per pupil” (OEPP) was too high.
That feedback on the budget prompted the district’s financial staff to go back to the drawing board. The OEPP in the most recent version of the budget now stands at $25,414 compared with $26,593 as was proposed in the first versions of the original 2016 budget, according to the district.
The board on Jan. 12 voted 4 to 2 to pass the amended 2016 budget, which rings in at approximately $167.5 million, more than a 10 percent increase over last year budget. It also includes a three percent increase in the school district’s portion of the tax bill, officials said.
9. Jan. 19, 2016 – Illinois Policy: Oversight of Chicago City Council Coming Soon
On Jan. 14, a pair of Chicago aldermen made use of the City Council’s Rules of Order and Procedure to delay a vote that could subject aldermen to oversight by Inspector General Joe Ferguson. The rule invoked in this case, Rule 27, allows any two aldermen to defer a matter until the subsequent Council meeting, thereby allowing them additional time to gain support for their cause. Despite this procedural maneuver, however, many anticipate that the City Council will vote on, and pass, this oversight measure at its meeting on Feb. 10.
Watchdog oversight has been unpopular among a set of City Council members – so why is it likely that aldermen will vote in favor of oversight now? The deafening exit by City Council’s only official watchdog has left a vacuum, and an ever-growing group of aldermen has been making the necessary moves to ensure aldermanic oversight.
10. Jan. 19, 2016 – Wheaton Trib: DuPage forest district official gets 180 days in corruption case
A former DuPage Forest Preserve District technology manager was sentenced to 180 days in jail Tuesday for failing to disclose his outside business relationship with a government contractor.
David Tepper, 52, of River Forest, was also ordered to pay $83,000 in fines. The amount corresponded to commissions Tepper earned over several years while acting as an agent for a telecommunication company that, with his aid, landed a forest preserve contract.
11. Jan. 20, 2016 – Department of Justice: Former Clerk at Cook County Recorder of Deeds Admits Accepting Cash Bribe in Exchange for Preparing Fraudulent Real Estate Deed
A former clerk for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds pleaded guilty today to accepting a cash bribe in exchange for preparing a back-dated deed on an Oak Park home and agreeing to record it with her office.
REGINA TAYLOR accepted the $200 bribe from an individual who purportedly wanted to add a relative’s name to the deed of a residence in Oak Park, according to a written plea agreement. Unbeknownst to Taylor, the individual was actually an undercover law enforcement agent, the plea agreement states.
Taylor, 59, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to one count of honest services mail fraud. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.
12. Jan. 22, 2016 – Forbes: Is new Auditor General Frank Mautino the next Illinois corruption crisis?
After Illinois Auditor General William Holland retired last fall, three years into his third ten-year term, the General Assembly appointed state representative Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) as his replacement. Mautino, the former Deputy Leader in the general assembly, was the anointed pick of powerful House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago).
But for one state senator and 10 mostly freshman state representatives, the Mautino appointment vote exposed the bipartisan corruption that is Illinois politics. Republican leadership in both chambers pressured their own caucuses to nearly unanimously approve Mike Madigan’s deputy as auditor.
Now, Frank Mautino faces scrutiny – not from political groups – but from citizen watchdogs.
Yesterday, the noted downstate accountability group – the Edgar County Watchdogs – quantified $213,338.31 in campaign gas and vehicle repairs paid from Mautino’s political committee since 2005 into one hometown vendor: Happy’s Super Service Station in Spring Valley. The “gas” and “gas and vehicle repairs” averaged $20,000 per year or roughly $55 per day over the last ten years and nine months.
13. Jan. 24, 2016 – Madison Record: Woman’s lawsuit alleges pattern of sexual harassment in City of East St. Louis
An Illinois woman is suing over alleged sexual harassment by the former East St. Louis assistant police chief.
Terryana Richardson filed the suit on Jan. 20 in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Illinois against Ronald Ike, individually, and the City of East St. Louis.
In January 2015, the plaintiff filed complaints against the defendants with the Illinois Department of Human Rights alleging sexual discrimination and sexual harassment. On Oct. 23, she received notices of substantial evidence and right to sue letters from the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
The plaintiff claims she has worked for the city since she was 17. On Aug. 25, 2014, she was transferred to the East St. Louis Police Department to work as an intern. She began working there the next day. A few hours into her first day, Ike, who was then the assistant police chief for the city, requested that the plaintiff be allowed to work for him. …
The city is included in the suit because it allegedly has a practice of discovering but failing to remedy ongoing sexual misconduct involving its employees, the suit states.
14. Jan. 25, 2016 – Madison Record: Judge slaps restraining order on access to Topinka campaign money amid lawsuit by late comptroller’s son
The campaign funds of the late Judy Baar Topinka are now formally frozen, thanks to an order issued Jan. 22 in Cook County Circuit Court.
Cook County Judge Anna Helen Demacopolous granted a temporary restraining order to Topinka’s son, Joseph Baar Topinka, which he’d requested as part of his complaint against Nancy Kimme and Bradley A. Burnett, the chairwoman and treasurer, respectively, of Citizens For Judy Baar Topinka. …
A few weeks after Judy Baar Topinka died, according to her son, the fund balance was about $993,834, with no more work to be done or paid for after her death. Joseph Topinka alleged Kimme paid herself $25,000 from the fund for personal expenses on Jan. 10. He alleged Kimme on Aug 7 also endorsed a check for $63,807.22 from the fund made out to cash, with that money also allegedly used for personal expenses such as “loans, debts, clothing, club memberships, travel expenses or other prohibited actions.”
15. Jan. 26, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: CPS seeks $$$ from BBB
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool is demanding that his convicted predecessor, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, reimburse the cash-strapped school district about $10 million — or triple the salary she was paid at CPS and the kickbacks promised her.
Last fall, Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty to a scheme to get a 10 percent kickback from contracts granted to SUPES Academy, a north suburban principal training company that once employed her.
The woman once affectionately known as B3 was done in by her own audacious emails demanding a college fund for her twin grandsons. In one, she claimed she had “tuitions to pay and casinos to visit.”
Now Claypool wants to throw the book at Byrd-Bennett, using a state law that allows government agencies to go after corrupt individuals or contractors to the tune of triple the amount paid to those criminals.
Triple damages for the $893,000 Byrd-Bennett was paid over three years in total salary and benefits would amount to about $2.6 million. Three times Byrd-Bennett’s 10 percent kickback on the $23 million SUPES contracts would amount to about $7 million. …
CPS is also seeking to recover money spent on outside legal fees — it’s spent about $300,000 to date — and compensation for internal staff time spent compiling information to respond to grand jury subpoenas and countless Freedom of Information requests. The district could not immediately quantify those amounts.
16. Jan. 26, 2016 – Department of Justice: Former city of Chicago transportation official convicted of corruption in awarding of red-light camera contracts
The former assistant transportation commissioner for the city of Chicago was convicted today on federal corruption charges in connection with the awarding of lucrative red-light camera contracts.
After a two-week trial in federal court in Chicago, the jury convicted JOHN BILLS on all counts against him. The counts include nine counts of mail fraud; three counts of wire fraud; one count of extortion under color of official right; one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; three counts of bribery; and three counts of filing false tax returns. Bills, 54, of Chicago, faces a maximum combined sentence of 304 years in prison.
17. Jan. 26, 2016 – Chicago Tribune: College of DuPage to pay taxes on restaurant meals, school officials say
The College of DuPage has agreed to pay the federal government thousands of dollars after the Internal Revenue Service identified nearly 100 instances in one year in which administrators wrongly expensed meals at the campus’ high-end restaurant, according to documents obtained by the Tribune.
The IRS determined that “a significant and substantial number” of Waterleaf restaurant meals charged on college house accounts — 44 percent in 2013 — did not have a business purpose or had insufficient documentation. As a result, an IRS audit found, they should be considered taxable employee compensation.
That means the college must pay taxes on those 2013 tabs, including a $724 dinner for trustees and senior administrators before a board meeting, $1,488 in alcohol and appetizers for an “administrators after-hours” gathering and a $154 bar bill for post-meeting drinks.
The college has tentatively agreed to pay the federal government $4,569 in taxes on $18,351 in restaurant bills from that year, an amount slightly lower than originally proposed. While the audit only covered 2013, the college also will be charged another $2,739 for taxes on 2014 tabs, an amount negotiated without additional auditing, school officials said.
18. Jan. 29, 2016 – Chicago Tribune: 3 College of DuPage trustees sue school attorneys for records, invoices
Three longtime College of DuPage trustees — who have led a monthlong boycott that has brought board business to a standstill — filed a lawsuit Friday against the school’s attorneys, demanding they turn over invoices and other documents related to their representation.
In a letter sent to the college’s three primary law firms earlier this month, trustees Erin Birt, Joseph Wozniak and Dianne McGuire requested a trove of documents that include all billing records, communications and work done on the college’s behalf. They also sought records connected to ongoing litigation involving the college, the board or individual trustees. The law firms refused to provide all the records, which the trustees say they need to “fulfill their obligation as board members,” according to the lawsuit, filed in DuPage County Circuit Court.
19. Jan. 29, 2016 – Naperville Sun: COD meeting boycott continues; acting chairwoman vows to try again despite cost
A split College of DuPage board again failed to meet Thursday to discuss business such as paying bills, and the acting chairwoman said she will make one more attempt before a February deadline to appoint a trustee to replace Katharine Hamilton, the former board chairwoman who resigned in December.
Deanne Mazzochi, acting chairwoman of the board of trustees, said she believes a discussion of the applicants seeking the position was important enough to call Thursday night’s special board meeting. Although there had not been another scheduled board meeting until Feb. 18, Mazzochi said she chose Thursday night for a special meeting because it had, at one point, been a night the three boycotting board members, Dianne McGuire, Erin Birt and Joseph Wozniak, had indicated they could meet.
The board overseeing the Glen Ellyn community college has until Feb. 11 to appoint a new member before the Illinois Community College Board steps in to select a replacement. Multiple meetings have been called but could not be convened because there was not a quorum without the three boycotting trustees. The board has not had a quorum since Hamilton abruptly resigned. The stalemate could go on until a trustee is named to replace Hamilton and break a 3-3 board tie that pits the three longest-serving board members against the three newer trustees, Mazzochi, Frank Napolitano and Charles Bernstein.