Illinois corruption watch: February 2016
Illinoisans’ confidence in their state government is the lowest of residents of any state in the nation, and corruption stories from February 2016 don’t help.
According to a 50-state survey, Illinois residents have the least amount of confidence in their state government, according to a Gallup poll released in February. Gallup attributed this to Illinois’ long history of corruption.
February 2016’s corruption and mismanagement stories exemplify why Illinoisans have such little confidence in their state government. A former executive for a firm that manages parking meters throughout Chicago indicated he will plead guilty to charges he received $90,000 in kickbacks from a company to which he steered a $22 million contract to lease the city’s parking meters.
In other February corruption news, a circuit court judge said Chicago violated due process while issuing red-light- and speed-camera tickets. The judge denied the city’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the city had failed to send motorists second notices of violations before issuing final determinations of liability, and had imposed late-ticket-payment penalties after 21 days despite a 25-day grace period required by the city’s own laws. After the suit was filed, Mayor Rahm Emanuel quietly asked City Council to remove the second-notice requirement, and the city started adhering to the 25-day grace period. This ruling could mean that some tickets could be nullified and others could be refunded.
Taxpayers are always the losers when corruption and mismanagement occur. Here are other stories from Illinois for the month of February:
1. Feb. 2, 2016 – Daily Southtown: Tinley Park ‘pizza king’ commissioner violated village ethics rule, investigation finds
An influential Tinley Park commissioner who made thousands of dollars selling pizza to the village violated Tinley Park’s ethics code by not formally disclosing his business to the village, an independent investigation concluded.
For years, Michael Clark’s restaurant Ed & Joe’s regularly catered food for the village’s monthly MainStreet Commission meetings, which Clark chaired. The MainStreet Commission was the only village commission that regularly catered its meals. Village officials said it was the only commission that met at dinnertime.
Clark came under scrutiny in 2014 when local attorney Steve Eberhardt filed an ethics complaint with the village stating Clark and other commissioners didn’t disclose their ownership of businesses doing work for the village. Tinley Park hired former Cook County State’s Attorney Richard Devine to investigate that complaint.
2. Feb. 4, 2016 – Illinois Policy Institute: Chicago cops retire to dodge punishment, collect 6-figure pensions
Chicago police officers implicated in the wake of a political scandal within the Chicago Police Department, or CPD, have retired, dodging disciplinary action while holding on to pensions worth more than $100,000 a year, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Nearly two months ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration received a report from the office of Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson that advocated for discipline – including termination – for six police officers.
Each was involved in an alleged cover-up of a 2004 involuntary manslaughter case wherein Richard Vanecko, a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, punched David Koschman in the face, leaving him comatose on the street. Koschman died 11 days later. Vanecko pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in January 2014.
Since Ferguson delivered his report – one that Chicago police unions fought to derail – three of the officers he recommended for discipline have retired and are set to collect large pension payouts.
3. Feb. 2, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-LAZ Parking exec to plead guilty to alleged Chicago parking meter scam
A former parking firm executive charged with steering a $22 million contract for Chicago’s parking meters to a favored company and collecting $90,000 in kickbacks plans to plead guilty, court records show.
However, Felipe Oropesa will now be dealt with by federal prosecutors in Atlanta.
The feds in Chicago charged Oropesa, of Marietta, Ga., with one count of wire fraud in December. The former vice president for government relations for LAZ Parking was set to be arraigned multiple times before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martin. However, those arraignments were postponed, and records show his case will now be transferred to his home state.
Oropesa consented to that transfer in paperwork filed Tuesday — and he indicated he would plead guilty.
4. Feb. 3, 2016 – Department of Justice: Former Bookkeeper For The Pinckneyville Rural Fire Protection District Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud
Tammy L. Kellerman, 53, of Pinckneyville, Illinois, the former bookkeeper for the Pinckneyville Rural Fire Protection District (PRFPD), pled guilty today in United States District Court in Benton to a four-count information charging her with defrauding that municipal entity, announced James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The information to which Kellerman pled guilty alleged that between 2004 and 2013, Kellerman used her trusted position with PRFPD to steal over $450,000 in PRFPD funds. Throughout that time period Kellerman regularly used the United States mail to send unauthorized checks drawn on PRFPD’s bank account to pay her personal credit card bills and other expenses and, thereafter, made false entries in PRFPD’s accounting software to conceal her thefts.
5. Feb. 10, 2016 – Chicago Tribune: College of DuPage fails to fill open trustee position
The College of DuPage formally abdicated its responsibility to fill a trustee vacancy Wednesday, leaving the critical decision with the state agency that oversees community colleges.
The board’s acting chairwoman, Deanne Mazzochi, canceled a Thursday meeting intended to give the bitterly divided board an eleventh-hour opportunity to choose a candidate. Three trustees had declined to attend the meeting, meaning the board would not have had the quorum necessary to make a selection, according to the college.
“I had hoped everyone would be willing to put forth their best efforts to select the seventh trustee,” Mazzochi said in a statement Wednesday. “It remains disappointing that three willingly abdicated that responsibility before even coming to the table. Nevertheless, I look forward to establishing a productive working relationship with the future appointee, and working for the betterment of our college community.”
The board did not hold a single meeting to discuss filling the vacancy, which was created when Chairwoman Katharine Hamilton abruptly resigned in December. Hamilton’s departure left the board with a 3-3 split, prompting boycotts over agendas and separate meeting times from each faction.
6. Feb. 16, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: Suit: CPS fired whistleblower after vendor collusion discovered
A former high-ranking employee at Chicago Public Schools was fired for reporting collusion among bus contractors, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Jeffrey Hubert, the former CPS director of operations, alleges in the suit that several school bus contractors colluded to inflate their bid prices “by millions of dollars” and would bill CPS for bus trips “that never took place.”
Despite him reporting the collusion to the CPS inspector general, the FBI and the U.S. departments of Education and Justice, CPS took no action other than firing him, the suit stated.
Hubert also alleges that “the vendors violated their contracts because the buses had only a 60 percent on-time performance and the bus drivers did not follow contractually required security procedures.”
The suit goes on to state that Hubert found a “substantial number of ‘ghost riders’” — students who were counted as riding the bus but who actually did not. Additionally, the suit stated, Hubert found that CPS knew school bus vendors were “purposely disabling” the GPS and video camera systems on buses.
Hubert alleges that his bosses within CPS “blocked” his attempts to end the collusion.
7. Feb. 17, 2016 – The Washington Times: Former owner of Illinois hospice pleads guilty to fraud
The owner of a now-closed suburban Chicago hospice has pleaded guilty to falsifying health care claims in a multi-year conspiracy to defraud the federal government.
Seth Gillman was accused of filling Passages Hospice with patients when they didn’t need hospice care and over-billing the government for procedures that wasn’t required.
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday said the 47-year-old Gillman of Lincolnwood bilked Medicare of more than $7 million between August of 2008 and January 2012. During that time, Passages received more than $90 million in Medicare payments for hospice services, including more than $20 million billed as general inpatient services.
8. Feb. 22, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: Judge: Red-light, speed-cam tickets ‘void’; city violated due process
Chicago violated the “fundamental principles of justice, equity and good conscience” by denying due process to motorists issued red-light camera and speed-camera tickets, a judge has ruled, declaring those tickets “void.”
In a harshly worded ruling handed down late Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy kept alive a lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions [of] dollars in refunds for motorists ticketed since 2003 after City Hall “skipped a step” mandated by the city’s own municipal code.
The lawsuit filed nearly a year ago accused the Emanuel administration of violating the requirement to issue a second notice of violation before issuing a determination of liability against motorists issued speed-camera and red-light camera tickets.
The suit further alleged that the city failed to specify the make of the vehicle and that city notices indicate that late penalties will be assessed if payment is not received within 21 days of a liability determination, when a 25-day grace period is required by law.
In rejecting the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Kennedy upheld two of those three arguments. The wording of her ruling was so strong, there is little doubt thousands of tickets will ultimately be nullified, potentially forcing the city to refund hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and penalties already paid.
9. Feb. 23, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: Ald. Burke accused of hiring ‘political hacks’ to run $100M-a-year workers’ comp program
Chicago’s most powerful aldermen [sic] was accused Tuesday of violating the Shakman decree by allowing “political hacks” to administer a $100 million-a-year workers’ compensation program that belongs in the executive branch.
Jay Stone, the maverick son of former longtime Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), filed a complaint with Inspector General Joe Ferguson, asking Ferguson to investigate Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee.
In the complaint, Stone accused Burke of turning the workers’ comp program over to “his handpicked political appointees” in violation of the Shakman decree banning political hiring.
10. Feb. 24, 2016 – Fox 32 Chicago: Cicero town president accused of conflict of interest
A brand-new security company that employs a person with close ties to town president, Larry Dominick, suddenly started getting contracts from Cicero agencies, but nobody will talk about how it happened.
FOX 32 and the Better Government Association have been digging into the contracts that are costing Cicero taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. And as FOX 32’s Investigative Reporter Dane Placko reports, the story starts with a man who describes himself as Larry Dominick’s bodyguard.
Meet Serge Rocher, who’s a longtime community service officer for the town of Cicero, making $72,000 a year. He[’s] not a cop, but wears a uniform and provides security at Cicero board meetings, among other duties, which according to Rocher’s resume include being the head of “executive protection for Cicero’s town president” Larry Dominick.
11. Feb. 26, 2016 – NBC Chicago: Election Board Probes Auditor General
The Illinois State Board of Elections has undertaken an investigation into former state Representative and current Auditor General Frank Mautino’s campaign finance records.
Mautino, a Democrat, served as the representative for Illinois’ 76th District from 1991-2015. The district includes Hennepin, Ottawa, Streator, Peru, LaSalle, Oglesby and Spring Valley.
The probe stems from a complaint made by Dave Cooke, a retired nuclear plant employee from Streator. Cooke lodged the complaint after reading reports about Mautino’s campaign spending.
Mautino reported spending $200,000 for gas and repairs at a service station in less than 11 years. Many of the payments were made in large, round figures of $1,000 or more.
His disclosure reports also account for $250,000 paid to Spring Valley City Bank. The money was reportedly used for gasoline, parking, poll watchers, travel expenses and other expenditures not related to banking.
The payments, which the bank often received in round figures between $100 and $300, were designated for vague purposes, like a “Chicago meeting.” Often the descriptions were coupled with words like “gas” or “parking.”
Mautino’s campaign treasurer, Patty Maunu, also received $23,800 over the course of 16 payments since 2013. Once again, all payments were in round figures. The expenditures were reportedly for meeting expenses, but there [are] no details on the spending.
There was however a notation that no single vendor received more than $150. This is interesting because once a campaign gives more than $150 to an individual or entity in a quarterly reporting period, that person’s name and address must be disclosed.
12. Feb. 27, 2016 – Chicago Sun-Times: The Watchdogs: Pension funds lost millions on deals with Daley nephew, Obama pal
A real estate venture created by President Barack Obama’s onetime boss and a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley squandered $68 million it was given to invest on behalf of pension plans for Chicago teachers, cops, city employees and transit workers, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.
The five public pension funds haven’t made a dime on the investments they made nearly a decade ago with DV Urban Realty Partners, a company created by Obama’s ex-boss Allison S. Davis and Daley nephew Robert G. Vanecko, records show.
In fact, the financially troubled pension plans have lost most of the money they gave DV Urban, which used the money to invest in risky real estate deals, primarily in neglected neighborhoods.
It invested in eight real estate deals that, for the most part, had gone belly up by Dec. 31, 2015, when the investment deals with the Chicago pension plans expired.
Though the pension funds lost out, DV Urban and its affiliated companies got about $9 million of the pension money for management fees. And they were in line for more until pension officials, facing losses, got a court order in 2012 to remove Davis and Vanecko from managing the retirement investments.
13. Feb. 29, 2016 – Chicago Tribune – Foxx fined over campaign finance violations
Cook County state’s attorney challenger Kim Foxx was hit with nearly $20,000 in fines from the State Board of Elections on Monday for failing to report a campaign poll paid for by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and for not meeting various other deadlines to file campaign disclosure forms.
The fines were levied for filing a quarterly campaign report 73 days late last year, and for reporting 10 individual contributions of $1,000 or more one day late, in addition to failing to report the $25,000 Preckwinkle spent on a poll for Foxx as a campaign contribution. Foxx’s campaign will be required to pay a total of $19,450, state elections officials said.
State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s campaign filed the complaint against Foxx for not reporting the poll. “How can we trust Kim Foxx to enforce the law as state’s attorney when she’s repeatedly proved herself unwilling or unable to follow the law as a candidate?” Alvarez spokesman Mike Carson said in a statement.