SPRINGFIELD – To help root out public corruption in Illinois, the Illinois State Police (ISP) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has created an online form for the public to report suspected corruption directly to ISP.
“The Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit is dedicated to seeking out those who abuse their position and power to take advantage of others, betraying the public’s trust,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “By making it easier for the public to confidentially report suspected corruption, we can begin restoring the public’s trust in government. ISP will continue to work with its partners in law enforcement to investigate misconduct and corruption.”
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ISP created an online form where the public can provide information confidentially to the ISP SIU about suspected corruption. Examples of public corruption may include an elected official steering contracts to friends in exchange for a monetary kickback, overbilling a contractor and embezzling the money, personally benefiting from federal/state-funded programs, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The online form is for suspected public corruption allegations only. Individuals may be unsure to which law enforcement agency or department they should report claims of public corruption. Having allegations reported to one place will streamline the process and allow ISP to respond more quickly. ISP will triage all online submissions and determine the correct agency to handle the investigation.
Director Kelly established the Statewide SIU within the Division of Criminal Investigation in March 2020. SIU focuses on public corruption crimes and conducting investigations into criminal misconduct by elected officials and government appointees at the state, county, and local levels. SIU handles allegations of intimidation by public officials, fraud as it relates to state and local government procurement contracts, election fraud, misuse of a public official position, and acting as a source of influence to benefit from matters concerning the allocation of business enterprise, contracts, state-funded programs, kickbacks, and bribery. Since its creation, SIU has opened 82 cases, including dozens of joint cases with federal law enforcement agencies.
In one case, SIU investigated allegations of theft and official misconduct against a former township road commissioner accused of using the township credit card to make personal purchases. SIU found the purchases were made over two and a half years and totaled approximately $27,300. After SIU’s extensive investigation, the former commissioner faced 22 count of felony charges. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of probation and $27,300 restitution.
In another case, SIU investigated allegations of theft and fraud by a former county coroner. SIU found the former coroner and his wife used taxpayer dollars to fund travel to other states for their son’s sports tournaments, forged official documents, and used a county credit card to buy gas for their personal vehicles for almost two years. SIU estimated the total thefts to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. SIU arrested both the former coroner and his wife who were charged with numerous felonies, including Theft of Government Funds, Unlawful Use of a Credit Card, Conspiracy to Commit Theft, Conspiracy to Commit Credit Card Fraud, and Official Misconduct. The coroner pled guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail, four years of probation, and ordered to repay $32,817.05.
The online form can be found on the ISP website under the Division of Criminal Investigations, Special Investigations Unit at https://isp.illinois.gov/CriminalInvestigations/SIUComplaintDisclaimerForm
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