SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois State Police (ISP) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has created an online form for citizens to report suspected corruption directly to the 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.”
Through the form, the public can give information confidentially about suspected corruption to the SIU. Examples of corruption that could be reported through the form include wire fraud, money laundering, overbilling a contractor and embezzling the money, personally benefitting from federal/state-funded programs and an elected official steering contracts to friends in exchange for a monetary kickback.
Because individuals may be unsure where to report suspected corruption, the form makes it easy for allegations to all be reported to one place, streamlining the process and allowing ISP to respond more quickly. The form is intended to only be used for public corruption allegations. ISP will triage all online submissions and determine the correct agency to handle the investigation.
The statewide SIU, founded by Director Kelly in March 2020, focuses on public corruption crimes and investigates criminal acts by elected officials and government appointees at all 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. The SIU has investigated 82 cases since its inception, including dozens of joint cases with federal law enforcement.
In one case, the 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. Following the investigation, the former commissioner faced 22 counts of felony charges. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of probation and $27,300 restitution.
In another case, the SIU investigated allegations of theft and fraud by a former county coroner. SIU found the former coroner and his wife used taxpayer dollars for nearly two years to fund interstate travel for their son’s sports tournaments, forged official documents and used a county credit card to buy gas for their personal vehicles. 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 ordered to repay $32,817.05, sentenced to six months in jail and four years of probation.
The online form can be found on the ISP website.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel
