Illinois State Police announces online form to report suspected public
corruption
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[December 01, 2023]
SPRINGFILED – 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.”
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Dec/01/images/ads/current/napa_sda_HFH_2023.png)
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.
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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.
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