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The OEIG released the report Tuesday. The summary shows 132
Department of Human Services employees, 25 Department of
Children and Family Services employees, eight Department of
Healthcare and Family Services employees, four Department of
Employment Security employees, three employees each from the
Department of Public Health and Department of Veterans’ Affairs
and one at each of the Department of Revenue and the Department
of Natural Resources have been identified “so far.”
“To date, the improper loans identified in these founded reports
total more than $4.5 million in public funds,” the report said.
“The OEIG’s PPP investigation project remains ongoing. These
numbers do not reflect a final total of OEIG founded reports or
a final total for any particular agency.”
Illinois’ OEIG investigation was initiated in 2022 to examine
whether employees with the state of Illinois abused the federal
taxpayer-funded program. PPP was instituted at the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to assist businesses in keeping
employees paid when state governments across the country limited
economic activity in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
“Because a preliminary review of the data revealed a large
number of such loans, the OEIG initially focused the
investigation on PPP loans of approximately $20,000 or more,”
the report said.
As of Sept. 12, the OEIG reported 438 PPP investigations were
initiated. About 200 were concluded with 177 being referred to a
law enforcement agency.
“State employees are expected to maintain the public’s trust and
confidence, and misappropriating public funds is far from acting
with integrity, or conducting oneself in a manner that reflects
favorably upon the State,” the report said. “Acting in such a
manner may result in the loss of employment.”
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