Overview
- The Office of the Executive Inspector General reported reasonable cause in 378 of 501 completed investigations through fiscal 2025, finding many loans were obtained with falsified information.
- More than 100 state workers across departments received over $2.8 million, with many loans around $20,000 and some exceeding $41,000.
- Over 200 employees resigned or were terminated following findings that often included undisclosed outside businesses, with termination recommended in substantiated cases.
- The Illinois attorney general has pursued several referrals, securing guilty pleas that typically resulted in probation, community service, or restitution, including a case involving $49,000 for a fictitious catering business.
- Local probes continue: Cook County’s watchdog logged 65 findings and the sheriff’s office sustained violations against 62 employees after 163 reviews, while Chicago’s inspector general has nine findings to date after initially flagging nearly 1,000 loans, with about 60 investigations open for more than a year and two referred for prosecution.