Let's start with two collegiate level accusations, starting on the South Side of Chicago.
From the Chicago Tribune:
A former City Colleges of Chicago professor falsified a doctoral degree to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent pay, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.Now over to the West Side. From NBC 5 Chicago:
Carol Howley, a nursing professor at Richard J. Daley College, was indicted on charges of theft of government property for allegedly pretending to be enrolled in doctoral classes at Rush University when she was hired in 1995. Two years later, she falsely claimed to have earned the doctorate and provided a forged transcript detailing the courses she claimed to have taken, prosecutors said Wednesday.
With pay based in part on educational experience, Howley was overpaid by $307,000, according to the charges.
The theft came to light when a Colorado employer considering whether to hire Howley tried to verify her doctoral degree, according to John A. Gasiorowski, the inspector general for City Colleges.
Natatia Trotter-Gordon, 43, is a former director of Business and Industry at Kennedy-King College who is charged with eight counts of forgery. She's accused of cashing $51,000 in checks meant for the school to her own personal account.Next we move on to the Chicago Public Schools. From ABC 7 Chicago:
Louis James, of Chicago, former sports administration manager for Chicago Public Schools, is accused of forging invoices to pay for personal items.These indictments are part of the brilliantly-named Operation Cookie Jar, which is investigating government corruption in the county.
"That included champagne, flowers, chocolates, condoms and a king size mattress," [Cook County State's Attorney Anita] Alvarez said.
Sonia Lopez, a former teaching assistant for CPS at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, is charged with issuing fraudulent checks and pocketing thousands of dollars.
"This is clear that it sends a message that not only will people be disciplined, they will go to jail. That is the message that needs to get out," James Sullivan, Board of Education Inspector General of the City of Chicago, said.
Yesterday I reported on a former suburban superintendent and a school board member who were indicted in Cook County--which adds up to six indictments in two days.
Earlier post:
Illinois corruption 8/21/12: School superintendent, board member, charged with theft
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