Two Illinois State Police officers from the Chicago area are suspected of defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program that provided loans to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On their loan applications, one said he ran a sports program for kids, listing “babysitting” as the primary purpose of his business. The other said he was a “handyman.”
The agency has filed complaints against the officers with the Illinois State Police Merit Board, which metes out discipline.
The state police released the complaints in response to a public records request the Chicago Sun-Times made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act but denied a request for other documents, including personnel records and disclosures of secondary employment, citing “active criminal investigations.”