DeKalb, IL. (ECWd) –
Grab some popcorn because this one is one that plays out like a comedy, if only it weren’t true…
To be fair, this is not simply a Northern Illinois University problem, it appears to be a problem across all levels of state government.
Let’s say you are a state employee and work for, oh, NIU. You decide the above average paycheck and pension and healthcare and vacation days and all the other perks that come along with this state job are just too boring, you need to kick it up a notch and throw some parties…give some gifts…attend other social functions…just not with your own money. So you wake up one morning and say “Self, let’s go sell some “excess” stuff from our job-sites so we can pay for all these parties“, and that’s what you do… I forgot to mention you put the money in a private bank account…
This goes on for awhile and you are feeling proud of yourself because obviously no one is watching and you just keep on doing it, until, one day you find out someone was watching…and now you are facing felony criminal charges for theft, unauthorized control of public property, official misconduct, and a misdemeanor violation of the State Property Act.
Now what do you do?
You get an attorney, fight the charges brought against you by the State’s Attorney’s Office until you see no light at the end of the tunnel, then you make a plea deal to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge if they drop all the felony charges. Cool! It happens all the time.
What happens next should shock the citizens of this state…
Now that these employees have plead guilty to criminal charges, they need a way to pay for their attorney – No better way than to have the State pay it for them!
That’s right, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University gave away taxpayer money to pay the attorneys of three convicted criminals who got caught violating the law, while at work, at the University – AND – it is perfectly legal and within the rights of the Board to pay their attorney fees because their By-Laws and Board Policies specifically state that they can indemnify employees and officers, and pay their attorney fees incurred as long as it is not “ajudged” that the employees are found guilty and they were “acting in good faith” that they were acting in the best interest of the school and that they were not aware that they were acting unlawful.
The Board determined these people were acting in good faith when they were depositing state money in private bank accounts and throwing parties.
Isn’t that nice…especially since I don’t know of any prosecutors that would prosecute a state employee if they could not prove actual knowledge (frame of mind) that they were violating the law, and with the intent to violate the law.
Here is a recap: Get caught pilfering materials from job-sites and putting the money in private bank accounts, plead guilty, and the taxpayers pick up the attorney bills for your defense. Must be another perk of the job…
