HFS – Steve Hilgers~Investigator II, Office of the Inspector General Bureau of Internal Affairs, Terminated –

Illinois – (ECWd) –

For those who may have missed this article on HFS badge toting internal investigator getting a promotion even though he was arrested, plead guilty, lied on his application, and then took vacation time to serve his jail time, you need to read that article before reading any further.

Stephen S. Hilgers, an Internal Security Investigator for the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Office of Inspector General Internal Affairs division has now been terminated and it is evident from the timeline of the investigation report the article we posted was the trigger that made this happen.

As a result of an investigation conducted by the Office of Executive Inspector General, it was concluded that Mr. Hilgers misrepresented a material fact on his December 3, 2007, CMS 100 Employment Form when he falsely stated that he had never pled guilty to or been convicted of any criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation.

My article linked above exposed this very fact:

Q – “Have you ever pled guilty to or been convicted of a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation?”

Answer – “NO”

As we understand it, our article got the attention of Garret Discovery, who filed a formal OIG complaint on the matter.  It appears that complaint began the internal investigation that led to the termination of this employee.  It should be noted that this termination of a top investigator for HFS was a termination for cause and not white washed by allowing him to resign.

Additionally, the report stated:

The arrest or criminal indictment of an employee in Mr. Hilgers’ position with HFS, as an Internal Security Investigator II, raises considerable doubts concerning the employee’s suitability for continued State employment in the present assignment of job position as he has not met the expectation that he conduct himself in a responsible, professional manner, refraining from conduct that could adversely affect the State of Illinois and/or the confidence of the public.

That statement tells me there is in fact hope in this state in the people’s ability to begin trusting their government once again.  Although this is only one case, it is an important one that would have never happened had one citizen not stepped up and tipped us off to what was going on with key people working for the state.

Citizen involvement can work wonders when applied properly.  My thanks to the OIG investigators who handled this case and those who chose to do the right thing and terminate him.

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