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November 22, 2024

OEIG Slams DCFS and Former Director George Sheldon –

By John Kraft & Kirk Allen

On July 28, 2017

SPRINGFIELD, IL. (ECWd) –

In a scathing OEIG Report, it was revealed that Department of Children and Family Services Director George Sheldon:

  • had improperly hired a “consultant”, Igor Anderson,
  • made improper payments to him out of his personal accounts,
  • consultant lacked any substantive work product,
  • admitted that hiring Anderson was a stupid move,
  • made a personal trip to Saugatuck, Michigan with a State vehicle and paying the consultant to drive
  • After Anderson’s contract was terminated, Director Sheldon paid for airfare and made other payments to Anderson
  • and more…

In addition, Igor Anderson, who was hired by Sheldon as a Confidential Assistant:

  • billed for hours he was on vacation in Florida during the Thanksgiving Holiday,
  • was asked to reimburse the State for work not performed, he never tendered payment
  • received a DUI while in Florida and still drove State vehicles without a driver’s license
  • failed to report his DUI and license suspension on is employment application

The report’s findings and conclusions state:

  • Director Sheldon mismanaged DCFS when he hired Igor Anderson
  • Anderson abused state time, failed to provide accurate time keeping records, and Director Sheldon approved Anderson’s initial time sheets
  • Anderson violated DCFS’s vehicle use policy and failed to disclose his license restrictions 0n state employment forms
  • Sheldon and Andrew Flach committed mismanagement when they commissioned work from the Zachary Group
  • DCFS committed mismanagement when they processed no-bid contracts as grants.

Director Sheldon resigned on May 31, 2017, to take employment as CEO of “Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Inc.,” in Florida.

Is there More?

  • DCFS’s contract with Five Points involved a person with whom Director Sheldon had and has a financial relationship, given that the contract specifically provided that Mr. Pantaleon would perform work under it.
  • DCFS Director George Sheldon took official action related to awarding a no-bid contract to Five Points, which was a contract involving a person with whom Director Sheldon had a financial relationship, in violation of DCFS ‘s conflict of interest policy and 89 Ill. Admin. Code 437.40(e).

Unfortunately, we do not yet know if Sheldon will receive retirement pay from his time working for the State of Illinois.

Even more unfortunate, it appears the evidence obtained and reported by the OEIG points to a clear violation of the Public Officers Prohibited Activities Act, yet there is no mention anywhere of that statute, nor any recommendation for criminal prosecution for violation of that statute, which would also point to Official Misconduct, a class three felony.

Illinois, where accountability appears to be non-existant for public officials!

And we wonder why people no longer trust their government? 

07.26.17 Sheldon, Anderson, and Flach Released Report

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4 Comments
  • Jason
    Posted at 22:39h, 29 July

    The Governors Office Christine McClernon who signed the recommendations acceptance is about as crooked as you can get. She has written letters to state agencies telling them that if a FOIA response is going to hurt the Governor, that she needs to clear it.

    Back to the Matter at hand. This happens in almost every agency. Take at look at CNSI the contractor whom does business with HFS on a no bid contract (IGA) for now over 50 million and even skipped requesting money from the Appropriations. So where does an agency find 50 million? Oh I know… Mike Casey whom has been found for 9 years to have cooked the books by the Attorney Generals office said he made a 200 million simple accounting mistake. Fine then put the money back into the GRF and quit using ‘found’ money for pet projects.

    Take a look at the contractor CNSI and you will find that they were giving legislators money whom are on the appropriations committee.

  • James J Pancrazio
    Posted at 08:01h, 29 July

    Given the prevalence of managerial “carpet-bagging” it would be worthwhile for us in Illinois to become more aware of how these hires occur in the first place. As many are aware, the DCFS is only as good as the people that file reports and follow up on reports. The agency before Sheldon was rocked with scandal: one resident home for troubled youth was linked to sexual exploitation and there was a high profile incident of a child’s death after the DCFS cleared an incident. Into this atmosphere comes a slick, good interviewing (eloquent or slick talking) knight in shining armour that’s working in another state. That is, he’s not committed to the state he lives in; he’s committed to presenting himself as the savior for another state. His sales pitch, in this case, was new technology. People usually eat this stuff up because the huckster makes it sound easy. Only problem is that technology is only as good as the person operating it. Nonetheless, this sells. The state offers the carpet bagger a fat contract to lure him away from his other job, and maybe the previous state is glad he’s moving on, and this free agency drives the so-called market value sky high. The same thing happens when school boards and universities conduct national searches; they inflate cost by dreaming of white knights that will magically make problems disappear. End of rant, sorry.

  • Sgt. Joe Friday (LAPD Ret.)
    Posted at 23:25h, 28 July

    Indictments ?

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