Mattoon, Ill. (ECWd) –
Mattoon School District #2 Board Member John Hedges has filed three false Statement of Economic Interest (“SEI”) forms in at least the past two years.
True and correct SEIs are mandatory for certain elected and appointed officials in the state of Illinois – school board members are on that mandatory list.
For his 2023 SEI (see page 1 and page 2), Hedges indicated in paragraph 4 of his SEI for the Mattoon School Board that he did not have any employment with any unit of government in the preceding calendar year. The ILETSB police officer search indicates he was hired as a Mattoon Police Officer on March 24, 2005, and remains active. The city of Mattoon is a unit of government and Hedges was employed by that unit of government as a police officer.
The John Hedges for Mattoon School Board Facebook page indicates he was hired by the Mattoon Police Department in 2005 (here).
He signed this SEI on March 14, 2023, indicating that is was a true and complete statement of his economic interests as required under the Illinois governmental Ethics Act, and that he knows the penalty for willfully filing a false or incomplete statement shall be a fine not to exceed $2,500, or imprisonment in a penal institution other than a penitentiary not to exceed one year, or both fine and imprisonment.
His 2024 SEI as a school board member filed in April 2024, indicates the same and is also false (HERE).
His 2024 SEI for candidacy filed in November 2024, indicates the same and is also false (HERE).
We reached out to Hedges and left a message with the Mattoon Police Department for him to contact us, but he has not responded as of the date of this publication.
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