FBI Looking Into 'Mishandled Funds' At Chicago Heights Library

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The FBI is now looking into accusations of questionable spending at the Chicago Heights Public Library, Library Board President Jamie Paicely announced Tuesday. The library plans to take two former officials to court, and had asked for a criminal investigation after a forensic audit last year revealed more than $440,000 in "mishandled funds."

According to the library, former director Kelley Nichols-Brown made thousands of dollars worth of credit card purchases, payments and petty cash transactions that appear to have been personal in nature. Former board President Lori Wilcox was tasked with overseeing Nichols-Brown, but did not hold monthly oversight meetings as required. The library says it will sue to get that money back, and officials called on the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to investigate.

At Tuesday evening's library board meeting, Paicely told members she had been contacted by the FBI regarding the forensic audit. Attorney James Ciesil is handling the case, and said the board is ready to continue providing information as it's requested.

"We're going to fully cooperate with whatever the investigation[s] — with both the FBI and State's Attorney's Office — need. We are going to provide [information] to them," Ciesil said. "[We're going to] continue communicating with them and giving them the information they request."

The independent auditing firm — BKD CPAs & Advisors — concludes the 28-page report identified more than $440,000 of mishandled funds, including $93,000 of personal transactions and payments that Nichols-Brown authorized, $355 in petty cash transactions that appear to have benefited her personally, $39,130 of unapproved credit card purchases, and a payment of more than $307,577 that violated both library policy and Illinois state law.

"The library has a fiduciary responsibility to initiate both civil court action to recuperate unauthorized spending, as well as make a formal referral to the Cook County State's Attorney for a criminal investigation," Paicely said in a December statement.

The report does not allege any mishandling of funds directly by Wilcox, but blames her for poor oversight. According to the accounting firm's report, Wilcox was not holding regular monthly meetings as required — only 3 meetings total were held in 2019 and no meetings at all were held in January or February 2020, according to the release.

Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez did not reappoint Wilcox as board president in April 2020. Paicely was appointed in 2019 and elected by the board as the new president. She began an immediate review of her predecessor's financial management, leading to her decision to contract with an outside firm for a forensic audit, she said.

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