Metro East Sun

On the heels of a report of a massive overpayment of pandemic funds from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Rep. Amy Elik shared information about investigations into state workers who are accused of fraudulently obtaining funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). She shared a link to a Capitol News Illinois report about the issue in her Aug. 3 Facebook post.

"Dozens of state employees across multiple agencies are under investigation for claims they fraudulently obtained payments from the Paycheck Protection Program," she said.

The Aug. 3 report from Capitol News Illinois quotes Neil Olson, general counsel at the Office of the Executive Inspector General in Illinois.

“OEIG has been investigating allegations of Paycheck Protection Program fraud by state employees under our jurisdiction,” Olson said, acknowledging that the review involves multiple state agencies and the other governing bodies under OEIG’s jurisdiction, which include state universities, boards, commissions and regional transit boards.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on July 15 that five Cook County workers may have committed fraud with the Paycheck Protection Program, with some using the money for extravagant events. The paper reports that the five employees obtained more than $240,000 with fraudulent claims, in addition to 20 others who were suspected of misusing the program. The paper reports that Interim Inspector General Steven Cyranoski said all five of the most recent Cook County employees have been fired, resigned or are being terminated. He did not name any of the specific employees.

In a July 14 report, CBS News detailed the explanations of county employees and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) employees who were accused of defrauding the PPP program. The Cook County Inspector General’s report outlined the allegations against nine individuals, including five from Cook County and four from MWRD. The report includes the inspector general’s report regarding an MWRD police officer who reported the funds that arrived in her bank was a gift. 

“The subject employee's story is not credible for numerous reasons, including that personal information such as her social security number and banking information was used to obtain the loan. It is also unlikely that a trained law enforcement officer would believe that a mere acquaintance would simply give her $20,833 or that she would not be suspicious about how he obtained such a large sum of money,” the report stated.

One of the nine employees has resigned, according to CBS. All were recommended for firing.

Elik was first elected to the Illinois House in 2020. A Republican, her legislative experience includes serving on the Transportation: Regulation, Roads and Revenue & Finance. Elik is a state representative who resides in Fosterburg, according to the Illinois House.