By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Illinois State Police are investigating the Colchester Fire Protection District following the resignations of its chief and assistant chief in June, according to Kirk Allen, co-founder of the government watchdog group Edgar County Watchdogs.
Allen said the district’s former assistant chief returned missing memorial fund money through a certified check after being confronted about the shortfall. “If I go to jail, I go to jail,” Allen said the assistant chief told him. “I think he knew it was wrong,” Allen said.
Allen said state police have also obtained text messages indicating district personnel used the department’s fuel pump to fill up personal vehicles. “A boatload of evidence has been turned over to them, including text messages that acknowledge there’s been people stealing fuel,” Allen said.
Allen said internal text messages also point to falsified emergency run times. Colchester firefighters are paid per call, and Allen said the altered times appear to have been used to inflate pay.
Allen said the former assistant chief has a prior arson conviction. He said the former chief, who also held a position with a county sheriff’s office, has since moved to a chief deputy role in another county. An interim chief brought in after the two resignations has also resigned, Allen said.
Co-host Jeannie Ives noted during Wednesday’s broadcast that the allegations described by Allen could amount to multiple crimes, including run-time fraud, fuel fraud and theft of memorial funds.
“The rule of law just seems to be no longer applied anymore,” Allen said. “It’s become a culture.”
The Colchester Fire Protection District serves the Colchester area of McDonough County. The amount of money missing from the memorial fund has not been publicly disclosed. The status of the state police investigation was not immediately available.
