Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office secured a guilty plea from Scott Russell, a former suburban public works director. Russell, 60, from Riverside, Illinois, admitted guilt to a Class 2 felony for the theft of governmental property. He was ordered to pay restitution of $1,139.42 to the Village of Westchester and received a sentence of two years of second-chance probation and 30 hours of public service work by Cook County Circuit Court Judge James Novy.
"Government employees – whether they work at the local, state, or federal level – are charged with carrying out the work of the people they serve and must be held to a higher standard," said Raoul. "I will continue to partner with local and state agencies to hold accountable anyone who defrauds the public."
Russell was charged in September 2023 following an Illinois State Police investigation, which found he had used a Village of Westchester credit card to purchase a bathtub for personal use. The case was managed by Senior Assistant Attorney General Haley Bookhout and Assistant Attorney General Tim Nimrod.