County Sting Uncovers Stealing, Drinking, Sex On The Job
CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS) -- About 20 Cook County Forest Preserve District employees have been disciplined for on-the-job misconduct ranging from stealing to having sex to drinking alcohol and sleeping.
Some have been fired, some will never work for the county again and some alleged offenses are being passed on to prosecutors for possible criminal prosecution.
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The Cook County inspector general says the errant workers racked up nearly $190,000 in unjustified pay, including overtime they didn't work.
They are employees of the county's three pools, from seasonal workers to supervisors. Some were seen stealing cash, according to the report. Some were caught on tape having sex and drinking on the job and providing alcohol to minors.
Some were caught sleeping on the job. There was improper physical contact between a supervisor and a subordinate.
It all happened on former County Board President Todd Stroger's watch.
The inspector general was tipped to cash skimming and with the Illinois State Police secretly ran video cameras for 120 hours last summer.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said changes are already under way at the forest preserve district.
Forest Preserve Superintendant Arnold Randall took office in December, after the events took place. He sid nine workers at the pool were involved and all have been fired. The inspector general's office is also looking into eight administrators who should have been monitoring overtime, he said.
"Clearly the message at the time last year was you could get away with just about anything," Randall told CBS 2's Pamela Jones. "That is not going to be the message going forward."
