Former Kane County Circuit Clerk Tom Hartwell has been charged with numerous felony counts related to the misuse of public funds while in office.
In January 2021, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser notified the Illinois State Police’s Special Investigations Unit about what appeared to be misappropriated county funds by Hartwell. ISP, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Revenue, launched a two-year in-depth investigation.
According to SA Mosser, between December 2018 and November 2020, Hartwell, acting in his official capacity as the Circuit Court Clerk for Kane County, Illinois, misappropriated Kane County funds in the amount of $119,575. In addition, Hartwell is alleged to have received $15,000 in kickbacks from St. Charles businessman Robert Gutierrez.
In addition, Hartwell is accused of misappropriating Kane County funds to Gutierrez Productions, Inc., and Dar Illuminations, LLC, on mulitple occassions. Gutierrez is the president of both businesses.
The investigation revealed that Hartwell spent the county money to promote a May 2020 event billed as a PPE/care package giveaway, but actually was a political event for which county funds should not have been approved. In addition, Hartwell failed to report income on his 2018, 2019 and 2020 income taxes, and provided false information about his income in those years to his accountant.
On Tuesday, a Grand Jury indicted Hartwell for the offenses of:
- Theft by deception > $100,000, Class 1 felony
- Official misconduct, Class 3 felony, 7 counts
- Wire fraud, Class 3 felony, 6 counts
- Money laundering, Class 3 felony
- Government employee misapplying funds, Class 3 felony
- Income tax fraud, Class 4 felony, 3 counts
The grand jury indicted Gutierrez for the offenses of:
- Theft by deception > $100,000, Class 1 felony
- Theft by deception $10,000 > $100,000, Class 2 felony, 6 counts
- Providing kickbacks, Class 3 felony, 2 counts
After the indictments, a judge signed a warrant for the arrest of both men and set their bail at $20,000 each, with 10 percent ($2,000) to apply for bond. Authorities took both men into custody this morning at their homes, and both appeared today in Kane County bond court. Judge Salvatore LoPiccolo released both men from custody on their promise to appear in court, and set the next court appearance for each for May 26, 2023, at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 319 at the Kane County Judicial Center.
As conditions of bond, each man was ordered to surrender his passport and the men were ordered to have no contact with one another.
“The Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit is dedicated to seeking out those who betray the public trust,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said: This arrest is the result of a coordinated interagency investigation and we will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement and the justice system to pursue cases of misconduct and corruption.”
