Lake County Gazette

The Waukegan City Council was unsuccessful in passing an ordinance aimed at suspending additional responsibilities assigned to the city clerk's office under the Waukegan Code of Ordinances. The city clerk, Kilkelly, is currently facing indictment for alleged misconduct and misappropriation of funds.

According to the agenda from the Waukegan City Council's meeting on March 18, the proposed ordinance would not have eliminated duties assigned to the clerk under the Illinois Municipal Code. However, the initiative to suspend her city code-assigned duties was rejected by a 5-4 vote. Alderpersons Donnewirth, Bolton, Martinez, Newsome, and Turner voted against it while Alderpersons Florian, Hayes, Guzman, and Felix were in favor of the suspension.

A press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reveals that Kilkelly's first court date concerning the 15-count indictment is scheduled for April 2 at 9 a.m. This indictment was issued on March 13 following an extensive investigation by the Illinois State Police.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office's press release further states that Kilkelly is accused of unlawfully granting credits to Waukegan businesses applying for liquor and gambling licenses. These credits were intended solely for businesses in "good standing." The indictment alleges that she distributed thousands of dollars in credits to businesses that did not meet this criterion.

State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart expressed his views on this matter in his office's press release: "Public officials must be held to the highest standards. I want to thank the Illinois State Police for their diligent, thorough, and fair investigation into this matter," said Rinehart. "Taxpayers lost a significant amount of revenue. The City Clerk violated the public trust when she ignored her own recommendation and the final decision of the Waukegan City Council."

The case will be prosecuted by Chief Kevin Berrill and ASA Russell Caskey of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office Financial Crimes & Public Integrity Unit, according to another press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. This unit collaborated with the Illinois State Police on the case in 2023 and 2024.