A Lake County judge Friday morning dismissed the criminal case against Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkelly, ruling that the state’s testimonies misled the grand jury and caused “a complete denial of due process.”
Kilkelly, who is the city clerk for Waukegan, was charged by a Lake County grand jury on March 13 in a 15-count indictment.
Kilkelly faced charges of official misconduct and misapplication of funds after an “extensive investigation” by the Illinois State Police, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Kilkelly pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges, which are Class 3 felonies.
The charges are non-detainable under the Illinois SAFE-T Act and Kilkelly was released after she signed a pre-trial conditions order.
Kilkelly was accused in the indictment of illegally providing credits to Waukegan businesses that were applying for liquor and gambling licenses.
Prosecutors said the city council and Kilkelly’s own office “repeatedly established” that the credit would only go to businesses that were in “good standing.”
Despite the language of the ordinance and Kilkelly’s recommendation to the city council, Kilkelly gave thousands of dollars in credits to businesses that did not qualify for the financial support, prosecutors said.
The indictment said those businesses not in good standing that received the credits were Live Star Banquet Hall, Isla del Mar #2, Taqueria Toluca #2, Golf Road Citgo and Create Your Own Cheesecake and Cheesesteak.
Kilkelly was indicted after an Illinois State Police special agent, David Juergensen, presented charges and testified before the grand jury.
Kilkelly’s attorneys – Donald Morrison, James Bertucci and Ricardo Meza – later filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against her.
Lake County Deputy Chief Judge Patricia Fix granted the motion Friday morning, citing flawed testimonies by the state’s witness that ultimately led to a “complete denial of due process.”
Special Agent Juergensen was the sole witness called by the state to testify at the grand jury proceedings in March.
“Juergensen explained that under the Waukegan City Code of Ordinances, Sam Cunningham, Mayor of Waukegan from 2017 to 2021, also acted as the Local Liquor Control Commissioner,” Fix said in her order to grant the motion.
“In this capacity, Mayor Cunningham had the authority to appoint one Deputy Local Liquor Control Commissioner,” Fix added.
Juergensen testified at the grand jury proceeding that in around 2017, then-mayor Cunningham appointed Kilkelly to serve as the deputy local liquor control commissioner.
He further testified that Kilkelly remained in that position through June 2021 and that Kilkelly possessed the final authority to issue and approve liquor and gaming licenses.
However, Cunningham and current Mayor Ann Taylor both testified that they never appointed Kilkelly as the deputy local liquor control commissioner.
“This testimony was false. This testimony is material as to the charges of Official Misconduct and Misapplication of Funds,” Fix said.
Juergensen also testified that some of the businesses that applied for the COVID-19 credit relief were in good standing, but “the greatest majority were not in good standing.”
Juergensen specifically informed the jury that the business Live Star Banquet Hall was not in good standing “because that business did not have proper fire department approval, water department approval and was not current in its food and beverage taxes.”
Juergensen also testified that the business Isla del Mar #2 was not in good standing because they owed food and beverage taxes.
He further informed the grand jury that the business Taqueria Toluca #2 was not in good standing because “its water bills were past due, its business license was past due and its food and beverage fees were not paid.”
Juergensen similarly testified that the business Golf Road Citgo was not in good standing because “its business license fees were past due dating back to 2019 and also because it was not in compliance with food and beverage taxes dating back to October 2019.”
Juergensen lastly testified that the business Create Your Own Cheesecake and Cheesesteak (C.Y.O.C.) “was not in good standing because of unpaid invoices and also that the food and beverage taxes dating back to April 2019 were not current.”
Juergensen told the grand jury that Kilkelly approved the application for COVID-19 credit for each of the businesses that were not in good standing.
A grand juror questioned whether a business in bad standing could get the relief.
Juergensen responded that “the resolution that we speak of was the one that would offer a credit, and it was specific in good standing.”
However, Juergensen later told the court he had “his own personal idea” of what “good standing” meant.
A definition for “good standing” was not included in the resolution.
“As a result, the court finds that Juergensen presented false and misleading testimony concerning his definition of the term “in good standing” as the definition of “in good standing” to the Grand Jury,” Fix said.
The judge ruled that since there is no definition of ineligible businesses, “it is impossible to charge Defendant with abuses in the application of the Covid credits.”
“Juergensen’s testimony led the grand jury to believe otherwise, establishing probable cause where none existed and substantially influencing the grand jury’s decision to indict,” Fix said.
Fix also ruled that the state did not meet the necessary requirements for indicting Kilkelly on official misconduct because the lack of definition for “good standing” meant there were not enough allegations to show that Kilkelly violated an identifiable statute, rule, regulation, or tenet of a professional code, citing precedent from the 2006 Illinois Supreme Court case of People v. Grever.
“Prosecutors assess evidence and potential legal violations and ultimately inform the grand jury of the proposed charges and the pertinent law,” Fix added.
“Police and prosecutors’ roles are intertwined with both bearing reciprocally weighty responsibilities to uncover and analyze all relevant facts and evidence upon reviewing charges and requesting indictments.”
“Inexplicably and sadly, in this case, performance in these roles was sorely deficient, causing the grand jury to be misled as to critical and material information directly relevant to all of the charges,” Fix said.
“In the matter before this court, Defendant contends that the State presented false and misleading evidence in two respects that together establish a clear denial of due process warranting dismissal of the indictment.”
Fix further ruled that “so much misleading and false information was presented to the grand jury on material issues that the denial of due process is unequivocally clear.”
“In conclusion, the court finds the State’s presentation of a wholly inaccurate definition of the role of Defendant as Deputy Local Liquor Control Commissioner, coupled with the witnesses unsubstantiated personal definition of the term “in good standing” to be false, misleading and material and as such, affected the grand jury deliberations in a way that caused prejudice, actual and substantial, and a complete denial of due process,” Fix concluded.
Kilkelly’s three attorneys issued a joint statement after the case was dismissed, saying that they are “very thankful.”
“We were always confident that Janet was 100% innocent of all charges and today’s ruling confirms that. Justice has prevailed,” her attorneys said.
Kilkelly said in her statement that she is “very pleased” that the charges against her were dismissed.
“The past several months has been extremely stressful for me, my family and friends. With this ruling, I am very grateful this is finally over,” Kilkelly said.
Kilkelly thanked her attorneys and Waukegan residents who supported her “during this very difficult time.”
“As someone who has dedicated over 40 years of their life to the Waukegan community, I promise to continue serving and helping all Waukegan residents as their City Clerk.”
Kilkelly said that she now plans on spending the upcoming holiday season continuing to do her job and spending time with her family and friends.