Category Archives: Significant Activity Reports

On July 1, 2021, Carrie M. Austin, Alderman of the 34th Ward, and Chester Wilson Jr., her Chief of Staff, were indicted on federal bribery offenses related to home improvements from construction contractors seeking city assistance for a development in Austin’s ward. Austin was charged with one count of conspiring to use interstate facilities to […]

On May 13, 2021, Patrick Daley Thompson, Alderman of the 11th Ward, entered a plea of not guilty to all counts at an arraignment conducted by the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama. Thompson was indicted on federal charges, including five counts of willfully filing a false income tax return (26 U.S.C. 7206(1)) and two counts of […]

On April 6, 2021, John McClendon was sentenced to two years of probation, six months of home detention, and paid $11,743.19 in restitution. McClendon, owner and president of McClendon Holdings LLC, was indicted on federal charges, including four counts of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343), for defrauding the City of Chicago by falsifying price increases […]

On February 5, 2019, John McClendon, owner and president of McClendon Holdings LLC, was indicted on federal criminal charges, including four charges of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343) for defrauding the City of Chicago, by falsifying price increases in two City contracts that were secured in 2014 and 2015. The indictment alleges that McClendon won […]

Judge Sara Ellis of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sentenced former Public Building Commission (PBC) Manager of Payroll and Benefits Tara Smith to 36 months of probation, 200 hours of community service, and restitution in the amount of $51,018 to PBC and $40,371 to the Internal Revenue Service, for […]

On October 5, 2018, John Balzano pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1 million from the City of Chicago via a contracting pass-through scheme. Standing before Circuit Court Judge Kenneth J. Wadas, Mr. Balzano plead guilty to one Class 1 felony of theft of government property (720 ILCS 5/16-1(a)(2)) and one Class 2 felony of fraudulently […]