Former Tolono Park District director charged with stealing thousands from agency

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TOLONO — A former director of the Tolono Park District has been charged with multiple counts of theft, the greatest alleging he stole at least $10,000 from the government.

The Illinois Attorney General's office filed charges last Monday against Randall Grace, 63, of Tolono, that allege he committed four counts of theft of government property, four counts of official misconduct and one count of forgery.

Court records state that the alleged crimes took place between January 2015 and November 2021.

The first of the theft charges claims he stole from $10,000 to $100,000 between March 2016 and November 2021 by using the Tolono Park District's credit card, bank account and Menards rebate coupons to purchase items and services for personal use.

The other theft charges each allege he committed crimes valued at between $500 and $10,000:

* The second contends he used the Tolono Park District credit card between August 2019 and February 2021 to buy fuel for private use.

* The third that he used the Tolono Park District bank account between December 2019 and June 2021 to buy a lawn mower for private use.

* The last that he used the district's Menards 11 percent rebate receipts between January 2015 and November 2021 to purchase personal items and services.

The forgery charge alleges that Grace signed an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Grant Certification Form on Dec. 26, 2018, to indicate all expenses and work in the grant were complete.

John Brown, deputy chief of the Tolono Police Department, said he started investigating Grace in November 2021 after a couple of Tolono residents filed a police report.

Robert Kolakowski, a Tolono resident of over 40 years, said he lives and grew up across the street from Tolono's West Side Park. He observed that the park's basketball court lights didn't work, there were broken outlet boxes and signs that needed to be replaced, he said.

Kolakowski wondered why the village's parks, in his eyes, received no upkeep. After he heard other residents also expressing concerns about how Tolono's three parks were managed, he decided to attend a park board meeting and ask the commissioners why the parks weren't better maintained.

The answer he received from the board was that the park district had no money, Kolakowski said. Unsatisfied with that answer, he and another local resident started submitting Freedom of Information Act requests in July 2021 to obtain documents related to the board's finances.

"That's when we started digging into their budget, just to see where their money was going, and there's a lot of things that just didn't make sense," Kokalowski said. "So I didn't go into this intending on it to be what it was; it just kind of evolved."

First, he said they FOIA'd the board's budget and previous-year budgets. The first red flag Kolakowski noticed were unusually large expenses attributed to a park concession stand, he said.

Kolakowski then inquired about a $8,800 line item in the board's budget for a commercial lawn mower and vacuum from Awesome Machines in Savoy. As he understood it, there was no reason for the board to purchase a mower because the district had previously hired contractors for its lawn care.

A July 2021 email shared with The News-Gazette shows that Grace sent Kolakowski an explanation.

"November 2019 I was informed by the mowing contractor there was a strong possibility they would not renew for 2020. Wanting to be proactive I thought we could hire a park employee to do our mowing with Park District equipment," Grace wrote.

"Awesome Machines had a used commercial mower that I put a 'hold' on. Problem was the salesman inadvertently ran the check thru before confirmation from the mowing contractor or Board approval at the January meeting. He is no longer is employed there. In February I was informed by the mowing contractor they would be back for 2020 at the same 2019 price. After COVID issues and a 'long term' commitment from the mowing contractor the mower was sold at no financial loss to the Park District," Grace continued.

In November 2021, Kolakowski obtained statements from the Tolono Park District's credit card.

Statements shared with The News-Gazette show at least $3,327.92 was charged to the park credit card in various fuel purchases between April 2019 and March 2021.

The statements also show numerous charges at Casey's General Stores and various charges at a Champaign Menards, Haymakers and Rural King. There's also a charge to a Champaign Steak 'n Shake and Monical's Pizza in Tolono.

Brown's investigation found that Grace first got elected to the board in 2001. Grace served as a commissioner until he stepped down from that role, and the other commissioners appointed him as the Tolono Park District's operating director during an Oct. 13, 2014, meeting.

Notably, the Tolono Park District Board is a separate entity from the Village of Tolono. The entity collects its own revenue from property taxes, donations, fees and rentals. Board commissioners are volunteers who do not receive monetary compensation.

But as director, Grace received an annual salary of $10,000 and 7 percent of new construction costs paid by the board, Brown said.

The Tolono Park District Board's online record of minutes last listed Grace as its director in a Dec. 16, 2021, meeting.

Kolakowski shared records of the lawn mower and credit card purchases with the board during that meeting, and Grace resigned as director after the board held a closed-session, Kolakowski recalled.

The park board's minutes do not list Grace attending as its director in any meetings subsequent to its December 2021 session.

As the Tolono Police Department only consisted of three officers at the time and Brown planned to campaign for sheriff in August 2022, the deputy chief handed off his investigation into Grace's conduct to Illinois State Police in July 2022.

Grace was issued a summons on Feb. 15 to appear before a judge in the Champaign County Courthouse on March 7.

While Grace will be tried in Champaign County, he will be prosecuted by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office, not Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz's office.

Grace faces four to 15 years in prison for the theft of government property, a Class 1 felony. He faces two to five years in prison for official misconduct and forgery, both Class 3 felonies.