Tolono man charged with stealing thousands while working for village parks department
Feb. 19—TOLONO — A former director of the Tolono Parks District has been charged with multiple counts of theft, the most severe 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 thefts and official misconduct took place between January 2015 and November 2021.
The first of four theft charges allege he stole between $10,000 and $100,000 between March 2016 and November 2021 by using the Tolono Parks District credit card, bank account and Menards rebate coupons to purchase items and services for personal use.
The other theft charges each allege that he stole between $500 and $10,000.
The second theft count alleges he used the Tolono Park District credit card between August 2019 and February 2021 to buy fuel for private use.
The third theft count alleges he used the Tolono Parks District bank account between December 2019 and June 2021 to buy a lawn mower for private use.
The last theft count alleges he used the Tolono Park 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 Tolono officers started investigating Grace in November 2021 after a group of Tolono residents filed a police report.
Brown recalled that a group of Tolono residents raised concerns about what they saw as deteriorating conditions in the village's three parks and started attending park district board meetings.
Members of the group then filed a Freedom of Information Act request to look into the board's purchases and obtained documents, including a credit card statement that "looked unusual," Brown said.
Brown's investigation found that Grace first got elected to the board in 2001 and served as a commissioner until he resigned during an Oct. 13, 2014 meeting, when the other commissioners appointed him as Tolono Park District's operating director.
Notably, the Tolono Parks District Board is a separate entity from the Village Tolono.
The Tolono Park district collects its own revenue from property taxes, donations, fees and rentals. Its board is run by 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.
As the Tolono Police Department only consisted of three officers at the time and Brown planned to begin campaigning for sheriff in August 2022, the deputy chief handed off the investigation into Grace's conduct to Illinois State Police in July 2022.
The Tolono Park District Board's online record of minutes last listed Grace as its director in a Dec. 16, 2021 meeting. The board's minutes do not list Grace attending as a director in any of its subsequent meetings.
Minutes from a Jan. 20, 2022 meeting show that a member of the audience apparently raised concerns about Grace's actions and recommended termination from his role.
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.
