Former Madison school superintendent charged with stealing over $40K from district
The former superintendent of Madison School District 12 and her niece, who also once worked for the district, have been charged with the theft of more than $50,000 from the schools, the county prosecutor and school district attorney confirmed.
Warletta C. Brookins, the former superintendent, and her niece, Tanika L. Johnson, have been charged with theft of over $10,000 and less than $100,000 as well as official misconduct.
Neither Brookins, 56, nor Johnson, 45, could be reached for comment on Friday. The online Madison County court records did not indicate whether either woman has an attorney.
“The former superintendent is accused of stealing approximately $41,360 from the school district for personal use during the time period of January 1, 2017, to September 19, 2018,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons said in a news release on Friday.
Johnson was charged in connection with $10,203 stolen from the school district, Gibbons said.
Barney Mundorf, the attorney for the Madison District 12 School Board, said Brookins resigned as superintendent on Sept. 19, 2018, and that Johnson, who was an accounts payable/accounts receivables employee, was terminated Aug. 27, 2018.
Mundorf said the district contacted the FBI Public Corruption Task Force of Southern Illinois when discrepancies were noted in some district expenditures in the summer of 2018.
This investigation lead to the resignation of Brookins and the termination of Johnson, Mundorf said.
“Since her resignation, the district has been cooperating with law enforcement officials as part of an ongoing investigation into the uses of the school district funds, the taxpayer money,” Mundorf said of Brookins.
The board had not been able to comment prior to the charges being filed nor can it provide further on details of the investigation, Mundorf said.
“I can tell you on behalf of the board, they’re very pleased that the state’s attorney in Madison County has pursued and filed criminal charges,” he said. “The board’s interest is to ensure that taxpayer money is accounted for and individuals are held accountable if taxpayer money is not used for public purpose.”
Mundorf said Brookins’ base salary at the time of her appointment in 2016 was $137,900. Her salary at the time of her resignation was not immediately available.
Brookins earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University in Chicago, according to a News-Democrat article about her hiring as the Madison superintendent in 2016. Brookins previously served as superintendent of the Pembroke School District in Hopkins Park, Illinois.
She began her teaching career in East St. Louis School District 189. She also was a former reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat and a Peoria newspaper.
In her resignation letter to the Madison School District 12 board in 2018, Brookins listed 40 “accomplishments” that occurred during her tenure as superintendent. These items included “return of football after nearly 30 years” and “bringing transportation in house saving about $350,000 per year.”
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department said neither Brookins nor Johnson had been booked at the Madison County Jail as of Friday afternoon.
“As a public official, it is disheartening to see fellow public employees take from the pockets of taxpaying citizens. It is discouraging to see that a leader of a school district had more interest in herself than the students she served,” Gibbons said in his news release.
The theft charge is a Class 1 felony and the official misconduct charge is a Class 3 felony. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty for a Class 1 felony of up to 15 years in prison and the maximum penalty for a Class 3 felony is up to five years in prison, Gibbons said.
The bail for each woman was set at $50,000.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 2:27 PM.
