Federal agents raided the offices of three suburban villages, including one governed by a mayor who doubles as a Cook County commissioner. All three are in the district of state Sen. Martin Sandoval, also the subject of a federal raid.
A trio of west suburban villages in Cook County were the latest subjects of an escalating federal corruption probe in Illinois, with all three in the district of a state senator who also was the target of federal raids two days earlier.
On Sept. 26, FBI agents raided government offices in the villages of McCook, Lyons and Summit, accompanied by officers from the IRSâ Criminal Investigation Division, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Federal agents searched the village halls of each of the three suburbs, in addition to Getty Insurance, where Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty is president. Gettyâs family owns the firm, according to the villageâs website.
An FBI spokesperson in a statement described the McCook and Lyons raids as âauthorized law enforcement activity,â according to the Tribune, which the agency distinguished from the âinvestigative activityâ conducted in Summit.
McCook village attorney Gary Perlman told the Chicago Sun-Times the search warrant sought information concerning âvarious contractors that have done work with the village.â McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski, who has held the villageâs top public office since 2007, has simultaneously served as a Cook County Board commissioner since 2010.