Residents and officials of Elgin Township were outraged last fall when former Supervisor David J. Reinert confessed to embezzling at least $557,000 in state and federal monies during his 23 years in office.
They decided to do more than just complain. They attended court hearings, signed petitions and balked when prosecutors agreed to a plea bargain that allowed Reinert to serve as little as 24 months in prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Ann Williams agreed with the critics and sentenced Reinert, whose actions have wreaked financial havoc on the township, to 34 months in federal prison-four months more than the maximum sentence agreed upon by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
In addition to the sentence, Reinert, 57, must pay $591,400 in restitution and perform 1,000 hours of community service.
“I’ve never seen a case that cries for an upward departure (in sentencing) more than this one,” Williams said. “The impact of this fraud has directly affected the lives of Elgin Township.”
Reinert, who served as supervisor from 1969 to 1993, stood quietly, staring at the floor of the federal court in Chicago as Williams told him that his theft of at least $557,000 “was a sohpisticated crime” that had created significant disruptions in township services.
“What I did was terribly wrong,” Reinert said in a barely audible voice. “I’m here to take my punishment.”
Doug Johnson, the current Elgin Township supervisor, said he was “quite pleased” with the sentence imposed on Reinert. However, Johnson, who last week presented the government with petitions signed by more than 3,000 voters seeking the maximum penalty for Reinert, said he believes an additional $250,000 of township money is still missing.
“But we haven’t been able to get the bank records” to confirm that, he said.
While Reinert’s additional prison time may bring comfort to some, it may not be able to ease the financial pain being experienced by six local social service agencies, which lost almost $50,000 that Reinert had promised to allocate to them.
“We have had seriously mentally ill people who have had to wait three to six weeks to see a therapist and up to nine weeks to see a psychiatrist,” said Dan Boehmer, executive director of the Ecker Center for Mental Health.
The scene is the same at the Jayne Shover Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center, where almost two dozen clients find themselves on waiting lists. The center serves 1,600 people with disabilities annually.
Officials from the six agencies forwarded statements to the judge regarding hardships caused by the funding deficit.
In September, Reinert was charged and subsequently pleaded guilty to federal charges of mail fraud and income tax fraud. Reinert also has pleaded guilty to similar state charges, but has not yet been sentenced. Authorities began investigating the former supervisor in late April-shortly after his re-election loss that spring.
The charges against Reinert ended an 18-year scam in which the supervisor siphoned between $5,450 and $132,750 a year in township funds and used them to prop up a string of businesses-including a self-service laundry and a sporting-goods store-that eventually failed.
At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Atty. John H. Newman portrayed Reinert as a Jekyll and Hyde figure who publicly espoused concern for the citizens he represented while privately plundering the public till for his own gain. In short, Newman said, Reinert had operated the Elgin Township government as a “personal fiefdom for his own benefit.”
According to prosecutors, from 1975 to 1993 Reinert embezzled more than $557,000 of township money, shifting funds into various bank accounts for the purpose of pooling excess tax revenue. Prosecutors also found that Reinert used Elgin Township funds to purchase certificates of deposit, and used the certificates as collateral for personal loans.
Reinert concealed the thefts by transferring money between the various accounts, duping auditors into believing that no money was missing.
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Mouse Deals 2026
He also prompted the Elgin Township Board to issue $700,000 in tax anticipation warrants to cover daily operating expenses after telling the board the township had earned $600,000 in long-term, high-interest investments. But no such investments existed.
Newman told the court that Reinert doctored the books to show that the township had $1.4 million in various accounts “when there was nothing.” Reinert’s actions, Newman said, have “devastated the community,” resulting in cutbacks and curtailments in myriad programs ranging from Easter Seals to family services.
Daniel Pierce, Reinert’s attorney, said his client recognized “that what he did was wrong, terribly wrong.” Pierce pointed out that Reinert had cooperated with investigators.
“There’s not much else to say other than there is deep regret, deep shame and deep sorrow,” Pierce said. “He’s ready to pay the price.”