Former Kane County Circuit Clerk Thomas Hartwell has been arrested on theft and official misconduct charges after allegedly misusing almost $120,000 in public funds while in office, officials said.
The charges come after a two-year investigation by Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Revenue, according to officials.
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Hartwell, 63, of Elgin, is also charged with several counts of committing wire fraud, money laundering, misapplying funds as a government employee and income tax fraud, according to Kane County court records.
Hartwell was indicted by a Kane County grand jury Tuesday and taken into custody at his home Wednesday morning, officials said.
In a press release, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said she notified state police in January 2021 about what appeared to be misappropriated county funds by Hartwell.
Mosser alleges that between December 2018 and November 2020, Hartwell, while acting in his official capacity as the circuit court clerk, misappropriated $119,575 in county funds.
Hartwell served as Kane County circuit court clerk from 2012 to 2020, when he lost a reelection bid to current clerk Theresa Barreiro.
Mosser alleges that Hartwell, on multiple occasions, misappropriated Kane County funds to Gutierrez Productions Inc. and Dar Illuminations LLC. Hartwell is accused of using county money to pay the companies to promote a May 2020 event billed as a personal protective equipment/care package giveaway, but which was actually a political event that county funds should not have been approved for, according to officials in the release.
Also, Hartwell is accused of receiving $15,000 in kickbacks from Robert Gutierrez, the president of Gutierrez Productions and Dar Illuminations.
Gutierrez, of St. Charles, was also indicted Tuesday in connection with the case. He is charged with theft by deception of greater than $100,000 and providing kickbacks, officials said.
Hartwell is also accused of failing to report income on his 2018, 2019 and 2020 tax returns and providing false information about his income to his accountant during those three years, officials said.
Bail for Hartwell and Gutierrez has been set at $20,000. They are both due back in Kane County court on May 26.
Hartwell, a Republican, had previously run for judge in 2017 and served as a Kane County Board member from 1996 to 2000. He also previously served as chairman of the Kane County Republican Party.
Attempts to reach Hartwell at home and at the Collins, Radja and Hartwell P.C. law firm, where he is a partner, were unsuccessful.