Former director of Tolono Park District accused of stealing from the agency

TOLONO, Ill. (WAND) - A former director of the Tolono Park District is accused of stealing at least $10,000 from the government.

The Illinois Attorney General's office charged Randall Grace, 53, of Tolono with multiple counts of theft.

Grace faces four counts of theft of government property, four counts of official misconduct and one count of forgery.

The News Gazette reports court records show the alleged crimes took place between January 2015 and November 2021.

The first of the theft charges said Grace stole from $10,000 to $100,000 between March 2016 and November 2021 by using the Tolono Park District’s credit card, bank account and Menards rebate coupons to buy items and services for personal use.

Among the other accusations are that he used the park district's credit card to buy fuel for private use, the park district's bank account for a personal lawn mower, and the district's Menards 11 percent rebate receipts for buying personal items.

A forgery charge alleges 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.

The News Gazette reports John Brown, deputy chief of the Tolono Police Department, said he started investigating Grace in November 2021 after a couple of Tolono residents filed a police report.

A Tolono resident spoke up at a park board meeting about the parks not being maintained. That resident was told the park district had no money. That resident then decided to submit Freedom of Information Act requests in July 2021 to get documents related to the board’s finances.

“That’s when we started digging into their budget, just to see where their money was going, and there’s a lot of things that just didn’t make sense,” Robert Kokalowski told The News Gazette. “So I didn’t go into this intending on it to be what it was; it just kind of evolved.”

First, he FOIA’d the board’s budget and previous-year budgets. He noticed unusually large expenses attributed to a park concession stand.

Then, he asked about a $8,800 line item in the board’s budget for a commercial lawn mower and vacuum from Awesome Machines in Savoy. He said there would have been no reason for the board to buy a mower because the district had previously hired contractors for its lawn care.

A July 2021 email shared with The News-Gazette shows Grace sent Kolakowski an explanation.

“November 2019 I was informed by the mowing contractor there was a strong possibility they would not renew for 2020. Wanting to be proactive I thought we could hire a park employee to do our mowing with Park District equipment,” Grace wrote.

“Awesome Machines had a used commercial mower that I put a ‘hold’ on. Problem was the salesman inadvertently ran the check thru before confirmation from the mowing contractor or Board approval at the January meeting. He is no longer is employed there. In February I was informed by the mowing contractor they would be back for 2020 at the same 2019 price. After COVID issues and a ‘long term’ commitment from the mowing contractor the mower was sold at no financial loss to the Park District,” Grace added.

In November 2021, Kolakowski got statements from the Tolono Park District’s credit card.

Statements shared with The News-Gazette showed at least $3,327.92 was charged to the park credit card in various fuel purchases between April 2019 and March 2021.

The statements also show numerous charges at Casey’s General Stores and charges at a Champaign Menards, Haymakers and Rural King. There’s also a charge to a Champaign Steak ‘n Shake and Monical’s Pizza in Tolono.

Grace first got elected to the board in 2001. He served as a commissioner until he stepped down from that role, and the other commissioners appointed him as the Tolono Park District’s operating director during an Oct. 13, 2014, meeting.

The News Gazette reports the Tolono Park District Board is a separate entity from the Village of Tolono. The entity collects its own revenue from property taxes, donations, fees and rentals. Board commissioners are volunteers who do not get monetary compensation.

As director, Grace got an annual salary of $10,000 and 7 percent of new construction costs paid by the board.

The Tolono Park District Board’s online record of minutes last listed Grace as its director in a Dec. 16, 2021, meeting.

Kolakowski shared records of the lawn mower and credit card purchases with the board during that meeting, and Grace resigned as director after the board held a closed session, the News Gazette reports.

The Tolono Police Department only had three officers at the time. As Brown planned to campaign for sheriff in August 2022, the deputy chief handed off his investigation into Grace’s conduct to Illinois State Police in July 2022.

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. He faces two to five years in prison for official misconduct and forgery.