Federal Agents Raid Village Halls In McCook, Lyons
LYONS, Ill. (CBS) — Federal agents raided the village halls in southwest suburban McCook and neighboring Lyons on Thursday, the FBI confirmed.
The FBI also raided Getty Insurance on Ogden Avenue in Lyons, which according to the Village of Lyons website is owned by the family of Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty. The mayor serves as president of the agency.
It was unclear Thursday afternoon whether Getty was personally a target of the investigation.
The FBI Chicago office confirmed agents were “conducting an authorized law enforcement action” at the McCook and Lyons village halls, but declined further comment.
The FBI also confirmed they were at the Summit Village Hall for investigative activity Thursday afternoon. The agency characterized their visit to Summit differently from those to Lyons, McCook, and the insurance agency.
As night fell Thursday, there was still no clarity on what the FBI was looking for or if the raids were connected, CBS 2’s Chris Tye reported.
Jeff Tobolski is the mayor of McCook and is also a Cook County commissioner, but it’s unclear if the investigation is tied directly to him. CBS 2 has confirmed that Mayor Tobolski called in sick and bought everybody lunch on Thursday.
The raids in McCook and Lyons come two days after federal agents raided Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval’s office at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield and his home in the Gage Park neighborhood on Tuesday.
McCook and Lyons are part of Sandoval’s district, but it is unclear of the two investigations are related.
However, the Sandoval, Getty, and Tobolski are political allies who have contributed to each other’s campaigns for elected office.
Campaign finance records show, since 2010, Sandoval has donated at least $2,000 to Tobolski’s campaign fund, Friends of Jeffrey Tobolski.
Since 2009, Tobolski has made at least eight donations totaling $17,250 combined to Sandoval’s campaign fund, Friends of Martin A. Sandoval; and the campaign fund for Sandoval’s daughter, Angie, who ran for the county board in 2018.
Since 2010, Tobolski had made at least 10 donations to Getty’s campaign fund, Citizens for Christopher Getty, totaling $10,750.
Getty donated $250 to Sandoval’s campaign in 2011, and has made at least 12 donations to Tobolski’s campaign fund since 2010, totaling $4,050.
The politicians’ donating to each other’s campaigns is completely legal, but they demonstrate the political support between them.
The FBI told CBS 2 that no more raids were expected Thursday night.
CBS 2 also reached out to all the key players mentioned in this report. None returned our calls.
Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©
No comments:
Post a Comment