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Anita Alvarez
Cook County State's Attorney
Communications Department
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-3423
saomedia@cookcountygov.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 5, 2010

As part of a continuing effort against public corruption, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced that the Special Counsel for Development for the Village of Calumet Park has been charged in connection with a fraudulent over-billing scheme that has cost the south suburban community over a million dollars. 

Employed as shareholder of an international law firm, Mark J. McCombs, 50, of Chicago, has been charged with Theft of Government Funds in excess of $100,000 (a Class X Felony, punishable by imprisonment for 6 to 30 years) for using his position to defraud the Village of Calumet Park out of funds from its Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District and billing for work that he never performed.

“In this economic climate it is outrageous to think that someone would steal resources intended to create jobs and put people back to work,” said Alvarez. “This arrest should serve as warning to those who would engage in this type of conduct.”

Prosecutors alleged that McCombs, an attorney for over 25-years, was a special counsel to Village Calumet Park, and that in this position of trust, he was responsible for drafting as well as for filing all reports as required by state law.

In order to be paid for such services, McCombs was required to present an itemized bill to the village government for approval, and then he would receive a payment voucher to present to the bank holding the TIF’s accounts.  Instead, it is alleged that McCombs circumvented this process, and obtained payment for services he never performed.  Additionally, it is alleged that he also increased his fees up to $600 a hour without properly notifying the village and without filing TIF reports with the state as required by law.

The defendant’s scheme was discovered earlier this year when another governmental agency that shared TIF money with the village found discrepancies in a presentation McCombs had put together regarding the fiscal health of the fund. When contacted, McCombs allegedly offered to transfer TIF money to that agency in exchange for them droping their inquiry. Alarmed by McCombs’ response, administrators contacted Calumet Park Officials who obtained several years worth of records and uncovered that McCombs has billed the fund for $2 million dollars worth of work since 2007 without the completion of any economic development projects. 

As part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, McCombs was arrested on March 4, and today his bond was set at $25,000 in cash by Judge Ramon Ocasio III. The case was continued to March 26, 2010.

State’s Attorney Alvarez thanked the Special Prosecutions Bureau for their hard work on the case.

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