Indicted Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkenny entered not guilty pleas Tuesday to more than a dozen felony counts alleging she issued licensing credits to businesses that were not eligible to receive them.
Kilkenny made her initial court appearance before Judge Patricia Fix in Lake County Court after she was indicted last month on 15 counts. The clerk and her attorneys declined to comment following her arraignment.
The judge read each of the 15 indictments that allege official misconduct and misapplication of funds against Kilkelly in her role as clerk and deputy city liquor commissioner.
The counts allege Kilkelly knowingly gave liquor and gaming license credits to four businesses that she knew were not eligible to receive them.
In court Tuesday, the judge read aloud the indictments, identifying four businesses that received the credits. They include two restaurants, a banquet hall and a gas station/convenience store. Kilkelly approved the credits over five weeks beginning in May 2021, according to the indictments.
According to authorities, the city’s policy is to grant licensing credits to businesses deemed to be “in good standing.” The four businesses did not qualify under Waukegan’s ordinance, authorities said.
“Despite the express language of the ordinance and Kilkelly’s own recommendation to the City Council, Kilkelly gave thousands of dollars in credits to businesses that did not qualify for the financial support,” the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said last month in announcing the indictment.
A grand jury handed down the indictments on March 13 following what authorities said was a lengthy investigation conducted by the Illinois State Police.
The charges against Kilkelly are Class 3 felonies, which carry a maximum prison sentence of five years, though lesser penalties, including probation, are also options if she is found guilty.
Kilkelly is free on bond, and the judge granted her permission to leave the state for activities including a municipal conference in Calgary in May. She is due back in court on June 5 for a case management conference.
The City Council voted 5-4 recently against a proposed ordinance that would have stripped or suspended Kilkelly of some of the clerk duties.
