Kendall County Times

State Representative Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) and Will County Regional Superintendent Lisa Caparelli-Ruff have called on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to begin an investigation into alleged public corruption at the Grundy-Kendall-Will Regional Office of Education and the Professional Development Alliance (PDA).

According to statements from Davis and Caparelli-Ruff, evidence has surfaced through federal grand jury subpoenas and a forensic audit indicating misuse of public resources. The allegations include using PDA staff and resources for offshore casino operations, developing private software for profit, and exploiting Illinois’ public pension system by allowing individuals to perform private work under the guise of public employment.

“Taxpayer dollars were not just misused — they were boosting personal gain, propping up private ventures, and manipulating a public retirement system already buckling under pressure,” said Rep. Jed Davis. “The time for waiting is over. The Attorney General must act now. Illinois deserves justice, not more silence.”

Highlights from the ongoing investigation include claims that PDA employees worked on behalf of Vista Learning, a nonprofit organization, while also supporting Majestic Isle Casino in Antigua. Staff were reportedly diverted from their public duties to develop EvaluWise, a software product later sold by Vista Learning. Despite this private work, employees continued to receive salaries and benefits as if they were serving in the public sector.

Leadership at both organizations is described as overlapping, with former ROE Superintendents Shawn Walsh and Chris Mehochko named among those with ties to both entities.

“As soon as I took office, I uncovered irregularities that could not be ignored,” said Superintendent Lisa Caparelli-Ruff. “We have whistleblowers, we have documentation, we have servers full of emails — and now we need real consequences. If the Attorney General doesn’t act, the message to bad actors is clear: corruption pays.”

Additional concerns center around alleged abuse of the state’s pension system. Private contractors reportedly received taxpayer-backed retirement benefits by being placed on PDA payrolls despite performing nearly all their work privately.

“These benefits are intended for long-serving public workers — not people performing private work with a public title,” said Davis. “This misuse has eroded trust in a pension system that’s already under serious financial strain. While real public servants are asked to do more with less, others walked away with pensions they didn’t earn.”

Davis and Caparelli-Ruff are requesting immediate action from the Attorney General’s office including criminal charges where appropriate, a forensic audit of all related financial transactions, review of pension eligibility enforcement across Illinois’ public entities, and structural safeguards against future abuses.

“This isn’t about one bad actor. This is a network of insiders who gamed the system for years,” Caparelli-Ruff added. “Our students, educators, and taxpayers deserve better.”

Davis was elected in 2023 as a Republican representative for Illinois’ 75th House District following David Welter’s term.

More information about Representative Davis can be found at RepJedDavis.com.