Illinois School Official Held in Fraud

As Sauk Village schools superintendent, Thomas Ryan suspended a student who brought a water gun to school, attempted to bar students from graduation because their parents could not afford book fees and tried to prevent homeless children from attending classes.

Ryan -- known to parents and employees for his hard-nosed policies -- was being held Tuesday in Cook County Jail after State’s Atty. Richard Devine charged him with stealing more than $100,000 from one of the county’s poorest school districts. In a raid last week, investigators seized $730,000 in cash from his house.

Devine described the allegations as “the worst case of financial fraud by a public official I have seen in my nearly nine years as state’s attorney.”

“Thomas Ryan was in effect a reverse Robin Hood,” Devine said. “He was stealing from the children of the school district, and he was rewarding himself and his friends and his family with these funds that were improperly and illegally taken. His concept of zero tolerance obviously doesn’t apply to himself.”

Students in Community Consolidated Schools District 168, meanwhile, went without a music program and had limited sports and art class offerings.

Besides theft, the 53-year-old Ryan, who tendered his resignation Tuesday, faces felony charges of bribery, intimidation, harassment of a witness, obstruction of justice and official misconduct. If convicted, he faces as much as 30 years in prison.

Ryan’s lawyer, Patrick Cotter, said his client’s mood was “what you would expect” when he turned himself in Monday night.

“For 16 years, he devoted himself to that school district,” Cotter said. “It’s in much better financial shape [than when he started].” By agreement with his lawyer, Ryan was held on no bond pending his next court date, Sept. 13.

Although some who knew Ryan were surprised by the seriousness of the charges, others suggested the portrait painted in court was consistent with the arrogant man they knew.

“Witnesses have described [Ryan] as acting like God, Patton or Mike Ditka, who he prides himself after,” Assistant State’s Atty. Sandra Navarro said.