Ex-Country Club Hills Chief Regina Evans appeared in federal court today in Springfield on the charges and pled not guilty, according to authorities. A grand jury indicted Evans on one count of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering on April 4, but the indictment was sealed until today.
The Tribune previously reported Evans’ extensive problems with the job training grant — and her personal finances — tied to her operations at the landmark New Regale Theater she once owned on Chicago’s South Side. Evans, also a former Chicago police officer, won the job-training grant from the state commerce department with the help of Chicago area lawmakers.
Federal prosecutors accuse Evans of using $275,000 of the grant to pay off debts at the theater, which was facing foreclosure at the time the 2009 grant money came through. They also accuse Evans of diverting $135,000 to her personal bank account while another $50,000 went to benefit family, friends and associates.
The grant was supposed to help about 40 minorities or women gain skills and jobs in the building trades.
The theater has since been taken by mortgage holders through foreclosure. Evans, 49, resigned as police chief in October after about two years on the job.
Evans’ attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, said his client spent the funds appropriately.
“We are presumed innocent,” he said.
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