Thomas Williams, contractor for the renovations of Lincoln Hall, was ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the state of Illinois after pleading guilty to two counts of mail fraud Wednesday in Sangamon County Circuit Court.
Williams admitted to falsely claiming that his company would pay minority-owned subcontractors, as required by state law, for millions of dollars of work in renovating historic Lincoln Hall at the University and building a new science complex at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
He also admitted to telling the Illinois Capital Development Board, which issued the contracts, that his company would employ BJB Enterprises, Inc., a minority-owned Peoria-based firm, on the projects. According to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, BJB did no work and did not provide any materials for the projects.
University of Illinois system spokesman Tom Hardy said that the University is expected to receive $500,000 in restitution.
“The University was a victim in this, as well as the state,” Hardy said.
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Williams, the former president of a Peoria-based construction firm, was also sentenced to two and a half years probation.
The fraud was discovered and reported by employees of the state’s Capital Development Board, which oversees all non-road, state-funded construction projects, according to a press release from Governor Pat Quinn’s office.
Hardy said the University fully cooperated with the attorney general’s office, and they were “satisfied with the outcome.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
