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Former City Clerk employee learns sentence for stealing $150K in payments for City of Chicago stickers

By FOX 32 Digital Staff
Updated  March 4, 2025 1:00pm CST
Chicago
FOX 32 Chicago

The Brief

    • Barbara Johnson, a former employee of the Office of the City Clerk, pled guilty to computer fraud and official misconduct.
    • Johnson stole $150,000 in cash payments from Chicago city sticker sales and altered computer records to conceal the theft.
    • She was sentenced to 24 months of probation and ordered to repay $150,000 in restitution.

CHICAGO - A former employee of the Office of the City Clerk (OCC) learned her sentence last week after pleading guilty to charges of computer fraud and official misconduct following an investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The backstory:

In November 2023, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office indicted Barbara Johnson on four counts after an OIG investigation revealed that she stole cash payments for City of Chicago stickers while working at the OCC. 

According to court records, Johnson pocketed $150,000 in cash and hid the theft by altering the City’s computer records. She has been sentenced to 24 months of probation and must pay back the full $150,000 to the City of Chicago.

What they're saying:

Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago, released the following statement following Johnson's sentence: 

"We are very pleased with this outcome and very grateful for the partnership of the State’s Attorney’s Office. We will continue to aggressively pursue accountability for all those who abuse positions of public trust, and to do everything we can to see the City made whole."

The Source: The information from this article was provided by the Office of Inspector General, City of Chicago.

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