Elmhurst D205 Official Arrested On Financial Charges: Records

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst School District 205 official who has managed $168 million in projects was jailed Monday on felony financial charges, court records show.

Todd Schmidt, director of facilities, is in the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford, according to the jail's records.

He is charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person ($15,000 or above), aggravated identity theft with a person 60 or older as the victim ($10,000 to $100,000) and use of a forged credit card (more than $300). Details on the allegations against Schmidt were not available.

This is the photo that Elmhurst School District 205 released when it hired Todd Schmidt as director of facilities in 2018. (Courtesy of Elmhurst School District 205)

District 205 has placed Schmidt on leave as it is reviewing the matter, school spokeswoman Tonya Daniels said in an email to Patch on Tuesday morning. She said the district could not comment further on pending personnel matters.

District 205 hired Schmidt in July 2018. In November of that year, voters approved the district going into debt by $168 million to pay for building projects across town.

As of last year, Schmidt's salary was $146,426. In summer 2023, the board approved bonuses for a handful of top officials, with Schmidt getting $2,500.

Over the years, Schmidt has given regular reports on building projects to the board. His last one was a week ago. Three days later, a criminal complaint against him was filed in Winnebago County Court.

Before his hiring in Elmhurst, Schmidt worked for Rockford School District 205 for 18 years. He left as its chief operations officer, a position he held for nine years. He was in the Navy from 1986 to 1992.