No Wild Spending By Elmhurst's Schmidt In Rockford

ELMHURST, IL – Todd Schmidt, the former Elmhurst School District 205 official with questionable credit card spending, apparently had no such issues at his Rockford job.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained Schmidt's credit card bills during his last year at the Rockford Public Schools, where he resigned in June 2018 after 18 years.

According to the bills, Schmidt's spending totaled $3,563, going months without using the card. All the spending seemed related to his job as chief operations officer.

That's a far cry from what happened in Elmhurst, where Schmidt was facilities director. He put $46,615 in personal spending on his credit card. That included booze, cigars, groceries, restaurants, country clubs and a sorority.

Every month, he reimbursed the Elmhurst district with a check. So the district was essentially giving him short-term loans.

In late November, Schmidt, a Rockford resident, was arrested on felony charges, with Rockford police alleging he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his mother.

In an email late last month, Patch asked Rockford's superintendent, Ehren Jarrett, who took the helm in 2013, whether the district was conducting any type of investigation into Schmidt in light of his arrest.

He said he did not have any information, but said he copied his response to the heads of public relations, human resources and legal. From Schmidt's resignation letter, he appeared to have left the Rockford district on good terms.

After a closed session last month, the Elmhurst District 205 board said it was investigating Schmidt. When Patch found the personal items on the credit card, the district acknowledged it was looking into that. It has yet to say who authorized the spending.

The board held another closed session Tuesday, but it took no action or did not issue any statements.