Cook County IG reports hundreds of PPP loan investigations; commissioners push for prosecutions and hiring safeguards

Terrell Paxton, Cook County inspector general, told the finance subcommittee on litigation that the Office of the Inspector General issued its fourth-quarter report covering Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 2025 and that the office closed 305 PPP loan cases involving county employees with roughly $2,600,000 in alleged fraudulent loans. "We received a total of 208 complaints compared to the 226 complaints received during the previous quarter," Paxton said, and added that the OIG referred 47 complaints this quarter to county management or outside agencies.

The report, issued Jan. 15, 2026, found 18 of 20 completed investigations in the quarter related to fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans by county employees; Paxton said 16 of those 18 were tied to Cook County Health. "All were sustained, and we recommended termination and placement on ineligible for rehire lists," he said, adding that referral for prosecution is the next step when allegations are sustained but that he could not comment on ongoing prosecutions.

Commissioners pressed Paxton on the low prosecution rate and on which offices the OIG had engaged. A commissioner asked whether referrals had been made to the State's Attorney, the attorney general and the U.S. Attorney. Paxton said the OIG sends batches to the State's Attorney's Office quarterly and has contact with state offices and, less frequently, the U.S. Attorney. "We refer all cases with sustained allegations to state, local, or federal authorities for prosecution," Paxton said.

At the hearing a commissioner noted repeating application amounts across many cases and described the pattern as suggestive of coordinated wrongdoing, urging the county to press prosecuting authorities. "I think every agency hiring agency within Cook County should have a Do Not Rehire list," the commissioner said, arguing sustained offenders should be barred from future county employment. Paxton confirmed the OIG's report lists which agencies maintain ineligible-for-rehire lists and said some offices, including the clerk's office, do not have such a list.

Paxton also described non-PPP work in the quarter: an OIG review of the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Vital Records Division recommended better delivery-window estimates with the vendor, more website information about required signatures, an electronic system to track mail orders and written standard operating procedures; the clerk accepted the recommendations. The OIG also recommended termination of a Cook County Health employee the office found had abandoned their job, and discipline for a manager who did not act promptly.

Committee members asked about the number of sustained investigations ultimately pursued by prosecuting authorities. Paxton said the OIG refers sustained matters and provides information but noted limitations on what he could disclose about investigations; the transcript records Paxton saying he sends referrals and communicates with the State's Attorney's Office quarterly.

The litigation subcommittee voted to receive and file the OIG fourth-quarter report. The chair announced the motion passed; the transcript records the chair's announcement that "the ayes have it" but does not provide a roll-call tally in the public record. Paxton said the OIG expects many remaining PPP matters to be wrapped up in the next couple of quarters and pointed commissioners to the next quarterly report for further detail.

The committee also heard that one recommendation response from the Assessor's Office was severely delinquent; counsel for the Cook County Assessor, Tasha Gibbons, told the committee the office has now completed its response and submitted it the prior week. The committee received several related case-disposition summaries and other items and adjourned.