School Supt. Flowers Resigns From Non-Existent Office

By Prescott Carlson in News on May 8, 2010 4:30PM

Now former school superintendent Charles Flowers resigned Friday as chief of the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education, an office that was closed until further notice last November.

The resignation comes as Flowers faces felony charges of felony theft and official misconduct for allegedly raiding $376,000 from the office. At the time of his arrest in January, State's Attorney Anita Alvarez accused Flowers of "siphoning" taxpayer dollars to give his girlfriend and sister ghost payroll positions as well as a $15,000 advance each, and that he used an office credit card to buy expensive personal items. Flowers' attorney claims his client paid back those charges after getting "a little sloppy." The arrest came as the result of an investigation after a state audit of the office last June.

The acceptance of the resignation was an important step for Flowers in case he beats the theft and corruption charges -- if found innocent, he'll keep his teacher's certification. But he won't return to his old job. Not only did he have his administrative certificates stripped for four years by the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Legislature voted a few days ago to eliminate the office entirely.

Of course in this state, nothing is forever.