Former Land Use Department clerk pleads guilty

November 14

JOLIET – A former clerk with the Will County Land Use Department pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of felony theft for stealing more than $17,000 that had been paid by the public for building permits.

Lisa Rozanski, 38, of the 15400 block of West 151st St., Lockport, paid $17,761 in restitution upfront as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow.

The restitution covers all of the money Rozanski stole between 1999 and 2005 while working for the Land Use Department.

In exchange for her guilty plea and the restitution, Rozanski will be placed on 48 months of probation.

Allegations of theft by Rozanski first surfaced in October 2005. The case had yet to be charged and was under investigation when Rozanski’s defense attorney approached prosecutors with a proposed plea agreement that included full restitution in exchange for probation on a felony theft charge.

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed a single charge of theft, which is a Class 2 felony that allows for a sentence of probation.  Her plea of guilty was accepted by Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak on Tuesday afternoon.

“Under this plea agreement, which was reached only after full restitution was paid, we have obtained a felony conviction against Lisa Rozanski,” Glasgow said. “Most importantly, we have recovered every penny of public funding that was stolen from the Land Use Department.”

Rozanski pocketed the money that was paid for 154 building permits between 1999 and 2005. In an attempt to cover up the thefts, she duplicated building permits that already had been issued to other applicants and then handed them out to new applicants.