By Jayette Bolinski | Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted the husband of a former suburban Chicago police chief who already was under indictment on charges of laundering a $1.25-million state grant.

Both Ronald W. Evans Jr., 45, and his wife, Regina R. Evans, 49, are charged with mail fraud and money laundering, accused of using the grant money to pay off debt.

Regina Evans, who was first indicted April 4, is the ex-police chief in Country Club Hills; Ronald Evans also worked for the village for a short time.

The job-training grant, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, was awarded in 2009 to an organization, overseen by the Evans couple, known as the We Are Our Brother’s Keeper Foundation. The money was to be used to boost the number of minorities and women entering trade union apprenticeships.

However, the couple and their organizations were in significant debt at the time, and prosecutors allege they diverted the money to repay debt on Chicago’s Regal Theater, which they bought and intended to rehab, as well as pay off other debts.

Prior to the federal charges, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Regina Evans in Cook County Circuit Court over the alleged misuse of the grant. Authorities say she failed to cooperate with the state’s grant-monitoring process.

Regina Evans resigned in October as the Country Club Hills police chief. Ronald Evans is a former Chicago police officer who briefly was the inspector general of Country Club Hills until the City Council eliminated the position in August.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at jayette.bolinski@franklincenterhq.org.