BENTON - Judge David M. Correll has set a hearing date of May 26 for four employees of the Franklin County Regional Office of Education who were named in a 62-count indictment handed down last August by Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The defendants include Barry Kohl, superintendent of the Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of Education, his wife Janine, who also works at regional office, Mary Ann Adams, director of Project Echo School, an alternative school in Williamson County, and Suzanne Willmore, who works as a secretary for the regional office.

Correll, who lives in Robinson, was appointed to hear the case because the Kohls, Adams and Willmore are all county employees. The Kohls are represented by Benton attorney John Drew while Adams is represented by West Frankfort defense attorney Terry Green. Willmore is represented by Benton attorney Eric Dirnbeck.

Following a conference call earlier this week - the fourth consecutive month that all the parties have met via telephone - Correll set the hearing date to review

what is expected to be a lengthy list of motions in the high-profile case. Part of the eight-month delay centers on discovery items that include hundreds of pages of transcripts from four grand jury hearings that were held during the 18-month investigation by Madigan's office into allegations that the Kohls submitted bogus travel vouchers and received reimbursement from the regional office for personal expenses. The indictments also allege the Kohls committed perjury when testifying before the grand jury about the vouchers and also solicited two other regional office employees to commit perjury to cover up the illegal activities.

Following the latest conference call Drew maintained, as he has since the Kohls hired him to defend them, that the state has a weak case. Drew said he believes motions he will file in the coming weeks will prove that.

"Basically, we are going to be challenging the grand jury proceedings and the way those were conducted," Drew said. "We will also be filing some challenges about the manner in which the defendants were approached by investigators concerning their right to counsel. Also, we intend to attack the conspiracy charge concerning the evidence that was used to file those charges. We expect to file several other motions as well."

Barry Kohl is charged with a 32-count indictment including 13 counts of theft, four counts of forgery, six counts of official misconduct, four counts of perjury, four counts of solicitation to commit perjury and one count of conspiracy. In all, Barry Kohl is facing 21 felony charges and 11 misdemeanor charges.

Janine Kohl is charged with a 25-count indictment that includes five counts of perjury, five counts of official misconduct, four counts of solicitation to commit perjury, three counts of forgery, two counts of theft and a single count of conspiracy. Janine Kohl is facing 21 felony charges and four misdemeanor charges.

Adams is charged with three counts of perjury and a single count of conspiracy while Willmore is charged with two counts of perjury. The charges of theft, forgery, official misconduct and perjury are all Class 3 felony charges punishable by two to five years in prison on each count.

When asked if he thought the case would ever get a jury trial stage Drew repeated again that he believes he has a strong case that will be evident in the motions that are filed.

"That's a good question, whether this will get to trial," Drew said. "The attorney general ultimately has to make the decision whether this goes to trial or not, but we think we have some very good motions that could take a lot away from the charges. Of course, that hinges on whether the motions we file are granted."

Green said he also plans to file several motions in the coming weeks on behalf of Adams.

"We will file motions looking at the specifics of the charges, the grand jury and various issues that have to do with procedural matters about the case," Green said. "I strongly believe that ultimately Mary Ann (Adams) will be vindicated of these charges. I've known her for 30 years and I'm confident that she is not guilty of any criminal allegations, much less the ones against her in this case."

Melissa Merz, a spokesperson with the attorney general's office, declined to make any comment concerning the case against the Kohls, Willmore and Adams. Calls Dirnbeck were not returned.

Madigan's office began an investigation of the regional office following a March 2003 audit (for fiscal year ending June 30, 2002) by Illinois Auditor General William Holland that questioned more than $160,000 in expenditures. The audit was then referred to the attorney general by the auditor general after more than 17 findings were reported.

Madigan convened a Franklin County grand jury that met four times during an eight-month span while the investigation into Kohl and the regional office continued. The Kohls, Adams and Willmore were among 18 people that testified before the grand jury. The indictments also allege that the Kohls continued to turn in false expenditures while the investigation continued with some being turned in less than one month before the arrests were made.

State auditors again recently reported an audit covering the 12 months ending June 30, 2003 mirrored many of the same allegations made in the previous audit and indictment. During that report the auditor general questioned more than $3,800 in credit card charges.

Kohl responded to the latest allegations by saying that steps will be taken to better document meal reimbursements and end the practice of using regional office money to pay for personal expenses.

The most recent audit revealed that regional office employees charged $1,127 in personal expenses on the office's American Express card. Kohl's office repaid $932.91 of the charges including hotel stays in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama.

Other personal expenses charged to the credit card included $289.05 for TicketMaster tickets and $152.25 for a U-Haul in Alabama. While these expenses have been repaid, $1,194 had not been reimbursed.

Kohl argues that all the personal expenses have been repaid.

The auditors also found that the personal expenses were repaid sometimes eight or nine months after the credit card bill had been paid. The credit card charges included $2,488.67 in meal reimbursements. While the regional office included receipts for the charges, it did not show how they related to business.

The Kohls, Adams and Willmore all posted bond and were released following their arrest. Bond for Barry Kohl was set at $20,000 with bond for Janine Kohl set at $15,000. Bond for Adams was set at $10,000 and $6,000 for Willmore.

The Kohls, Adams and Willmore all remain on the job with the regional office pending the outcome of the criminal charges.

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