Kathy Yancy-Smith Must Reimburse $6,515.00 To Kankakee School District 111 –

Kankakee, Ill. (ECWd) –

Any such “person” who fails to file (an SEI) by May 15 shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each day…

Here is the bottom line: You cannot fail at your job as an elected official (or one appointed to an elective position), incur a personal fine for your failure, and then have the taxpayers pay that personal fine for you. It does not work that way, and every Kankakee School District board member needs to apologize to the public, contemplate resigning from office for allowing it, and demand that Kathy Yancy-Smith pay back the district. Oh, and fire the attorney who told them it was OK to pay.

We have never seen anything so ridiculous as a public body paying the personal fine for an elected official who failed (after multiple warnings) to file their Statement of Economic Interest within the timeline set forth in state law.

Here is what we KNOW:

On August 19, 2026, the Kankakee School District 111 paid the individual fine of $6,515 on behalf of School Board Member Yancy-Smith because she failed to file her Statement of Economic Interest according to the timeline set forth in state law.

The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, Section 5 ILCS 420/4A-101.5 in this local government case, requires “the individual” to file a Statement of Economic Interest (“SEI”) – please note that nothing quoted from the statute, below, places the burden to file or the fine for not filing on the public body, it is always on the individual:

• Sec 4A-101.5(a). Those required to file are “Persons who are elected to office in a unit of local government, and candidates for nomination or election to that office, including regional superintendents of school districts.”
• 4A-102. “The statement of economic interests required by this Article shall include the economic interests of the person making the statement as provided in this Section.”
• 4A-103. “The statement of economic interests required by this Article to be filed with the Secretary of State or county clerk shall be verified, dated, and signed by the person making the statement and shall contain substantially the following . . .”
• 4A-105. “Time for filing. Except as provided in Section 4A-106.1, by May 1 of each year a statement must be filed by each person whose position at that time subjects him to the filing requirements . . .”
• 4A-105. “If any person who is required to file a statement of economic interests fails to file such statement by May 1 of any year, the officer with whom such statement is to be filed under Section 4A-106 or 4A-106.5 of this Act shall, within 7 days after May 1, notify such person by certified mail of his or her failure to file by the specified date. Except as may be prescribed by rule of the Secretary of State, such person shall file his or her statement of economic interests on or before May 15 with the appropriate officer, together with a $15 late filing fee. Any such person who fails to file by May 15 shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each day from May 16 to the date of filing, which shall be in addition to the $15 late filing fee specified above. Failure to file by May 31 shall result in a forfeiture in accordance with Section 4A-107 of this Act.”

We need to repeat this sentence – pay attention to the word “person” who is subject to the penalty, not the public body or the taxpayers: Any such person who fails to file by May 15 shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each day from May 16 to the date of filing, which shall be in addition to the $15 late filing fee specified above. Failure to file by May 31 shall result in a forfeiture in accordance with Section 4A-107 of this Act.

What do other Illinois public bodies do with late SEI filers?

University of Illinois – Individual is responsible to pay the fine for a late SEI:

Penalties

Forms filed between May 1 and May 15 will be assessed a late fee of $15. Beginning May 16th, any form filed will be asses the flat $15 rate, in addition to a $100/day charge for as many days late as the form is received. For example: If a form is received by the Office of the Secretary of State May 10th, the filer will be fined $15. However, if the form is not received until May 20th, the filer will be fined $515. These fines are assessed to individuals only and must be paid personally by the delinquent filers to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Chicago State University:

These fines are assessed to individuals only and must be paid personally by the delinquent filers to the Office of the Secretary of State.

THIS IS COMPENSATION

School Board members work without compensation, and this $6,515.00 payment is certainly compensation, as it was a payment (economic benefit) made in return for services rendered, or to be rendered:

• The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act defines “compensation” as: “Compensation” means any money, thing of value, or economic benefit conferred on, or received by, any person in return for services rendered, or to be rendered, by himself or another.
• The Illinois Supreme Court has weighed in on the subject of defining compensation (read this paper)
• The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure talks about this in Section 20-101 when providing for the recovery of fraudulently obtained public funds: “Compensation, benefits or remuneration” includes regular compensation, overtime compensation, vacation compensation, deferred compensation, sick pay, disability pay, sick leave, disability leave, medical, dental, optical or other health benefits, pension or retirement benefits or any other pay, compensation, benefits, or any other remuneration.

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Our previous article on this subject (HERE):

Kankakee School District 111 Board Member Kathy Yancy-Smith failed to file her Statement of Economic Interest by May 1st and continued her failure to file, which incurred a $100 per day fine. She was notified of her obligation to file an SEI by email on February 18, March 31, and April 24 of 2026. She was notified that she failed to file on May 6, 2026, by certified mail.

According to public records provided to us from the school district:

• On June 9, 2026, a Quo Warranto Complaint was filed by Assistant State’s Attorney John Coghlan on behalf of State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, naming Yancy-Smith as defendant, asking the Court to Order her forfeiture of office and pay the costs of the prosecution.
• On Jun 30, 2026, Yancy-Smith appeared in court and stated she needed to hire an attorney. Outside the courtroom, she was advised by the ASA that the fine was (at that time) $2,100 and would be an acceptable resolution of the suit. She failed again, which increased the fine to $6,515.
• On August 4, 2026, Yancy-Smith forwarded the emailed March 31st reminder of mandatory SEI filing from the County Clerk to the School Superintendent, Dr. Teresa Lance.
• On August 10, 2026, the School Board voted (read this article) during an open meeting to pay the fine of a board member for a tardy Statement of Economic Interest. There was no dollar amount discussed and there was no mention of which board member owed the fine – and neither the name nor dollar amount was listed on the meeting agenda. We will address this portion with the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor as alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act, Section 2.02(c) – Read (this and this).
• On August 14, 2026, a Motion for Default was filed with the court asking for her to be removed from office.
• On August 19, 2026, the Kankakee School District 111 paid the individual fine of $6,515 on behalf of School Board Member Yancy-Smith.

We urge any resident of District 111 to file an Ethics Complaint with the proper Ethics Commission or Ethics Officer and urge all residents of the District to demand that Yancy-Smith reimburse the district for their wrongful misappropriation of school district funds.

According to statutory requirements, forfeiture of office in mandatory and should still be pursued.