LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Publisher’s note: This is an evolving story. The Prairie Press will provide additional updates as they become available. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
PARIS—The Edgar County state’s attorney released an official statement Thursday, Dec. 12, after allegations against Lauren McQueen, Edgar County’s assistant state’s attorney, came to light in late November. The complaint, filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, accuses McQueen of “engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation” by withdrawing and spending $9,312.71 from Champaign County Bar Association (CCBA) bank accounts, without approval, for personal business during her time on the CCBA board.
“I was aware there was the potential for an investigation and that there might be something, or some kind of investigation when I hired her. She was very upfront with me,” Edgar County State’s Attorney Philip Dobelstein told a Prairie Press reporter. “No decision is being made at this point in time regarding her employment at (the state’s attorney’s) office. We are allowing the legal system to do its job.”
As of Thursday, Dec. 12, McQueen still holds the office of assistant state’s attorney and is actively involved in multiple cases unfolding at the Edgar County Courthouse.
The complaint claims McQueen violated Illinois Supreme Court Rule 8.4 on three separate counts: making unauthorized withdrawals and spending funds from two different CCBA bank accounts as well as giving a false statement to board members. In an answer to complaint submitted by McQueen’s attorney on Nov. 22, she admitted or partially admitted to most, but not all, of the allegations leveled against her.
In the first count of the complaint, 17 unauthorized cash withdrawals from the CCBA’s Busey Bank account totaling $4,176 are attributed to McQueen. The withdrawals ranged from $20 to $500, spanning February 2021 to September 2022.
McQueen admitted to the withdrawals but “does not remember making these, and she is not sure they were all personal,” the response explained.
The second count of the complaint outlines $5,136.71 in funds from the CCBA’s Iroquois Federal Bank account that were spent or withdrawn without approval between September 2022 and July 2023. The list includes multiple ATM withdrawals, several made at a series of pubs and sports bars, and purchases made at restaurants, Target, Hobby Lobby, Menards, HomeGoods, Haymakers and several gas stations among other locations.
McQueen contested $1,000 of the total, explaining the money was withdrawn to reinsert into the CCBA’s Busey Bank account to cover several bills and expenses before that account closed in December. McQueen admitted to the other charges and withdrawals.
Named a CCBA board member on Feb. 20, 2020, voted treasurer in March 2020 and eventually selected as the board president three years later, McQueen had access to debit cards linked to both the CCBA’s Busey Bank and IFB accounts. Per the complaint, McQueen was approached by two fellow board members, Colleen Ramais (treasurer) and Brett Kepley (vice president) to discuss the unapproved transactions, which Ramais spotted while preparing the 2024 budget.
Accounts differ between the complaint and the response regarding McQueen’s explanation for the withdrawals and charges. The complaint claims McQueen insisted her spouse, identified as “C.P.,” had used the card and made the purchases, a claim which was later proven false. Per McQueen’s response, she did not immediately accuse her spouse, but explained she would check to see if her spouse made the withdrawals. In previous instances, C.P. reportedly withdrew funds from McQueen’s personal bank account in excess of what they were told to take out.
In the report, McQueen admitted the answers she provided to Ramais and Kepley were false, but the response claims McQueen “had no idea the statement was false” at the time she spoke to them.
McQueen resigned from her position on the CCBA board on Jan. 30, 2024. She was also terminated from her position at Meyer Capel, a Champaign law firm, in February of 2024. McQueen stepped into her role as Edgar County’s assistant state’s attorney earlier this year.
McQueen appeared for a private pre-trial conference on the matter Monday, Dec. 9. Per a source within the IARDC, the case may go to public trial, but could also be settled with a petition for “discipline on consent.” The court will decide on any sanctions against McQueen should the latter occur.