By Shamus Toomey, Chicago Sun-Times
The mayor and police chief of tiny Maple Park, Ill. in Kane County were arrested Friday night in an illegal-gambling raid that played out at a popular local tavern’s steak fry, authorities said.
There was “amazement and shock” on the faces of the 60 patrons at D.J.'s Tavern West when two dozen State Police and Illinois attorney general’s investigators raided the tavern and rounded up Mayor Mark Delaney, Police Chief Chester Morris, the tavern’s manager and six bartenders, State Police Sgt. Tim Sebastian said.
The manager, Michael Faber, was behind the grill cooking a steak, Sebastian said. Investigators confiscated illegal slot machines and a spin-the-wheel lottery machine and broke up a bookmaking operation, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.
The mayor is accused of openly participating in the gambling. He and Morris are both accused of failing to take action to stop the gambling. Delaney, Faber, the bartenders and tavern owner David Weeks are accused of felony conspiracy to commit gambling. Morris is charged with felony official misconduct, authorities said.
The bust came after a year-long investigation. Maple Park has a population of about 765 and is 60 miles west of Chicago.